[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 165 (Tuesday, December 14, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H8299-H8300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MODIFYING TRIBAL LEASE PROVISIONS

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 2906) to amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify a 
provision relating to leases involving certain Indian tribes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 2906

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

     SECTION 1. LEASES INVOLVING CERTAIN INDIAN TRIBES.

       The first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 
     415), is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), in the second sentence, by inserting 
     ``and land held in trust for the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, 
     the Puyallup Tribe of Indians,'' after ``the Kalispel Indian 
     Reservation''; and
       (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ``, the Puyallup Tribe 
     of Indians, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, or the 
     Kalispel Tribe of Indians'' after ``Tulalip Tribes''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. RAHALL. 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 
gentleman from West Virginia?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1420

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as with the bill we just considered, the pending 
legislation would amend the long-term leasing act to allow several 
tribes, in this case located in Washington State, to issue leases for 
trust lands for terms not to exceed 99 years. As business opportunities 
and economic considerations

[[Page H8300]]

change over time, leases longer than what is allowed in current law are 
often necessary to facilitate economic development on trust lands.
  In closing, this legislation would advance tribal sovereignty, 
promote job growth, and speed up business deals. I want to commend our 
colleague, Representative Adam Smith, who has pressed for passage of S. 
2906.
  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 support of S. 2906, 
legislation to amend certain provisions of the Long-Term Leasing Act of 
1955 for the benefits of the three Washington State Indian tribes, the 
Kalispel Tribe and the Puyallup Tribe, and the Swinomish Tribal 
Community.
  First I want to commend Senator Maria Cantwell for her leadership. I 
also want to thank Senator Pat Murray, Representative  Adam Smith, and 
Representative Norman Dicks, for their support and advocacy on behalf 
of the Indian Tribes in the State of Washington.
  Similar to S. 1448, this bill will amend the Long-Term Leasing Act of 
1955, to add three more Indian Tribes from the State of Washington to 
the list of Indian Tribes that have been granted authority to enter 
into long-term leases of up to 99 years.
  Conditions for economic development and business opportunities have 
significantly changed since Congress passed the Long-Term Leases Act in 
1955. The current economic downturn has certainly exacerbated already 
deteriorating economic conditions for many of the Indian tribes. As 
such, extending the privileges of the Long-Term Leases Act is essential 
for economic development and business opportunities. It is the 
longstanding responsibility of our Federal Government to provide 
assistance to the Indian people in their efforts to improve their 
economic conditions and maximize business opportunities for the 
betterment of the Indian people.
  I urge my colleagues to pass S. 2906.
  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding and I rise in strong support of S. 2906, a bill introduced by 
Senator Cantwell that is the companion to H.R. 4401, which I introduced 
in the House last year.
  S. 2906 amends the Indian Long-Term Leasing Act for the benefit of 
three federally recognized Tribes in the State of Washington: the 
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, and 
the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, which is in my district.
  Specifically, this legislation amends the leasing act to allow the 
Puyallup Tribe and the Kalispel Tribe to enter into 99 year business 
leases. Currently, these Tribes are limited to 25 year business leases.
  Additionally, S. 2906 eliminates the requirement that the Puyallup 
Tribe, the Kalispel Tribe, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community 
seek the approval of the Secretary of the Interior for every business 
deal involving tribal lands.
  Under S. 2906, the Tribes will adopt leasing regulations, to be 
approved by the Department of the Interior. Once the Department 
approves the Tribal regulations, the Department will be relieved of its 
obligations to approve the Tribes' leases of less than 75 years and the 
Tribe will then be required to follow its own leasing regulations for 
leases of its land. The Department will still retain the authority to 
review and approve leases of Tribal lands for more than 75 years.
  This bill is tremendously important to the Puyallup Tribe in my 
district, as it will enable the Tribe to move forward with its plans to 
develop a marine terminal on its land in the Port of Tacoma.
  The shipping terminal will be the largest economic development and 
job-creation project the Tribe has undertaken, and when fully 
constructed, will be the largest international container terminal 
facility in the Pacific Northwest. This project will provide tremendous 
benefits both to the Puyallup Tribe as well as the South Puget Sound 
economy.
  Unfortunately, until now, the Tribe has found it difficult to engage 
and move forward with business partners in furthering the terminal 
project because of the burdensome and uncertain bureaucratic process of 
obtaining Interior approval for the deals.
  Passage of S. 2906 will ensure that that the Tribe and its business 
partners will have certainty in moving forward with this and other 
business opportunities that will enhance the economy of the Puyallup 
Tribe and the Port of Tacoma, and will help to spur job creation in the 
South Puget Sound region.
  I thank the Chairman and Ranking Member for their help in advancing 
this legislation, and I ask for my colleagues' support for the passage 
of S. 2906.
  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2906, 
which allows the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and the Puyallup Tribe of 
Indians to lease land placed in trust for a term greater than 25 years. 
This legislation further allows the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the 
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and the Kalispel Tribe of Indians to 
lease restricted lands under certain conditions without requiring the 
Secretary of the Interior's approval.
  I thank Senator Cantwell for introducing this legislation, and I also 
thank Chairman Rahall for bringing this bill to the floor today.
  As a member of the Native American Caucus, I have worked with my 
colleagues in Congress to address the needs of all Native Americans. 
While the legislation before us today affects three tribes in 
Washington State, I will continue to work on behalf of the nearly 100 
federally recognized tribes in California and all tribes across the 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 2906.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of our time.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 2906.
  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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