[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 79 (Tuesday, May 15, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3953-H3954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 OREGON TRIBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (S. 1285) to allow the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower 
Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde 
Community of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of 
Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Cow Creek Band of 
Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the Klamath Tribes, and the Burns Paiute 
Tribes to lease or transfer certain lands.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1285

       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 ``Oregon Tribal Economic 
     Development Act''.

     SEC. 2. APPROVAL NOT REQUIRED TO VALIDATE LAND TRANSACTIONS.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, without further approval, ratification, or authorization 
     by the United States, the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower 
     Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the 
     Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of 
     Siletz Indians of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Warm 
     Springs, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the 
     Klamath Tribes, and the Burns Paiute Tribes may lease, sell, 
     convey, warrant, or otherwise transfer all or any part of its 
     interests in any real property that is not held in trust by 
     the United States for the benefit of such tribe.
       (b) Trust Land Not Affected.--Nothing in this section 
     shall--
       (1) authorize the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower 
     Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the 
     Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of 
     Siletz Indians of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Warm 
     Springs, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the 
     Klamath Tribes, and the Burns Paiute Tribes to lease, sell, 
     convey, warrant, or otherwise transfer all or any part of an 
     interest in any real property that is held in trust by the 
     United States for the benefit of such tribe; or
       (2) affect the operation of any law governing leasing, 
     selling, conveying, warranting, or otherwise transferring any 
     interest in such trust land.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Bishop) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. 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 Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to speak to this particular piece of 
legislation.
  This bill will clarify that five recognized tribes in the State of 
Oregon may buy, sell, lease, or otherwise convey land that they own in 
fee without approval from the Federal Government.
  Some of the earliest laws passed by Congress after the ratification 
of the Constitution reserves to the United States the exclusive right 
to acquire Indian lands. These laws are commonly called the Trade and 
Intercourse Acts.
  The acts were meant to protect Indian tribes by preventing the loss 
of their lands, except by treaty. It does so by preventing the 
transfer, sale, lease, or other conveyance of land owned by an Indian 
tribe to third parties without Federal approval.
  This bill, S. 1285, would clarify that the five tribes named in this 
bill may do this job without Federal review or approval.
  The bill benefits other tribes in a similar fashion were also 
considered by the Natural Resources Committee and enacted into law 
during the 106th, 113th, and 114th Congresses as well. This particular 
bill, which passed by unanimous consent in December, truly shows that 
despite what some Members are quoted as saying in the press, the 
Natural Resources Committee is, in fact, still a productive committee 
after all.
  In fact, we have been the most active House committee next to the 
Rules Committee. We have already marked up 147 bills and reported out 
114 of these bills. No other committee has reached the 100 mark. I 
guess that is a plus. If it is, then we did it. The House has passed 92 
of these bills, and 23 have been signed into law. We hope to change 
that to 93 and 24 respectively.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  First, I want to congratulate the chairman on having a productive 
committee. I appreciate that one of those bills was from our own 
office. We will keep them coming, hopefully.
  Back to the bill at hand. Almost 200 years ago, the Indian 
Nonintercourse Act was enacted with the intention of protecting Indian 
tribes by preventing the loss of their lands. It does so by preventing 
the transfer, sale, lease, or other conveyance of any land owned by an 
Indian tribe to third parties without Federal approval. This 
prohibition applies to both trust and tribally owned fee lands.
  Although a number of laws have been passed over the centuries that 
effectively supersede the Nonintercourse Act, the actual act has never 
been repealed. Therefore, relief from the act is sometimes necessary so 
that a tribe may manage their fee lands efficiently and put them to 
productive use.
  This is what S. 1285 would do. It clarifies that these seven Oregon 
tribes have the authority to lease, sell, convey, warrant, or otherwise 
transfer their tribally owned fee lands without approval from the 
Federal Government. The bill also clarifies that this authority does 
not apply to trust lands. Congress has previously enacted similar laws 
for other Indian tribes, so this measure is not unprecedented.
  In closing, I want to thank our colleague from Oregon, Congressman 
Peter DeFazio, for his sponsorship of the House version of this bill 
and his leadership on this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. 
I have no other speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1285, the Senate 
companion to my bipartisan bill, H.R. 3225, the Oregon Tribal Economic 
Development Act.
  Last year a federally-recognized tribe in my District, the 
Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw, alerted me 
that it was unable to obtain a commercial mortgage to purchase a 
storage unit facility.
  A local financial institution was concerned that under the arcane 
Indian Non-Intercourse Act (INIA), it was afraid it would not be able 
to repossess the property should the tribe be unable to make mortgage 
payments.
  Many of my colleagues are not familiar with the INIA, with good 
reason. The law is over 180 years old, and prohibits a tribe from 
buying, selling or leasing land. Under the law, Congress, not the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, is required to approve every potential 
transaction.
  Typically, the INIA has not prevented tribes from buying, selling or 
leasing land. However, some financial institutions, as in the case in 
my District, have interpreted it to mean that Congress act.

[[Page H3954]]

  Over the years, Congress has appropriately passed laws excluding 
individual tribes from the INIA. First, the INIA is completely 
unworkable. Congress has a hard enough time passing legislation, for 
better or worse, that affects thousands or millions of Americans. It is 
not remotely possible we could pass a law every time a tribe requests 
to buy, sell or lease property.
  Additionally, the INIA is a road block to a tribe's economic 
development. For hundreds of years, terrible federal Indian policy 
decimated tribes through displacement, disease, and discrimination. In 
my District, the INIA made it impossible for the Tribe to function as 
the sovereign nation it is to benefit its members. S. 1285 would 
clarify that INIA does not apply to five Oregon tribes, and only in the 
case of fee land. Land held in trust is not affected by this bill. It 
is bipartisan, and does not cost the government a dime.
  It is past time to ensure Oregon tribes are allowed to engage in real 
property transactions without the threat of a 180 year-old law standing 
in the way.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, S. 1285.
  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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