[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H9941-H9942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE CHEHALIS RESERVATION LEASING AUTHORITY

  Mrs. PELTOLA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 3773) to authorize leases of up to 99 years for land held in 
trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3773

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE CHEHALIS RESERVATION 
                   LEASING AUTHORITY.

       Subsection (a) of the first section of the Act of August 9, 
     1955 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415(a)), is 
     amended, in the second sentence, by inserting ``, land held 
     in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis 
     Reservation'' after ``Crow Tribe of Montana''.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Alaska (Mrs. Peltola) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Alaska.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. PELTOLA. 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 
gentlewoman from Alaska?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. PELTOLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Chehalis Tribe's Reservation in Washington was 
created in 1864 and sits at the confluence of the Chehalis and Black 
Rivers.
  To develop supply chain infrastructure, the Tribe is seeking to 
finance improvements on an existing facility

[[Page H9942]]

located on Tribal trust land to secure a lease of the facility with an 
outside entity. The financing required for the project requires a lease 
agreement term of at least 86 years, which is currently not an option 
for the Tribe under the terms of the Long-Term Leasing Act.
  Instead, the act limits lease agreement terms to no more than 25 
years with an option to renew for an additional 25 years.
  Since the passage of the Long-Term Leasing Act, Congress has allowed 
for longer leases by adding the names of certain Tribes to the Long-
Term Leasing Act. Historically, such bills have been noncontroversial.
  Since 1955, Congress has added 59 Tribes to the Long-Term Leasing 
Act. S. 3773 will serve as a Long-Term Leasing Act fix for the Chehalis 
Tribe to pursue its planned economic development activities.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 3773 would amend current law to authorize the 
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation to lease their land 
held in trust for a term of up to 99 years.
  Since 1834, land transactions with Native Americans have been 
prohibited unless specifically authorized by Congress. This has 
continued to apply to lands held in trust by the United States for the 
benefit of individual Indians or Tribes.
  In 1955, Congress authorized that any Indian lands held in trust or 
land subject to a restriction against alienation could be leased by the 
Indian owner, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior 
for terms of 10 or 25 years.
  Today the 10- or 25-year lease length can be a challenge, especially 
when Tribes want to engage in economic endeavors requiring longer lease 
periods.
  To date, Congress has authorized specific Indian land or Indian 
Tribes to lease land, subject to approval of the Secretary, for a term 
of up to 99 years more than 50 times. This bill would provide the same 
authority for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, 
authorizing the Tribe to lease its trust land for terms up to 99 years.
  Granting this authority will allow the Tribe to develop multiple 
warehouse facilities on the trust lands to support American supply 
chain infrastructure and generate economic opportunity for the Tribal 
community.
  While I fully support the policy contained in S. 3773, I must, again, 
voice my frustration with the way in which the majority is considering 
these bills here today just days before Christmas.
  This is not how we should be conducting our business in the House. 
Though I am frustrated with the process by which this bill came before 
us today, I am glad that it hasn't been buried in the omnibus with no 
discussions. I can say that about all these authorization bills that we 
are considering today. If there is a silver lining, it is that these 
haven't been buried into an omnibus--a 4,000-page-plus omnibus.
  Mr. Speaker, I am supportive of the underlying legislation before us, 
I urge its adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. PELTOLA. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I have no further requests for 
time, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Alaska (Mrs. Peltola) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 3773.
  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. ROSENDALE. 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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