[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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