[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 170 (Tuesday, December 3, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H7420-H7421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SHINGLE SPRINGS BAND OF MIWOK INDIANS LAND TRUST

  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2388) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to take 
certain Federal lands located in El Dorado County, California, into 
trust for the benefit of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and 
for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2388

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

     SECTION 1. LAND INTO TRUST FOR THE SHINGLE SPRINGS BAND OF 
                   MIWOK INDIANS.

       (a) In General.--The land described in subsection (b) is 
     hereby taken into trust for the benefit of the Shingle 
     Springs Band of Miwok Indians, subject to valid existing 
     rights and management agreements related to easements and 
     rights-of-way.
       (b) Land Description.--The land taken into trust pursuant 
     to subsection (a) is the approximately 40.852 acres of 
     Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the 
     Bureau of Land Management identified as ``Conveyance 
     boundary'' on the map titled ``Shingle Springs Land 
     Conveyance/Draft'' and dated June 7, 2012, including 
     improvements and appurtenances thereto.
       (c) Gaming.--Class II and class III gaming under the Indian 
     Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) shall not be 
     permitted at any time on the land taken into trust pursuant 
     to subsection (a).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. McClintock) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Grijalva) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. McCLINTOCK. 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 California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians occupies a 
Federal reservation in the Sierra foothills in El Dorado County, 
California. They lost much of their land when Highway 50 was 
constructed through the reservation several decades ago. They were left 
with enough land to eventually build a successful casino, but have very 
little additional space for tribal housing.
  Adjacent to their reservation is a 40-acre abandoned and landlocked 
property. I say ``abandoned'' because it was never developed, and it is 
presently dangerously overgrown with scrub brush that is just waiting 
to become a wildfire, which could rapidly spread either to the existing 
reservation or to an adjacent residential neighborhood.

                              {time}  1330

  As it turns out, this abandoned parcel is owned by the Bureau of Land 
Management. The Bureau of Land Management didn't even know that it 
owned the property when the Miwok first approached it about this 
matter. In fact, I am told the BLM actually had to be convinced that it 
does, indeed, own the land that it has obviously never managed.
  The Miwok would like to acquire this parcel for the reservation, 
making up some of the land they lost due to the construction of Highway 
50. It would be used for tribal housing, and the bill specifically 
forbids its use for gambling, a condition that the Shingle Springs Band 
has agreed to.
  The parcel is untended, overgrown, and unused, and this land transfer

[[Page H7421]]

would put it to productive use for reservation housing, use fully 
compatible with adjacent land usage. Indeed, by doing so, the tribe 
will be removing a major risk for both the reservation and the nearby 
community. Access would be through the existing reservation to avoid 
any impact on the existing neighborhood, and the tribe is committed to 
working with the nearby homeowners association to assure that it 
doesn't affect the rural nature of the community.
  The property is on unincorporated county land, and the County Board 
of Supervisors, which is the land use planning agency with jurisdiction 
over this land, fully supports the transfer.
  The administration supports my bill. I urge adoption of the 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians is a federally recognized 
Indian tribe with a reservation located 40 miles east of Sacramento. 
The band is currently in need of housing to accommodate its growing 
membership and identified approximately 41 acres of land currently 
managed by the Bureau of Land Management for placement into trust. The 
band anticipates designing a residential community with community 
buildings and recreational facilities within that community and will 
also consider nongaming economic development, as well.
  H.R. 2388 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to take the 
land into trust and would explicitly prohibit class 2 and class 3 
gaming activities on these lands once they are placed into trust.
  The County of El Dorado supports the band's efforts to secure the BLM 
property in trust and has entered into a memorandum of understanding 
with the band.
  We support H.R. 2388 and these efforts, and I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman for 
yielding, and let me rise to indicate my recognition of the importance 
of this legislation and to support it.
  I want to make a point simply on this bill dealing with the Secretary 
of the Interior, that it is to study the issue of large parks, urban 
parks in our respective urban areas as being in the jurisdiction of the 
Secretary of the Interior, the Interior Department, because we are 
losing that park land because of the inability to collaborate with the 
Federal Government on the resources that are so necessary.
  I recognize that we are in sequestration, but I believe that it is 
important that we collaborate. I wanted to make sure that I put that on 
the record.
  Let me also put on the record, as a member of the Homeland Security 
Committee, my support for the TSA Loose Change Act, H.R. 1095; my 
support for H.R. 2719, the Transportation Acquisition Security Reform 
Act; and my special support for H.R. 1204, the Aviation Security 
Stakeholder Participation Act of 2013 because, in fact, that 
stakeholder committee is going to help provide more security for our 
TSA officers and have stakeholders dealing with issues like phones on 
airplanes and knives on airplanes. Certainly, guns are only held by the 
pilots in the pilot program. But it is going to be able to allow 
stakeholders to be able to have a real say in aviation security, and I 
think that is crucially important.
  Let me also acknowledge my support for the Undetectable Firearms Act 
of 1988 and its extension. I would hope that that bipartisan support, 
along with Mr. Coble, whom we have so much great respect for, will lead 
us to universal background checks and the passage of Federal 
legislation that would require all of us to store our guns. It is not 
difficult to provide or buy a simple safe to store your guns and to 
protect those from undue harm.
  I thank my colleague for yielding to me.
  My understanding is that we are here on the floor of the House to do 
work. Some people find it humorous when Members rise to the floor and 
add additional commentary dealing with their constituency and their 
work. And since I believe in working and I believe in working on behalf 
of my constituents, I am very grateful to the gentleman from Arizona 
recognizing the seriousness of which I make these points and allowing 
me to have this time on this legislation. I think all of us can 
recognize that when the floor is open, it is open for Members to come 
and make serious commentary about the work that they would hope this 
Congress would be able to do.
  I close by thanking the gentleman. He has many capacities, such as 
the cochair of the Progressive Caucus. I want to thank him for his 
leadership on immigration reform. And for those of us who were down 
with the Fast for Families, I again say that we pray for them. We pray 
that the hearts of this Congress will be touched, that we will be able 
to finish and complete comprehensive immigration reform, something my 
constituency is also now praying for on the steps of the city hall.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle for their support of this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2388, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to take 
certain Federal lands located in El Dorado County, California, into 
trust for the benefit of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and 
for other purposes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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