[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 138 (Thursday, November 13, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H7951-H7952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TRIBAL LAND EXCHANGE ACT
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 4867) to provide for certain land to be taken into
trust for the benefit of Morongo Band of Mission 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. 4867
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Economic Development Through
Tribal Land Exchange Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions
apply:
(1) Banning.--The term ``Banning'' means the City of
Banning, which is located in Riverside County, California
adjacent to the Morongo Indian Reservation.
(2) Fields.--The term ``Fields'' means Lloyd L. Fields, the
owner of record of Parcel A.
(3) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled `Morongo
Indian Reservation, County of Riverside, State of California
Land Exchange Map', and dated May 22, 2014, which is on file
in the Bureau of Land Management State Office in Sacramento,
California.
(4) Parcel a.--The term ``Parcel A'' means the
approximately 41.15 acres designated on the map as ``Fields
lands''.
(5) Parcel b.--The term ``Parcel B'' means the
approximately 41.15 acres designated on the map as ``Morongo
lands''.
(6) Parcel c.--The term ``Parcel C'' means the
approximately 1.21 acres designated on the map as ``Banning
land''.
(7) Parcel d.--The term ``Parcel D'' means the
approximately 1.76 acres designated on the map as ``Easement
to Banning''.
(8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(9) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Morongo Band of
Mission Indians, a federally recognized Indian tribe.
SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF LANDS; TRUST LANDS, EASEMENT.
(a) Transfer of Parcel A and Parcel B and Easement Over
Parcel D.--Subject to any valid existing rights of any third
parties and to legal review and approval of the form and
content of any and all instruments of conveyance and policies
of title insurance, upon receipt by the Secretary of
confirmation that Fields has duly executed and deposited with
a mutually acceptable and jointly instructed escrow holder in
California a deed conveying clear and unencumbered title to
Parcel A to the United States in trust for the exclusive use
and benefit of the Tribe, and upon receipt by Fields of
confirmation that the Secretary has duly executed and
deposited into escrow with the same mutually acceptable and
jointly instructed escrow holder a patent conveying clear and
unencumbered title in fee simple to Parcel B to Fields and
has duly executed and deposited into escrow with the same
mutually acceptable and jointly instructed escrow holder an
easement to the City for a public right-of-way over Parcel D,
the Secretary shall instruct the escrow holder to
simultaneously cause--
(1) the patent to Parcel B to be recorded and issued to
Fields;
(2) the easement over Parcel D to be recorded and issued to
the City; and
(3) the deed to Parcel A to be delivered to the Secretary,
who shall immediately cause said deed to be recorded and held
in trust for the Tribe.
(b) Transfer of Parcel C.--After the simultaneous transfer
of parcels A, B, and D under subsection (a), upon receipt by
the Secretary of confirmation that the City has vacated its
interest in Parcel C pursuant to all applicable State and
local laws, the Secretary shall immediately cause Parcel C to
be held in trust for the Tribe subject to--
(1) any valid existing rights of any third parties; and
(2) legal review and approval of the form and content of
any and all instruments of conveyance.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Alaska (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alaska.
General Leave
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days 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 Alaska?
There was no objection.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
H.R. 4867 authorizes an acre-for-acre land exchange between the
Morongo Band of Mission Indians and a non-Indian landowner to resolve a
land use and access dispute.
Under the exchange, the private landowner would transfer clear title
to a 41-acre parcel of land he currently owns within the Morongo
Reservation, which is located in the State of California, to the
Secretary of the Interior, who would then hold the land in trust for
the benefit of the tribe. The Secretary would simultaneously transfer
to the private landowner clear title to a 41-acre parcel of the tribe's
trust land on the edge of the reservation, affording reasonable access
for his economic use of the property. The bill additionally authorizes
conveyances of easements by the tribe and the city of Banning to
address certain city and tribal needs.
The Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing
on H.R. 4867, which was followed by Natural Resources Committee
approval by
[[Page H7952]]
unanimous consent. This legislation is noncontroversial, and I urge the
House to pass this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to commend my colleague, Representative Ruiz of California,
for sponsoring this legislation, for working so hard to bring all of
the diverse interests to the table, and for coming up with a
noncontroversial, bipartisan solution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Ruiz) to speak on his legislation.
Mr. RUIZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the gentleman
from Arizona for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in support of my bill, H.R. 4867, the
Economic Development Through Tribal Land Exchange Act, which is a
noncontroversial, bipartisan bill that passed unanimously out of the
House Natural Resources Committee and is supported by the Department of
the Interior.
The bill would aid economic development in the city of Banning,
California, through a land swap, supported by all of the parties
involved. Currently, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and a private
landowner, Mr. Lloyd Fields, would like to exchange two parcels of land
which are nearly identical in size and value, but they are restrained
from doing so because one of the parcels is currently held in trust by
the United States on behalf of the tribe.
My bill facilitates an equitable land swap between the Morongo Tribe
and the landowner to provide more consolidated reservation land for the
tribe and commercial development opportunities for the landowner, the
city of Banning and Riverside County.
The bill is consistent with the Department of the Interior's policy
of promoting land consolidation within Indian country and facilitating
economic development. We can all support this type of commonsense,
bipartisan legislation for the simple reason that it benefits all
parties involved and spurs job creation.
This bill serves as a model for how land use issues can be addressed
by a community's coming together while upholding the sacred government-
to-government relationship between the Federal Government and Indian
tribes.
I would like to thank Chairman Robert Martin of the Morongo Band of
Mission Indians in the city of Banning for bringing this issue to my
attention; my colleague, Representative Paul Cook from California, for
being an original cosponsor; and Senator Boxer from California for
introducing the companion bill. I would also like to thank the
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs' Chairman Young and
Ranking Member Hanabusa for holding a hearing on this bill as well as
to thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member DeFazio for considering
this bill in committee and for their help in bringing it to the floor
today.
I urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 4867, the Economic Development Through
Tribal Land Exchange Act.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. 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 Alaska (Mr. Young) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 4867, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________