[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2225-H2226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                              {time}  1400
 YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO AND ALABAMA-COUSHATTA TRIBES OF TEXAS EQUAL AND 
                          FAIR OPPORTUNITY ACT

  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2208) to restore an opportunity for tribal economic 
development on terms that are equal and fair, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2208

       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 ``Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and 
     Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.

       The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian 
     Tribes of Texas Restoration Act (Public Law 100-89; 101 Stat. 
     666) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 301. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

       ``Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude or 
     limit the applicability of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
     (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).''.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. SOTO. Madam 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 Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 2208, introduced by Representative Veronica 
Escobar from Texas, amends the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and 
Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act of 1987 to clarify 
that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act applies to both the Pueblo and 
the Tribe.
  The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas was federally terminated in 
1954. This wrong was followed in 1968 by termination of the Ysleta del 
Sur Pueblo, also known as the Tigua Tribe. Congress rightfully restored 
both the Pueblo and the Tribe by enacting the aforementioned 
Restoration Act of 1987.
  The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was enacted just one year later, in 
1988. The framework that it created should have applied to both the 
Pueblo and the Tribe, just as it did to every other Tribe.
  However, since the Restoration Act was passed at a time when Indian 
gaming was just emerging and Federal regulations had not yet been 
implemented, it contains a section regarding gaming.
  We know from the Congressional Record that the intent of this section 
of the Restoration Act was to clarify Indian gaming policy at the time, 
not to completely prohibit gaming on these lands in perpetuity.
  But that is what is occurring. The language in the Restoration Act 
has been used by the State of Texas to repeatedly stymie the Pueblo's 
and the Tribe's ability to engage in class II gaming, much to the 
detriment of the economic health and well-being of both the Pueblo and 
the Tribe.
  Additionally, the only other federally recognized Tribe in Texas, the 
Kickapoo Traditional Tribe, is allowed to operate a class II gaming 
facility, as they were restored by Congress in 1983, without any type 
of gaming restrictions.
  H.R. 2208 remedies this inequality by clarifying that the Pueblo and 
the Tribe, like the Kickapoo, have the same rights and responsibilities 
under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act as virtually every other 
federally recognized Tribe in the United States.
  This legislation confers no new or special rights to the Pueblo or 
the Tribe, nor does it in any way limit the existing rights of the 
State of Texas. This is simply a matter of parity and fairness, and I 
urge adoption of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2208, sponsored by my colleague from Texas (Ms. 
Escobar), would amend the act of Congress that restored the Federal 
recognition of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of 
Texas.
  The amendment would override a gaming limitation imposed by Congress 
on the Tribes, thereby authorizing the Tribes to operate casinos 
regulated not under Texas law, as Federal law currently provides, but 
under the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.
  The question of whether Texas law or the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 
applies to the two Tribes is no longer under serious dispute. Federal 
courts have settled the question, and the result of the litigation is 
that the two Tribes may not conduct gaming under the Indian Gaming 
Regulatory Act, unless Congress enacts a measure to allow them to do 
so.
  The bill enjoys significant local support in the communities around 
the reservations of the two Tribes, and the members who represent the 
Tribes strongly support enactment of the measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Escobar).
  Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on my colleagues to 
support H.R. 2208, the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta 
Tribes of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Act.
  On March 26 of this year, I introduced this important bipartisan bill 
with my colleague, Representative Tony Gonzales from the Texas 23rd 
Congressional District, to ensure that Native American Tribes are 
covered by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
  Specifically, this bipartisan bill aims to correct a problem of 
exclusion that has been affecting only two Tribes in the entire United 
States--the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and the Alabama-Coushatta Indian 
Tribes of Texas--since 1987, when Congress passed the Restoration Act 
and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
  The passage of these 1987 laws inadvertently created uncertainty 
about which law these Tribes were covered under and what gaming 
activities they were allowed to offer on their reservations.
  Passed in this Chamber during the 116th Congress, this bill offers a 
commonsense solution that will ensure that the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo 
and Alabama-Coushatta Tribes are covered by the Indiana Gaming 
Regulatory Act, which would provide these Native American communities 
with a critical economic lifeline and an opportunity to recover from 
the harmful inequity that they have faced.
  Simply put, this bill would provide fairness for these two Tribes, 
like the only other federally recognized Tribe in our State, the 
Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in protecting our Native American 
Tribes' sovereignty and ensuring that they have the ability to engage 
in the same way other Tribes are able to.
  The coronavirus pandemic has impacted everyone, but the economic and 
health crisis has been devastating to our Tribes, and this bill offers 
an opportunity for them to safely rebuild their economies. The reason 
our Tribes have suffered so disproportionately is because of long-term 
disinvestment and generational lack of adequate access to healthcare 
and economic assistance.
  Communities around the country are eager to repair their economies 
following the impact of COVID-19, and our Tribes are no different. But 
they need the clarity this bill would provide so that they can better 
control their economic future.
  The parity this bill would create for these Tribes would also create 
long overdue opportunities for them to succeed by supporting job 
creation and their ability to generate revenue that would fund new 
housing, educational programs, and medical facilities for their people 
and the surrounding communities, among so many other things.
  Now, more than ever, more must be done to protect other Native 
American Tribes, their families, businesses, and their economic 
prosperity.

[[Page H2226]]

  By passing this bill, Congress would finally grant the Ysleta del Sur 
Pueblo and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes the rights, opportunities, and 
stability they have long been denied.
  Therefore, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this important piece of 
legislation, and I am grateful to the leaders in the committee for 
their support.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the dean of the House.
  Mr. YOUNG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member, chairman, and the 
sponsor for this legislation.
  It is a strange thing. If you hang around here long enough, you keep 
seeing the other end of your tail. We introduced these bills, and there 
was never any intention to exclude these two Tribes, never.
  When Mo Udall and I started the gaming law, everybody thought we were 
nuts. It has worked. But never were these two Tribes to be excluded. In 
fact, this legislation rectifies that problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to be a sponsor of the legislation, who 
worked with you to try to get this done. This will be justice served to 
all.
  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, I am prepared to 
close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I support this bipartisan 
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank both Representative Escobar and Representative 
Gonzales for their leadership to right this wrong, this injustice.
  I thank the dean of the House, Representative Young, for his very 
informative history lesson on the legislation. I also thank Ranking 
Member Westerman for his bipartisan support.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support the legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cuellar). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2208.
  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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