[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 69 (Monday, April 29, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H3290-H3291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COLUMBIA RIVER IN-LIEU AND TREATY FISHING ACCESS SITES IMPROVEMENT ACT

  Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 91) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to assess 
sanitation and safety conditions at Bureau of Indian Affairs facilities 
that were constructed to provide affected Columbia River Treaty tribes 
access to traditional fishing grounds and expend funds on construction 
of facilities and structures to improve those conditions, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 91

       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 ``Columbia River In-Lieu and 
     Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act''.

     SEC. 2. SANITATION AND SAFETY CONDITIONS AT CERTAIN BUREAU OF 
                   INDIAN AFFAIRS FACILITIES.

       (a) Assessment of Conditions.--The Secretary of the 
     Interior, acting through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in 
     consultation with the affected Columbia River Treaty tribes, 
     may assess current sanitation and safety conditions on lands 
     held by the United States for the benefit of the affected 
     Columbia River Treaty tribes, including all permanent Federal 
     structures and improvements on those lands, that were set 
     aside to provide affected Columbia River Treaty tribes access 
     to traditional fishing grounds--
       (1) in accordance with the Act of March 2, 1945 (59 Stat. 
     10, chapter 19) (commonly known as the ``River and Harbor Act 
     of 1945''); or
       (2) in accordance with title IV of Public Law 100-581 (102 
     Stat. 2944).
       (b) Exclusive Authorization; Contracts.--The Secretary of 
     the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Indian Affairs--
       (1) subject to paragraph (2)(B), shall be the only Federal 
     agency authorized to carry out the activities described in 
     this section; and
       (2) may delegate the authority to carry out activities 
     described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (d)--
       (A) through one or more contracts entered into with an 
     Indian Tribe or Tribal organization under the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et 
     seq.); or
       (B) to include other Federal agencies that have relevant 
     expertise.
       (c) Definition of Affected Columbia River Treaty Tribes.--
     In this section, the term ``affected Columbia River Treaty 
     tribes'' means the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes 
     of Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of 
     the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Confederated 
     Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior such sums 
     as are necessary, to remain available until expended--
       (1) for improvements to existing structures and 
     infrastructure to improve sanitation and safety conditions 
     assessed under subsection (a); and
       (2) to improve access to electricity, sewer, and water 
     infrastructure, where feasible, to reflect needs for sanitary 
     and safe use of facilities referred to in subsection (a).

     SEC. 3. STUDY OF ASSESSMENT AND IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES.

       The Comptroller General of the United States, in 
     consultation with the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 
     Senate, shall--
       (1) conduct a study to evaluate whether the sanitation and 
     safety conditions on lands held by the United States for the 
     benefit of the affected Columbia River Treaty tribes (as 
     defined in section 2(c)) have improved as a result of the 
     activities authorized in section 2; and
       (2) prepare and submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs 
     of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
     House of Representatives a report containing the results of 
     that study.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. VAN DREW. 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 measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 91 authorizes the Bureau of Indian Affairs to 
assess sanitation and safety conditions on land set aside to provide 
Columbia River Treaty Tribes access to traditional fishing grounds, and 
to enter into contracts with Tribes or Tribal organizations to improve 
the identified conditions.
  The Columbia River Treaty Tribes, through a series of treaties in 
1855, established access to ``usual and accustomed fishing areas'' and 
ancillary fishing facilities on the Columbia River.
  Starting in the 1930s, construction of the dams of the Columbia River 
Power System resulted in flooding and destruction of Tribal villages, 
homes, and traditional fishing sites, severely impacting the Tribal 
members' ability to exercise these treaty rights. The tribes and their 
citizens have never been fully compensated for their losses.
  In a series of agreements and laws starting in 1939, the Federal 
Government acquired and developed small parcels of land to serve as 
``in-lieu'' and treaty fishing access sites, providing members of the 
Columbia River Treaty Tribes access to exercise their rights to fish in 
the Columbia and reside at their traditional fishing places and fishing 
stations.

[[Page H3291]]

  Additionally, Congress enacted the Columbia River Treaty Fishing 
Access Sites project in 1988, which authorized improvements for the 
existing ancillary fishing facilities and directed the Army Corps of 
Engineers to acquire new lands to provide unencumbered river access for 
Tribal members.
  Today, there are 31 Tribal fishing sites located along the Columbia 
River, 27 of which are managed by the BIA. The sites were intended to 
be used primarily for in-season fishing and some temporary camping.
  However, out of both a need for housing and a desire to be closer to 
traditional fishing areas, many Tribal members now use these areas as 
permanent residences.

                              {time}  1645

  These sites were not designed for and cannot sustain this 
accommodated use. In fact, many people at these sites are living in 
extremely distressed, unsafe, and unsanitary conditions as a direct 
result of decades of unmet obligations by the BIA.
  Passage of H.R. 91 will result in vast improvements to the conditions 
of these sites. As such, I urge the quick adoption of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, even though H.R. 91 is a new bill, we have seen it 
before. The last time we were here, it was a Senate bill that came over 
and passed our committee but did not pass the floor itself. We did talk 
about it as part of a package we did earlier this year, that it could 
have gone in that. For some reason, it was not allowed to go in there.
  It does deal with four of the Columbia River Treaty Tribes and the 
conditions on their traditional fishing areas that are basically 
unsanitary and simply unsafe. What this bill does is authorize the 
Department of the Interior to upgrade these areas, to make them 
acceptable to safety and sanitary standards, and to do that in 
consultation with the Tribes.
  This bill is, in my estimation, a reasonable approach. I have no 
objection to passing this measure today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in 
yielding to me and the presentation that he made outlining the 
situation, along with Ranking Member Bishop, under whose leadership 
this legislation moved forward in the last Congress.
  It is long overdue. It is jarring to visit these in-lieu treaty 
sites. The notion that it is unsanitary and unsafe really understates 
the case.
  Along the Columbia River, I have passed one of these sites for years, 
never knowing that what may be a Tiger Woods three-iron shot off the 
freeway revealed these conditions.
  These are sites that have been used by the Tribes for millennia, and 
sadly, they were a casualty of the Columbia River dam construction. 
Those dams have produced significant economic prosperity in our region 
with jobs and agricultural activities, but the Native people have been 
left behind.
  There was a pledge that we would be able to accommodate their sites 
that were flooded, but that has been observed mainly in the breach. It 
has reached the point now where we have on each of these sites people 
who naturally want to gravitate to what is part of their tradition. 
There is, as was referenced, a need for Tribal housing, but the fishing 
experience, the proximity to the river, and this being part of their 
historic heritage draws them there.
  In many cases, they do have sites where people are living on a year-
round basis in conditions that really should not exist anywhere in 
America.
  It is interesting, when we started this saga two centuries ago, 
Native people had almost 2 billion acres that was theirs to hunt, to 
fish, to live, and there was some cultivation. The Federal Government, 
over a series of years and a series of treaties, narrowed that range. 
In fact, the Federal Government started giving away Native American 
people's land before there was even a treaty to White settlers.
  The history is checkered and disturbing. There have been acts that 
can only be described as genocide--disease, attacks on Native people, 
forced marches. We had our own Trail of Tears in the Pacific Northwest. 
And, consistently, we have not met our obligations to more recent 
treaties.
  I am pleased that the committee has brought this forward on a 
bipartisan basis. I am pleased that the administration is aligned with 
us in, it looks like, being able to move forward to deal with what 
needs to happen with some of these sites.

  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we have a partnership in the Senate 
with my friend and colleague, Senator Jeff Merkley, and Senator Patty 
Murray, who has been deeply involved with this, so that we are 
positioned to take action that is long overdue, keeping faith with the 
Tribal people, keeping faith with our commitment through history, being 
able to make sure that the progress that we have been working on here 
for 4 years is poised to move forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I deeply appreciate the work that has been done with the 
committee on a bipartisan basis to get us to this position. I look 
forward to its passage in the House and the Senate and being executed 
by the executive.
  It is going to make a big difference to people who are worthy and 
deserving of our best efforts.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, if I could inquire of the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Van Drew) if he has any more speakers. I don't 
have any other speakers.
  Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Columbia River 
In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act. This bill 
takes important steps to address an injustice that four Columbia River 
Tribes have faced for decades.
  Beginning in the 1930s, the construction of the Bonneville, John Day, 
and Dalles dams on the lower Columbia River flooded many homes and 
traditional fishing sites. The flooding displaced members of the 
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, 
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Nez Perce 
Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The 
Army Corps of Engineers designed 31 Columbia River Treaty Fishing 
Access Sites and ``in-lieu'' sites along the banks of the Columbia 
River to be used primarily for in-season fishing and temporary camping, 
but conditions have been extremely unsafe and unsanitary.
  This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to assess and 
update electricity, water, and sewer infrastructure at existing Bureau 
of Indian Affairs facilities that were constructed to provide treaty 
Tribes access to traditional fishing grounds. These Tribes have treaty 
rights to fishing access sites on the Columbia River and we must uphold 
our obligations to provide safe and sanitary housing and 
infrastructure. I thank Congressman Blumenauer and Senator Merkley for 
their leadership, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Van Drew) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 91.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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