[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 191 (Monday, November 1, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6041-H6043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         LUMBEE RECOGNITION ACT

  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 2758) to provide for the recognition of the Lumbee 
Tribe of North Carolina, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2758

       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 ``Lumbee Recognition Act''.

     SEC. 2. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

       The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254, chapter 375), is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking section 2;
       (2) in the first sentence of the first section, by striking 
     ``That the Indians'' and inserting the following:

     ``SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF LUMBEE INDIANS.

       ``The Indians'';
       (3) in the preamble--
       (A) by inserting before the first undesignated clause the 
     following:

     ``SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       ``Congress finds that--'';
       (B) by designating the undesignated clauses as paragraphs 
     (1) through (4), respectively, and indenting appropriately;
       (C) by striking ``Whereas'' each place it appears;
       (D) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of 
     each of paragraphs (1) and (2) (as so designated); and
       (E) in paragraph (4) (as so designated), by striking ``: 
     Now, therefore,'' and inserting a period;
       (4) by moving the enacting clause so as to appear before 
     section 1 (as so designated);
       (5) by striking the last sentence of section 3 (as 
     designated by paragraph (2));
       (6) by inserting before section 3 (as designated by 
     paragraph (2)) the following:

     ``SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this Act:
       ``(1) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       ``(2) Tribe.--The term `Tribe' means the Lumbee Tribe of 
     North Carolina or the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina.''; 
     and
       (7) by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

       ``(a) In General.--Federal recognition is extended to the 
     Tribe (as designated as petitioner number 65 by the Office of 
     Federal Acknowledgment).
       ``(b) Applicability of Laws.--All laws and regulations of 
     the United States of general application to Indians and 
     Indian tribes shall apply to the Tribe and its members.
       ``(c) Petition for Acknowledgment.--Notwithstanding section 
     3, any group of Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties, 
     North Carolina, whose members are not enrolled in the Tribe 
     (as determined under section 5(d)) may petition under part 83 
     of title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations for 
     acknowledgment of tribal existence.

     ``SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL SERVICES.

       ``(a) In General.--The Tribe and its members shall be 
     eligible for all services and benefits provided by the 
     Federal Government to federally recognized Indian tribes.
       ``(b) Service Area.--For the purpose of the delivery of 
     Federal services and benefits described in subsection (a), 
     those members of the Tribe residing in Robeson, Cumberland, 
     Hoke, and Scotland counties in North Carolina shall be deemed 
     to be residing on or near an Indian reservation.
       ``(c) Determination of Needs.--On verification by the 
     Secretary of a tribal roll under subsection (d), the 
     Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     shall--
       ``(1) develop, in consultation with the Tribe, a 
     determination of needs to provide the services for which 
     members of the Tribe are eligible; and
       ``(2) after the tribal roll is verified, each submit to 
     Congress a written statement of those needs.
       ``(d) Tribal Roll.--
       ``(1) In general.--For purpose of the delivery of Federal 
     services and benefits described in subsection (a), the tribal 
     roll in effect on the date of enactment of this section 
     shall, subject to verification by the Secretary, define the 
     service population of the Tribe.
       ``(2) Verification limitation and deadline.--The 
     verification by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall--
       ``(A) be limited to confirming documentary proof of 
     compliance with the membership criteria set out in the 
     constitution of the Tribe adopted on November 16, 2001; and
       ``(B) be completed not later than 2 years after the 
     submission of a digitized roll with supporting documentary 
     proof by the Tribe to the Secretary.

     ``SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION TO TAKE LAND INTO TRUST.

       ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Secretary is hereby authorized to take land into 
     trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
       ``(b) Treatment of Certain Land.--An application to take 
     into trust land located within Robeson County, North 
     Carolina, under this section shall be treated by the 
     Secretary as an `on reservation' trust acquisition under part 
     151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 
     regulation).

     ``SEC. 7. JURISDICTION OF STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.

       ``(a) In General.--With respect to land located within the 
     State of North Carolina that is owned by, or held in trust by 
     the United States for the benefit of, the Tribe, or any 
     dependent Indian community of the Tribe, the State of North 
     Carolina shall exercise jurisdiction over--
       ``(1) all criminal offenses that are committed; and
       ``(2) all civil actions that arise.
       ``(b) Transfer of Jurisdiction.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
     may accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 
     with the Attorney General of the United States, any transfer 
     by the State of North Carolina to the United States of any 
     portion of the jurisdiction of the State of North Carolina 
     described in subsection (a) over Indian country occupied by 
     the Tribe pursuant to an agreement between the Tribe and the 
     State of North Carolina.
       ``(2) Restriction.--A transfer of jurisdiction described in 
     paragraph (1) may not take effect until 2 years after the 
     effective date of the agreement described in that paragraph.
       ``(c) Effect.--Nothing in this section affects the 
     application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 
     1978 (25 U.S.C. 1919).

     ``SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
     necessary to carry out this Act.

     ``SEC. 9. SHORT TITLE.

       ``This Act may be cited as the `Lumbee Tribe of North 
     Carolina Recognition Act'.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. 
Westerman) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New Mexico.


                             General Leave

  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. 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 
gentlewoman from New Mexico?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 2758, the Lumbee Recognition Act, introduced by 
Representative Butterfield from North Carolina, will extend Federal 
recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
  With approximately 60,000 members, the Lumbee Tribe is the largest in 
North Carolina, the largest Tribe east of the Mississippi River, and 
the ninth largest Tribe in the Nation.
  In 1885, the Lumbee Tribe was recognized by the State of North 
Carolina.

[[Page H6042]]

The Tribe then sought Federal recognition from the United States in 
1889 and has been pursuing its recognition ever since.
  Over the past 130 years, numerous bills have been introduced in 
Congress to federally recognize the Lumbee people, resulting in a 
significant record of hearing transcripts and committee reports. In 
addition, numerous studies have been undertaken in academia on Lumbee 
ancestry, including reports filed by the Department of the Interior on 
the Tribe's validity.
  All of these documents and these reports consistently conclude one 
thing: The Lumbee people are indeed a distinct, self-governing 
community that has been continuously and undeniably present in the 
Robeson County area. However, in 1955, when the Lumbee Tribe once again 
sought Federal recognition, the U.S. Government was actively 
terminating its relationship with Tribal governments.
  To that end, the Department of the Interior recommended that Congress 
amend the recognition legislation to deny eligibility for the benefits 
and services available to the Tribe after becoming recognized under the 
bill. Congress then enacted this amended legislation in 1956, which had 
the effect of simultaneously federally recognizing the Lumbee Tribe and 
effectively terminating that recognition.
  In 1987, the Lumbee Tribe attempted to restore their Federal 
recognition through the Federal acknowledgment process at the 
Department of the Interior. However, the Department determined that the 
Tribe was ineligible to participate in the Federal acknowledgment 
process because Congress, according to the 1956 act, had terminated its 
relationship with the Tribe. Therefore, only Congress could restore 
that relationship. This is what the enactment of H.R. 2758 will 
accomplish.
  Federal recognition is the formal establishment of a government-to-
government relationship between the United States and a Tribal nation. 
Its importance to Tribes cannot be overstated.
  Federal recognition allows a Tribe to reestablish its homelands and 
place that land into trust for future generations. Recognizing Tribes 
as sovereign entities enables Tribal governments to manage resources, 
including local jurisdiction and taxation issues. Recognition also 
entitles Tribal citizens to distinctive benefits, including eligibility 
to participate in many Federal programs, including for healthcare and 
education.
  That is why the enactment of this legislation is vital to the Lumbee 
Tribe. Let's keep in mind that the Lumbee Tribe has been seeking formal 
Federal recognition for over 100 years. Now is the time.
  Other Tribes that were terminated by congressional action had come 
before Congress and had their relationship reestablished through 
legislation. After a century of inaction, it is finally time that we 
extend Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank Representative Butterfield for 
championing this bipartisan legislation. I urge its quick adoption, and 
I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 2758 would extend Federal recognition to the 
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and remove a bar that has prevented the 
Tribe from being federally recognized.
  Recognizing the Lumbee Tribe would make its members eligible for 
services, benefits, and immunities available to other federally 
recognized Indian Tribes. The bill would also establish a service area 
to deliver Federal programs to Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland 
Counties in North Carolina.
  In 1956, an act by Congress designated certain Indians as Lumbee 
Indians of North Carolina and declared that they shall enjoy all rights 
as citizens of the State of North Carolina and the United States. At 
the same time, the act made them ineligible for services available to 
recognized Tribes and makes Indian statutes inapplicable to them.
  This scheme has led to conflicting Department of the Interior 
solicitor opinions regarding whether the Lumbee Tribe may pursue 
administrative recognition. H.R. 2758 would resolve those conflicting 
administrative opinions and recognize the Tribe so that its Members can 
receive the benefits that other Tribes have.
  Madam Speaker, I want to thank Representative  Dan Bishop from the 
State of North Carolina for his leadership on the issue.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, let me first thank Congresswoman 
Leger Fernandez for her friendship, her extraordinary leadership, and 
her passionate leadership. The gentlewoman is a wonderful member of 
this body, and I thank her so much for all that she does. She and I 
serve on another committee together, the Elections Subcommittee, and I 
have seen her in action.

  Madam Speaker, I thank all of our cosponsors of this legislation for 
their support, both Democratic and Republican, including the Tribe's 
Representative, Congressman  Dan Bishop from the Ninth District of 
North Carolina, who is my friend.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 2758, the 
Lumbee Recognition Act, and I urge my colleagues to vote for its 
passage.
  Madam Speaker, the Lumbee Recognition Act will finally extend full 
Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and make its 
members eligible for the same services and the same benefits provided 
to members of other federally recognized Tribes.
  Most importantly, the bill would establish, once and for all, the 
Lumbee Tribe as an independent and sovereign entity under Federal law.
  Madam Speaker, we have an opportunity before us to do the right thing 
and fix a historic wrong by passing my bill. North Carolina has 
recognized the Lumbee Tribe since 1885, and this body, the Congress, 
recognized the Tribe in the 1950s but, during the dark days of the 
termination era, refused to allow the Lumbee Tribe access to federally 
funded services and benefits. What a shame.
  Almost all Tribes that were ``terminated'' in this troubling era have 
since been restored to Federal recognition. We are long overdue in 
delivering the same justice to the Lumbee Tribe.
  This legislation has tremendous bipartisan support inside and outside 
North Carolina as demonstrated by a unanimous House vote to pass this 
very bill last Congress and President Biden's support for full Federal 
recognition of the Lumbee Tribe. Now is the time, Madam Speaker, to get 
it done.
  Madam Speaker, the merits of the Lumbee's claim for full Federal 
recognition have long been accepted by our State of North Carolina, 
academia, and the Federal Government. It is long past time for Congress 
to give the Lumbee the respect they deserve and to treat them with the 
fundamental fairness that has been withheld for so many years.
  As Ms. Leger Fernandez said earlier, this is the first day of Native 
American History Month. What an honor.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and stand on the 
right side of history.
  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop) who has done so much 
work on this issue.
  Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman 
for yielding, and I thank Representative Butterfield for those fine 
comments. I agree with him 100 percent.
  That bill that Congress passed back in 1956 said this, even as it 
recognized the Lumbee: ``Nothing in this act shall make such Indians 
eligible for any services performed by the United States for Indians 
because of their status as Indians, and none of the statutes of the 
United States which affect Indians because of their status as Indians 
shall be applicable to the Lumbee Indians.''
  My goodness. What an error, what a mistake, and what an injustice. 
But that is what the Congress of that time

[[Page H6043]]

said, and it is high time for us to correct that injustice. Therefore, 
I am proud to be a cosponsor with Representative Butterfield and 
Representative Hudson of this legislation.
  The Lumbee have for three centuries been a cohesive and distinct 
community of aboriginal origins and durable institutions, especially 
schools, living near the Lumber River in Robeson County.
  The Lumbee have been called by several names, but it cannot be 
disputed that they are the continuously present and vital people shown 
on a map drawn in 1725 whose common modern surnames appear on a 
document written in 1771: Locklear, Chavis, Dees, Sweat, and Groom. 
They are the Lumbee who were living in Long Swamp in the 1730s, the 
community now known as Prospect.
  I said these words last year when it appeared very favorable that we 
were going to pass Lumbee recognition then, and I am going to say it 
continuously until we get this done, that this is going to be the year.
  I know the Lumbee. I know the Warriors Ball and Lumbee Homecoming, 
UNC-Pembroke and Old Main, the Lumbee Cultural Center and the Cozy 
Corner. The Lumbee are supremely patriotic Americans, God-fearing and 
washed in the blood, devoted to the liberating cause of education and 
to civic involvement, proud of their community, and loving and 
welcoming to strangers. They are the best of America, and the only 
honorable course for the United States Congress is to accord them their 
due recognition at long last.
  So my thank-you to Representative Butterfield for sponsoring this 
legislation. I thank Representative Hudson and Representatives Grijalva 
and Westerman for permitting it to come forward--staunch supporters of 
the Lumbees' pursuit of justice. I thank Senators Burr and Tillis. 
Lumbee recognition took on new life when both North Carolina Senators 
began to champion it.
  Thanks also to former Representative Mike McIntyre of Robeson County, 
who worked for Lumbee recognition for more than a decade. We almost 
accomplished passage last year. This is going to be the year.
  Madam Speaker, I urge overwhelming support for the Lumbee Recognition 
Act.

                              {time}  1630

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his 
unwavering support for his constituents and his efforts to work across 
the aisle.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I would inquire whether my colleague has any remaining 
speakers on their side.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I am ready to close, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I, too, want to thank Mr. Bishop, 
Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Westerman, and Mr. Grijalva for championing this 
legislation so that we may today undo 100 years of injustice.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Manning). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez) that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2758.
  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. ROY. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

                          ____________________