[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF LOWER BRULE AND CROW CREEK TRIBAL COMPENSATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN

                            of south dakota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 17, 2009

  Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to reintroduce 
the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Tribal Compensation Act. This bill would 
fully compensate the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and the Crow Creek Sioux 
Tribe in South Dakota for the lands that they lost as a result of the 
federal government's construction of the massive dams on the main stem 
of the Missouri River.
  The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe 
reservations border on the Missouri River in central South Dakota and 
are connected by the Big Bend Dam. The 1944 Flood Control Act flooded 
and devalued tribal lands. The flooding also took an enormous toll on 
the people of both tribes and their economies. It is critically 
important that we seek to fully reimburse these tribes for the lands 
they lost.
  Congress created a trust fund for the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in 1996, 
and a separate trust fund for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in 1997. 
These trust funds sought to compensate the tribes for the value of 
their land that is now permanently inundated as a result of the 
construction of the Big Bend Dam.
  Regrettably, the compensation amounts varied between separate but 
similarly-situated tribes along the Missouri River. The result was 
unfair and inadequate compensation trust funds for Lower Brule and Crow 
Creek, and therefore, Congress should revisit the compensation levels 
provided to these tribes in the 1990s. This act is designed to create 
consistency among the affected tribes and to bring some long-overdue 
closure to the people of Lower Brule and Crow Creek.
  Compensation for these tribes would give the tribes the tools they 
need for economic recovery in the face of lasting impacts from the 1944 
Flood Control Act. This compensation would enable the tribe to improve 
their community facilities and fix their roads. It would mean better 
health care and newer schools. Most importantly, it would mean a real 
chance for these tribes to provide future generations with the tools 
that so many of us take for granted.
  I am hopeful that the House will move quickly in the 111th Congress 
to advance this important legislation. An earlier version of this bill 
was reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in the 108th 
Congress and ultimately passed the Senate. In the 109th Congress it was 
amended in the Senate after further hearings and then reported. In the 
110th Congress, the Committee on Natural Resources Water and Power 
Subcommittee held a legislative hearing on an identical bill.
  In closing, I respectfully ask my colleagues to support the Lower 
Brule and Crow Creek Tribal Compensation Act and work with me to enact 
legislation that would fairly and appropriately compensate members of 
the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Sioux Tribes.

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