[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 31 (Monday, February 23, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2362-S2363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HOH INDIAN TRIBE SAFE HOMELANDS ACT

  Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I rise today in support of the 
introduction of the Hoh Indian Tribe Safe Homelands Act, introduced by 
Senator Murray and myself on Friday, February 13, 2009. This piece of 
legislation is needed so that the Hoh tribe can move their village out 
of harm's way.
  The Hoh tribe occupies a 1-square-mile reservation on the banks of 
the Hoh River where it meets the Pacific Ocean in Washington State. Due 
to repeated storms, heavy rain, and the movement of the Hoh River, the 
tribe's village is threatened with flooding every winter. Ninety 
percent of the reservation now sits in a flood plain, and 100 percent 
of the land they reside on sits within a tsunami zone.
  Many of the buildings located on the existing reservation are 
permanently sandbagged due to the threat of flooding, and several 
houses have been lost to the river over the last 10 years. The tribe's 
wastewater treatment plant has also been threatened by flooding on 
multiple occasions.
  This legislation will allow the tribe to move out of danger by 
transferring a 26 acre piece of Federal land to the tribe. This parcel 
of land is needed to connect the existing reservation with land the 
tribe has obtained on their own. Once the old village is collected with 
the land the tribe already owns they can move their entire village out 
of harm's way.
  Transferring ownership of a piece of Federal land should never be 
taken

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lightly, and this case is no exception. However, the Hoh tribe is in a 
desperate situation. By transferring this small piece of land to the 
tribe and taking it into trust we can help the tribe remove themselves 
from a dangerous situation.

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