[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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