[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 84 (Monday, May 20, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         MASHPEE WAMPANOAG TRIBE RESERVATION REAFFIRMATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 15, 2019

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following 
Congressional Budget Office communication regarding H.R. 312.

                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                     Washington, DC, May 16, 2019.
     Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 312, the Mashpee 
     Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Mark P. Hadley,
                                       (For Keith Hall, Director).
       Enclosure.

 H.R. 312, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act--May 
                                15, 2019

                  [By fiscal year, millions of dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            2019    2019-2024  2019-2029
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Spending (Outlays)..............          0          0          0
Revenues...............................          0          0          0
Deficit Effect.........................          0          0          0
Spending Subject to Appropriation                0          *       n.e.
 (Outlays).............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

       Pay-as-you-go procedures apply? No
       Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 
     10-year periods beginning in 2030? No
       Mandate Effects
       Contains intergovernmental mandate? Yes, Under Threshold
       Contains private-sector mandate? Yes, Under Threshold
       n.e. = not estimated; * = between zero and $500,000.
       H.R. 312 would ratify and reaffirm the status of land taken 
     into trust in 2015 by the Department of the Interior (DOI) 
     for the benefit of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in 
     Massachusetts. The act also would prohibit any lawsuits, 
     including pending lawsuits, related to that land.
       DOI is currently holding the land in trust pending ongoing 
     legal review of the acquisition. Using information from DOI, 
     CBO estimates that implementing the act would have no 
     significant effect on the costs of managing the land.
       By prohibiting pending and future lawsuits, H.R. 312 would 
     end rights of action related to the land held in trust for 
     the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts that are 
     available to public and private entities under current law. 
     That prohibition imposes both an intergovernmental and 
     private-sector mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
     Reform Act (UMRA). The cost of the mandates would be the 
     forgone value of compensation and settlements associated with 
     such legal actions if they would have been successful under 
     current law. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of 
     Taunton, and the Town of Mashpee have each entered into 
     agreements with the tribe related to the use of the land. In 
     light of those agreements as well as the land's reported 
     value, CBO expects that under current law it is unlikely that 
     any entity would bring an action resulting in compensation 
     that would exceed the annual thresholds established in UMRA. 
     In 2019 those thresholds totaled $82 million for 
     intergovernmental mandates and $164 million for private-
     sector mandates, adjusted annually for inflation.
       The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jon Sperl (for 
     federal costs) and Rachel Austin (for mandates). The estimate 
     was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 
     Director for Budget Analysis.

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