[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 101 (Wednesday, June 18, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H5490-H5491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           AMENDING CERTAIN LAWS RELATING TO NATIVE AMERICANS

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 5680) to amend certain laws relating to Native 
Americans, and for others purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5680

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

     SECTION 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Table of contents.
Sec. 2. Colorado River Indian Tribes.
Sec. 3. Gila River Indian Community contracts.
Sec. 4. Land and interests of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa 
              Indians of Michigan.
Sec. 5. Morongo Band of Mission Indians Lease Extension.
Sec. 6. Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians leasing authority.
Sec. 7. New Settlement Common Stock issued to descendants, left-outs, 
              and elders.

     SEC. 2. COLORADO RIVER INDIAN TRIBES.

       The Secretary of the Interior may make, subject to amounts 
     provided in subsequent appropriations Acts, an annual 
     disbursement to the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Funds 
     disbursed under this section shall be used to fund the Office 
     of the Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation Energy 
     Development and shall not be less than $200,000 and not to 
     exceed $350,000 annually.

     SEC. 3. GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY CONTRACTS.

       Subsection (f) of the first section of the Act of August 9, 
     1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(f)), is amended by striking ``lease, 
     affecting'' and inserting ``lease or construction contract, 
     affecting''.

     SEC. 4. LAND AND INTERESTS OF THE SAULT STE. MARIE TRIBE OF 
                   CHIPPEWA INDIANS OF MICHIGAN.

       (a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b) and (c), 
     notwithstanding any other provision of law (including 
     regulations), the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians 
     of Michigan (including any agent or instrumentality of the 
     Tribe) (referred to in this section as the ``Tribe''), may 
     transfer, lease, encumber, or otherwise convey, without 
     further authorization or approval, all or any part of the 
     Tribe's interest in any real property that is not held in 
     trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe.
       (b) Effect of Section.--Nothing in this section is intended 
     to authorize the Tribe to transfer, lease, encumber, or 
     otherwise convey, any lands, or any interest in any lands, 
     that are held in trust by the United States for the benefit 
     of the Tribe.
       (c) Liability.--The United States shall not be held liable 
     to any party (including the Tribe or any agent or 
     instrumentality of the Tribe) for any term of, or any loss 
     resulting from the term of any transfer, lease, encumbrance, 
     or conveyance of land made pursuant to this Act unless the 
     United States or an agent or instrumentality of the United 
     States is a party to the transaction or the United States 
     would be liable pursuant to any other provision of law. This 
     subsection shall not apply to land transferred or conveyed by 
     the Tribe to the United States to be held in trust for the 
     benefit of the Tribe.
       (d) Effective Date.--This section shall be deemed to have 
     taken effect on January 1, 2005.

     SEC. 5. MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS LEASE EXTENSION.

       Subsection (a) of the first section of the Act of August 9, 
     1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(a)) is amended in the second sentence by 
     inserting ``and except leases of land held in trust for the 
     Morongo Band of Mission Indians which may be for a term of 
     not to exceed 50 years,'' before ``and except leases of land 
     for grazing purposes which may be for a term of not to exceed 
     ten years''.

     SEC. 6. COW CREEK BAND OF UMPQUA TRIBE OF INDIANS LEASING 
                   AUTHORITY.

       (a) Authorization for 99-Year Leases.--Subsection (a) of 
     the first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 
     415(a)), is amended in the second sentence by inserting ``and 
     lands held in trust for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of 
     Indians,'' after ``lands held in trust for the Confederated 
     Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon,''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall apply to any lease entered into or renewed after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 7. NEW SETTLEMENT COMMON STOCK ISSUED TO DESCENDANTS, 
                   LEFT-OUTS, AND ELDERS.

       Section 7 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 
     (Public Law 92-203; 85 Stat. 691), is amended--
       (1) by amending subsection (g)(1)(B)(iii) (43 U.S.C. 
     1606(g)(1)(B)(iii)), to read as follows:
       ``(iii) The amendment authorized by clause (i) may provide 
     that Settlement Common Stock issued to a Native pursuant to 
     such amendment (or stock issued in exchange for such 
     Settlement Common Stock pursuant to subsection (h)(3) of this 
     section or section 1626c(d) of this title) shall be subject 
     to one or more of the following:
       ``(I) Such stock shall be deemed canceled upon the death of 
     such Native, and no compensation for this cancellation shall 
     be paid to the estate of the deceased Native or to any person 
     holding stock.
       ``(II) Such stock shall carry limited or no voting rights.
       ``(III) Such stock shall not be transferred by gift as 
     provided in subparagraph (h)(1)(C)(iii).''; and
       (2) in subsection (h)(1)(C) (43 U.S.C. 1606(h)(1)(C)), by 
     striking ``Notwithstanding the restrictions'' and inserting 
     ``Expect as otherwise expressly provided in this chapter 
     and''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) and the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Smith) each will control 20 minutes.

[[Page H5491]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5680, introduced by our colleague, Mr. Grijalva, 
contains multiple proposals to address the needs of several Indian 
tribes and Alaska Native villages. I would like to commend Mr. Grijalva 
for his hard work on this legislation. Without his dedication and 
commitment, we would not be here this morning. Some of these provisions 
may seem small and insignificant, but they mean much to those they 
affect.
  Under this legislation, the Colorado River Indian Tribes would be 
authorized to receive funds from the Secretary of the Interior in order 
to establish and run an Office of Energy Development. Funds are 
available for such purposes under section 1(b) of the Act of June 1938. 
The establishment of an Office of Energy Development will allow the 
tribe to better oversee and manage the operation, management and funds 
derived from the BIA power system located on their reservation.
  This legislation would authorize the Gila River Indian Community to 
agree to mediation over construction contracts. It supports the right 
of an Indian tribe to dispose of land held in fee simple status. It 
further authorizes two Indian tribes to enter into long term leasing of 
tribal land. Finally, this legislation clarifies certain powers of 
Alaskan Native Regional Corporations with respect to the issuance of 
common stock.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 5680, as amended.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 5680 is a technical corrections bill amending several laws 
concerning Native Americans. This bill has six substantive sections 
that will increase tribal economic development in several western 
States, Michigan and also Alaska. The bill is supported by the 
administration, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  I must add, of course, that opening up American reserves of oil, 
natural gas, geothermal energy and oil shale here at home would also 
help economic development, not only for Native Americans, but for all 
Americans.
  Rather than devoting precious hours to legislation that covers a 
multitude of topics, and I understand many of them are necessary, 
others are more discretionary, I would ask, I would plead in fact as a 
member of the minority, that the leadership allow us the opportunity to 
vote on bills that would address the shortage of energy supply in our 
country.
  I will say that no single answer remains to solve our energy 
situation. That is why I believe so many sources of energy need to be 
on the table. We have heard various criticisms and various analogies, 
but the fact is that we need more energy supply. The economics point to 
that. The demands of our economy point to that. The checkbooks of every 
single American point to that. Households all across America, all 
across our economy need more access, more affordable access to energy.
  Congress ought not point a finger at those folks who they think use 
too much energy. Certainly I would not tell a farmer or rancher in my 
district of Nebraska they are caught up in consuming too much energy in 
producing food for America, or feed stocks for alternative energy. It 
takes energy to produce energy. Yes, I understand that, and we can do 
better with our policies.
  I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5680, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title was amended so as to read:
  ``A bill to amend certain laws relating to Native Americans, and for 
other purposes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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