[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 191 (Monday, November 1, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6048-H6050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OLD PASCUA COMMUNITY LAND ACQUISITION ACT
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 4881) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to
take into trust for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona certain land in
Pima County, Arizona, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4881
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 ``Old Pascua Community Land
Acquisition Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
[[Page H6049]]
(1) Compact-designated area.--The term ``Compact Designated
Area'' means the area south of West Grant Road, east of
Interstate 10, north of West Calle Adelanto, and west of
North 15th Avenue in the City of Tucson, Arizona, as provided
specifically in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe--State of Arizona
Amended and Restated Gaming Compact signed in 2021.
(2) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Pascua Yaqui Tribe
of Arizona, a federally recognized Indian tribe.
(3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe''--
(A) means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other
organized group or community, including any Alaska Native
village that is recognized as eligible for the special
programs and services provided by the United States to
Indians because of their status as Indians; and
(B) does not include any Alaska Native regional or village
corporation.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 3. LAND TO BE HELD IN TRUST.
Upon the request of the Tribe, the Secretary shall accept
and take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe, subject to
all valid existing rights, any land within the Compact-
Designated Area that is owned by Tribe.
SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF CURRENT LAW.
Gaming conducted by the Tribe in the Compact-Designated
Area shall be subject to--
(1) the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et
seq.); and
(2) sections 1166 through 1168 of title 18, United States
Code.
SEC. 5. REAFFIRMATION OF STATUS AND ACTIONS.
(a) Administration.--Land placed into trust pursuant to
this Act shall--
(1) be a part of the Pascua Yaqui Reservation and
administered in accordance with the laws and regulations
generally applicable to land held in trust by the United
States for an Indian Tribe; and
(2) be deemed to have been acquired and taken into trust on
September 18, 1978.
(b) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall--
(1) enlarge, impair, or otherwise affect any right or claim
of the Tribe to any land or interest in land in existence
before the date of the enactment of this Act;
(2) affect any water right of the Tribe in existence before
the date of the enactment of this Act;
(3) terminate or limit any access in any way to any right-
of-way or right-of-use issued, granted, or permitted before
the date of the enactment of this Act; or
(4) alter or diminish the right of the Tribe to seek to
have additional land taken into trust by the United States
for the benefit of the Tribe.
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. 4881, the Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition
Act, introduced by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), the
Natural Resources Committee Chair, will direct the Secretary of the
Interior to take approximately 30 acres of land into trust for the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is located in southern Arizona, near the city
of Tucson, and has approximately 22,000 enrolled Tribal members, with a
2,216-acre reservation.
Before the Federal recognition of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Yaqui
leaders, local leaders, and others worked together to establish a home
for Tribal citizens. In 1921 these efforts led to the formal Pascua
Village in Tucson, Arizona.
Before the formal Federal recognition and the establishment of a
reservation in 1978, former Congressman Mo Udall of Arizona introduced
a bill to establish 202 acres of land southwest of Tucson to the Pascua
Yaqui Association.
While many families relocated to this new land base, many other
families remained in the Pascua Village, known as Old Pascua. With the
growing city of Tucson and the geographic distance from the formal
reservation, the Tribe has worked to ensure the Tribal members living
within the Pascua Village have remained cared for, including working
with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to designate Old Pascua as near-
reservation lands.
Earlier this year, the Tribe entered into a State-negotiated compact
with the State of Arizona to provide gaming activities in the Old
Pascua community. The Secretary of the Interior approved the compact in
May 2021.
Further, the Tribe signed an intergovernmental agreement with the
city of Tucson to transfer a parcel of land within Tucson into trust
for the benefit of the Tribe.
This bill ensures the Old Pascua community remains intact with the
Tribe's homelands, and the bill will allow the Tribe to conduct gaming
activities, expand economic development opportunities, and engage in
cultural practices on their historic land.
I am pleased to cosponsor H.R. 4881, which is a bipartisan bill, with
support from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the city of Tucson, the State of
Arizona, and the Arizona delegation. I support the Old Pascua Community
Land Acquisition Act, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the
bill.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe owns several parcels of land
that it would like to use for gaming. This bill allows them to do that.
In May of 2021, the Governor of Arizona and 21 Tribes amended the
Arizona Tribal State Gaming Compact to build a third gaming facility in
the compact-designated area in Tucson.
The compact-designated area is known as the Old Pascua community, an
area with deep historic ties to the Tribe. The compact requires land to
be taken into trust by an act of Congress to open the gaming facility.
H.R. 4881 does this by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to place
any land owned by the Tribe within the compact-designated area into
trust for gaming purposes.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), the chair of the
Natural Resources Committee.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico
(Ms. Leger Fernandez) for the time and to Ranking Member Westerman.
I am proud to represent the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in Arizona's Third
District. We both call southern Arizona our home. The Yaqui people are
an integral and historic part of the fiber of southern Arizona,
reflecting our history, our cultures, and our people.
H.R. 4881, the Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition Act, will take a
30-acre parcel of land into trust for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the area
known locally and to the Tribe as Old Pascua community.
As the gentlewoman from New Mexico outlined in her comments, as well
as the ranking member, this was the initial focal point for the Yaqui
people as they fled persecution. While some families relocated to this
new land base, many families remained in the Pascua Village community,
known as Old Pascua.
At the time in 1921, it was an isolated area outside the community
and outside of Tucson, but things have grown out around them. I think
the Yaqui community in Tucson, Arizona, considers Old Pascua not only
the formally recognized area for the community but also a sacred site
for the Tribe.
Before receiving Federal recognition and a formal reservation south
of Tucson, many Pascua Yaqui families called Old Pascua in Tucson their
home.
Today many families still call Old Pascua home, yet they continue to
fear losing their Yaqui knowledge, culture, history, and traditions due
to the encroachment of the growing city of Tucson. Other areas of
concern for Yaqui families include the lack of ownership for sacred,
cultural, traditional, and religious grounds.
The Tribe has worked tirelessly to ensure that they take care of
their Tribal citizens. Earlier this year, as Mr. Westerman outlined,
the State of Arizona and the Tribe negotiated a
[[Page H6050]]
State compact. This compact included gaming activities in the Old
Pascua community to promote the Tribe's governmental operations,
cultural and religious activities, job creation, increased Tribal
housing, social and community services, healthcare, and educational
facilities.
The Tribe has worked tirelessly with the State of Arizona, the city
of Tucson, and the county of Pima to address their concerns, and have
entered into an intergovernmental agreement supporting the legislation
and the land transfer.
Since this agreement, the State has negotiated a compact that
reflects that agreement and approved it, and the Department of the
Interior has approved it.
H.R. 4881 is a bipartisan bill that will raise the Tribal standard of
living, improve system coordination and integration of service
delivery, and promote the ongoing transmission of Yaqui knowledge,
culture, history, and traditions for future generations.
This bill is a bipartisan bill. It merits the support of all Members,
and I would add that it is for the people in southern Arizona an
extension of a reality and a confirmation of something that already
exists.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
{time} 1715
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, this bill, once again,
demonstrates that there is strong bipartisan support for our Native
American tribes and indigenous communities. I thank Ranking Member
Westerman as well as Ranking Member Don Young on the Subcommittee for
Indigenous Peoples of the United States.
The other thing this bill does, as has been highlighted by Chairman
Grijalva, is it comes out of collaboration and conversation with
everybody on the ground, the local communities, the States, the county,
the Tribe. The people of southern Arizona are asking us to take action,
and that is what we must do today.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. 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. 4881.
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. GOOD of Virginia. 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.
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