[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 165 (Tuesday, December 14, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H8298-H8299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   99-YEAR TRIBAL LEASE AUTHORITY ACT

  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (S. 1448) to amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to 
authorize the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz 
Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and 
Siuslaw, the Klamath Tribes, and the Burns Paiute Tribe to obtain 99-
year lease authority for trust land.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1448

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

     SECTION 1. LEASES OF RESTRICTED LAND.

       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 ``land held in trust for the Coquille Indian Tribe, 
     land held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz 
     Indians, land held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of 
     the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, land held in 
     trust for the Klamath Tribes, and land held in trust for the 
     Burns Paiute Tribe,'' after ``lands held in trust for the 
     Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of 
     Oregon,''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Larsen) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that

[[Page H8299]]

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 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Under what is known as the Long Term Leasing Act, lands held in trust 
for Indian tribes may be leased for a variety of purposes for a term of 
no greater than 25 years, with an option for an additional 25 years if 
approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
  Often, tribes find that in order to operate more efficiently and to 
sustain economic development activities, they need to be able to lease 
trust lands for longer periods. In fact, through various acts of 
Congress, approximately 50 tribes have been granted the ability to 
issue leases not to exceed 99 years.
  The pending legislation would afford this extended leasing authority 
to several tribes in the State of Oregon.
  I want to commend our colleagues, Mr. DeFazio and Mr. Schrader from 
Oregon, for their work in getting this bill to the floor. I ask Members 
to support it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As a matter of policy, authorizing 99-year lease terms for tribes is 
a means of increasing tribal independence from the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs bureaucracy. Therefore, we have no objection to this bill.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 1448, 
legislation that will allow five Indian Tribes--the Coquille Indian 
Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated 
Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Suislaw, the Klamath Tribes, and 
the Burns Paiute Tribe--to enter into long-term leases for trust land.
  First, I want to commend Senator Jeff Merkley for his leadership on 
this issue. I also want to thank Senator Ron Wyden, Representative 
Peter DeFazio, and Representative Kurt Schrader, for their support and 
advocacy on behalf of the five Indian Tribes in the State of Oregon 
that are the subject of this legislation.
  Historically, since 1834, Congress prohibited land transactions with 
Indian Tribes unless specifically permitted. In 1955, under the Long-
Term Leasing Act, Congress permitted the leasing of Indian lands, but 
restricted the term of leases to no more than 25 years. Conditions for 
economic development and business opportunities have changed 
significantly and leases with terms of more than 25 years are now more 
desirable. As a result, 50 Indian Tribes have already petitioned 
Congress and have been granted authority to enter into long-term leases 
through amendments to the Long-Term Leasing Act. Another bill, S. 2906, 
to be considered later will add two more Indian Tribes from the State 
of Washington. I want to register my support for these bills.
  Extending the privileges of the Long-Term Leases Act to these Indian 
Tribes is very important since economic development and business 
opportunities underscore our government's longstanding responsibility 
to the Indian Tribes. This longstanding responsibility is to provide 
assistance to the Indian people in their efforts to break free from the 
devastating effects of extreme poverty and unemployment and achieve 
lasting economic self-sufficiency. Yet, high rates of unemployment and 
poverty continue to exist among Indian Tribes. And one of the main 
reasons has been the lack of effective control by the Indians over 
their own lands and resources.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, S. 1448 is identical to legislation that I 
introduced in the House of Representatives with Representative Schrader 
in March. The bill accomplishes two things: (1) It corrects a disparity 
between federally recognized tribes in Oregon in how these tribes lease 
land held in trust, and (2) it incentivizes long-term investment that 
will attract businesses and create jobs for Oregon tribes and nearby 
communities.
  Currently, four of the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon are 
able to lease land held in trust by the Federal Government for up to 99 
years without going through a maze of bureaucracy and red tape at the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs. The 99-year lease authority is crucial to 
attracting and retaining long-term investment, incentivizing economic 
development projects on trust land, and creating jobs for communities 
that need them the most.
  But five of Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes--the Coquille, 
the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz, the Confederated Tribes of the 
Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw, the Klamath, and the Burns Paiute do 
NOT have this important authority. These tribes are limited to 25-year 
leases or must rely on a lethargic BIA to approve longer leases on an 
individual basis.
  S. 1448 fixes this disparity and gives all nine federally recognized 
tribes the same authority to pursue economic development and job-
creating activities on land held in trust.
  The bill enjoys bipartisan support, has no opposition in the State of 
Oregon, and passed the U.S. Senate without amendment and by unanimous 
consent. This is a no-brainer. It's good for the Tribes. It's good for 
rural and tribal communities. The bill will create jobs and incentivize 
financial investment. I ask my colleagues to pass this bill today on 
suspension and send it to President Obama for his signature.
  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1448, 
which allows the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of 
Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and 
Siuslaw, the Klamath Tribes, and the Burns Palute Tribe to obtain a 99-
year lease authority.
  I thank Senator Merkley for introducing this legislation, and I also 
thank Chairman Rahall for bringing this bill to the floor today.
  This common sense legislation will allow these tribes in Oregon to 
continue their lease authority for 99 years. The tribes will be 
guaranteed to be able to live on their current land well into the next 
century.
  As a member of the Native American Caucus, I will continue to be an 
advocate for Native Americans. My home state of California is home to 
nearly 100 federally recognized tribes. I pledge to continue to work on 
behalf of all Native Americans in this Congress and the 112th Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 1448.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, again I want to urge our 
colleagues to support S. 1448, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 1448.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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