Congressional Record, Volume 152 Issue 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)

[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H7662-H7663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

RATIFYING CONVEYANCE OF A PORTION OF THE JICARILLA APACHE RESERVATION
TO RIO ARRIBA COUNTY, STATE OF NEW MEXICO

Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4876) to ratify a conveyance of a portion of the Jicarilla
Apache Reservation to Rio Arriba County, State of New Mexico, pursuant
to the settlement of litigation between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and
Rio Arriba County, State of New Mexico, to authorize issuance of a
patent for said lands, and to change the exterior boundary of the
Jicarilla Apache Reservation accordingly, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:

H.R. 4876

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this act, the following definitions
apply:
(1) Jicarilla apache nation.--The term ``Jicarilla Apache
Nation'' means the Jicarilla Apache Nation, a tribe of
American Indians recognized by the United States and
organized under section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25
U.S.C. 476; popularly known as the Indian Reorganization
Act).
(2) 1988 reservation addition.--The term ``1988 Reservation
Addition'' means those lands known locally as the Theis Ranch
that were added to the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in the
state of New Mexico by the proclamation of the Secretary of
the Interior issued on September 1, 1988 pursuant to
authority granted by section 7 of the Act of June 18, 1934
(25 U.S.C. 467; popularly known as the Indian Reorganization
Act), and published in the Federal Register on September 26,
1988 at 53 F.R. 37355-56.
(3) Settlement agreement.--The term ``Settlement
Agreement'' means the agreement executed by the President of
the Jicarilla Apache Nation on May 6, 2003 and executed by
the Chairman of the Rio Arriba Board of County Commissioners
on May 15, 2003 and approved by the Department of the
Interior on June 18, 2003 to settle the Lawsuit.
(4) Lawsuit.--The term ``Lawsuit'' means the case
identified as Jicarilla Apache Tribe v. Board of County
Commissioners, County of Rio Arriba, No. RA 87-2225(C), State
of New Mexico District Court, First Judicial District, filed
in October 1987.
(5) Rio arriba county.--The term ``Rio Arriba County''
means the political subdivision of the state of New Mexico
described in Section 4-21-1 and Section 4-21-2, New Mexico
Statutes Annotated 1978 (Original Pamphlet).
(6) Settlement lands.--The term ``Settlement Lands'' means
Tract A and Tract B as described in the plat of the
``Dependent Resurvey and Survey of Tract within Theis Ranch''
within the Tierra Amarilla Grant, New Mexico prepared by Leo
P. Kelley, Cadastral Surveyor, United States Department of
the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, dated January 7,
2004, and recorded in the office of the Rio Arriba County
Clerk on March 8, 2004, in Cabinet C-1, Page 199, Document
No. 242411, consisting of 70.75 acres more or less. Title to
the Settlement Lands is held by the United States in trust
for the Jicarilla Apache Nation.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(8) Disputed county road.--The term ``Disputed County
Road'' means the county road passing through the 1988
Reservation Addition along the course identified in the
judgment entered by the New Mexico District Court in the
Lawsuit on December 10, 2001 and the decision entered on
December 11, 2001, which judgment and decision have been
appealed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) The lands constituting the 1988 Reservation Addition to
the Jicarilla Apache Reservation were purchased by the
Jicarilla Apache Nation in June 1985 and were conveyed to the
United States by a trust deed accepted by the Secretary of
the Interior in March 1988 pursuant to authority granted by
section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 465;
popularly known as the Indian Reorganization Act).
(2) The lands constituting the 1988 Reservation Addition
were added to the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in September
1988 by proclamation of the Secretary of the Interior
pursuant to authority granted by section 7 of the Act of June
18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 467; popularly known as the Indian
Reorganization Act).
(3) There is pending before the Court of Appeals of the
State of New Mexico a lawsuit, filed in October 1987, that
involves a claim that a county road passing through the 1988
Reservation Addition had been established by prescription
prior to acquisition of the land by the Jicarilla Apache
Nation in 1985.
(4) The parties to that lawsuit, the Jicarilla Apache
Nation and the County of Rio Arriba, have executed a
Settlement Agreement, approved by the Secretary of the
Interior, to resolve all claims relating to the disputed
county road, which agreement requires ratifying legislation
by the Congress of the United States.
(5) The parties to the Settlement Agreement desire to
settle the claims relating to the disputed county road on the
terms agreed to by the parties, and it is in the best
interests of the parties to resolve the claims through the
Settlement Agreement and this implementing legislation.

SEC. 3. CONDITION ON EFFECT OF SECTION.

(a) In General.--Section 4 of this Act shall not take
effect until the Secretary finds the following events have
occurred:
(1) The Board of Commissioners of Rio Arriba County has
enacted a resolution permanently abandoning the disputed
county road and has submitted a copy of that resolution to
the Secretary.
(2) The Jicarilla Apache Nation has executed a quitclaim
deed to Rio Arriba County for the Settlement Lands subject to
the exceptions identified in the Settlement Agreement and has
submitted a copy of the quitclaim deed to the Secretary.
(b) Publication of Findings.--If the Secretary finds that
the conditions set forth in subsection (a) have occurred, the
Secretary shall publish such findings in the Federal
Register.

SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF CONVEYANCE; ISSUANCE OF PATENT.

(a) Conditional Ratification and Approval.--This Act
ratifies and approves the Jicarilla Apache Nation's quitclaim
deed for the Settlement Lands to Rio Arriba County, but such
ratification and approval shall be effective only upon
satisfaction of all conditions in section 3, and only as of
the date that the Secretary's findings are published in the
Federal Register pursuant to section 3.
(b) Patent.--Following publication of the notice described
in section 3, the Secretary shall issue to Rio Arriba County
a patent for the Settlement Lands, subject to the exceptions
and restrictive covenants described subsection (c).
(c) Conditions of Patent.--The patent to be issued by the
Secretary under subsection (b) shall be subject to all valid
existing rights of third parties, including but not limited
to easements of record, and shall include the following
perpetual restrictive covenant running with the Settlement
Lands for the benefit of the lands comprising the Jicarilla
Apache Reservation adjacent to the Settlement Lands: ``Tract
A shall be used only for governmental purposes and shall not
be used for a prison, jail or other facility for
incarcerating persons accused or convicted of a crime. For
purposes of this restrictive covenant, `governmental
purposes' shall include the provision of governmental
services to the public by Rio Arriba County and the
development and operation of private businesses to the extent
permitted by applicable State law.''.

SEC. 5. BOUNDARY CHANGE.

Upon issuance of the patent authorized by section 4, the
lands conveyed to Rio Arriba County in the patent shall cease
to be a part of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation and the
exterior boundary of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation shall
be deemed relocated accordingly.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Gohmert) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 4876 settles a lawsuit between the Jicarilla
Apache tribe and the county of Rio Arriba in the State of New Mexico.
In 1987, the tribe challenged the validity of a county road located on
land owned by the Apache tribe. In 2003, the tribe and the county
entered into a settlement agreement to resolve all claims that were
raised in the lawsuit. Accordingly, H.R. 4876 ratifies this settlement
agreement and authorizes the conveyance of a portion of the Apache
reservation to the county. Changes to the exterior boundary of the
reservation will be made accordingly. As a result, this long-standing,
nearly 20-year-old lawsuit will be resolved.

[[Page H7663]]

I urge support for the bill.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield at this time such time
as he may consume to the chief sponsor of this legislation, my good
friend from the State of New Mexico, Mr. Tom Udall.
(Mr. UDALL of New Mexico asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam Speaker, this legislation will bring
long overdue resolution to a dispute between the Jicarilla Apache
Nation and Rio Arriba County in the State of New Mexico. Both parties
and the Secretary of the Interior have already executed the terms
agreed to within the settlement agreement. All that stands between the
parties to this dispute and the long-overdue resolution is
congressional approval.
This legislation upholds Congress' trust responsibility to the
Jicarilla Nation by placing restrictive covenants on the trust land
transferred to the county. As a result of the transferred land's
proximity to the reservation, certain uses of the transferred land
would have a detrimental effect on the remaining reservation.
Therefore, this legislation allows the county to use the land only for
governmental purposes and specifically prohibits the county from using
the land for prisons, jails, or other incarcerated persons, and other
purposes.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support passage of this
important legislation. Both the Nation and the county have waited years
for this agreement to be implemented.
The dispute concerns the ownership of a road on a parcel of land
formerly referred to as the Theis Ranch. The Theis Ranch property
became part of the Jicarilla Nation Reservation in September of 1988.
A lawsuit was filed in October 1987 to determine the ownership status
of a disputed road. In the original lawsuit, Rio Arriba County sought
to establish that the County acquired the disputed road by prescription
and, therefore, that the County was the road's rightful owner. However,
the Jicarilla Nation contended that the Nation owned the road because
the road was, and continues to be, within the boundaries of the
expanded 1988 Jicarilla Reservation. On December 10, 2001, the District
Court found in favor of the Jicarilla Nation, determining that the
disputed road traversed the Jicarilla Reservation in several locations.
Rio Arriba County appealed the District Court decision, and the appeal
is currently pending before the Court of Appeals of the State of New
Mexico.
In an effort to settle the road dispute amicably, the Jicarilla
Nation and Rio Arriba County entered into mediation. The parties
successfully reached a settlement. Representatives of the Secretary of
the Interior approved the settlement on June 18, 2003. The settlement
agreement, which would be implemented by this legislation, provided
that the Jicarilla Nation would transfer approximately 70.5 acres of
land located with the expanded 1988 Jicarilla Reservation to Rio Arriba
County. In exchange for the Jicarilla Nation's land conveyance, Rio
Arriba County agreed to permanently abandon any and all claims to the
disputed road.
The settlement also provides that the terms of the agreement do not
take effect until all parties complete their respective promises in the
agreement and the United States, pursuant to federal law, approves of
the conveyance of this particular Jicarilla trust land to Rio Arriba
County.
Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I just want to take a moment to again commend my
colleague from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for his determination in getting
this legislation before us today. Some of the more difficult and
contentious issues that we deal with in this place are often issues
involving property lines, jurisdictions of towns, private landowners,
and Indian tribes. Mr. Udall has never shied away from such matters,
especially when they affect the Indian tribes in New Mexico, and I
commend him for his leadership on this issue and encourage adoption of
this legislation.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, we are also grateful to Mr. Udall from
New Mexico for his hard work in resolving this dispute. As a former
judge, there is nothing that looks better than when all the parties can
come together and agree, and I appreciate the gentleman's hard work in
making that happen.
Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 4876.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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