[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 24 (Monday, February 6, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H692-H694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PALA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS LAND TRANSFER ACT OF 2023
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 423) to take certain land located in San Diego County,
California, into trust for the benefit of the Pala Band of Mission
Indians, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 423
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 ``Pala Band of Mission Indians
Land Transfer Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF LAND IN TRUST FOR THE PALA BAND OF
MISSION INDIANS.
(a) Transfer and Administration.--
(1) Transfer of lands into trust.--If, not later than 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Tribe
transfers title to the land referred to in subsection (b) to
the United States, the Secretary, not later than 180 days
after such transfer, shall take that land into trust for the
benefit of the Tribe.
(2) Administration.--The land transferred under paragraph
(1) shall be part of the Pala Indian 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.
(b) Land Description.--The land referred to in subsection
(a)(1) is the approximately 721.12 acres of land located in
San Diego County, California, generally depicted as ``Gregory
Canyon Property Boundary'' on the map titled ``Pala Gregory
Canyon Property Boundary and Parcels''.
(c) 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 that is 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; or
(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.
(d) Restricted Use of Transferred Lands.--The Tribe may not
conduct, on the land taken into trust for the Tribe pursuant
to this Act, gaming activities--
(1) as a matter of claimed inherent authority; or
(2) under any Federal law, including the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) and regulations
promulgated by the Secretary or the National Indian Gaming
Commission under that Act.
(e) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(2) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Pala Band of
Mission Indians.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger
Fernandez) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and to include extraneous material on H.R. 423, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 423, the Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer
Act, introduced by my good friend from California, Congressman Issa,
places approximately 721 acres of land the Pala Band of Mission Indians
currently owns into trust.
The Pala Band of Mission Indians are in the southern California town
of Pala, with the reservation totaling approximately 12,000 acres.
While the Tribal economy is largely supported by agricultural
enterprises, the Tribe also operates a 86,000-square-foot Class III
casino and resort.
In the early 1990s, San Diego County voters approved a plan to
establish the
[[Page H693]]
Gregory Canyon landfill project on a 1,700-parcel of land along State
Route 76 west of the Pala Band's reservation.
{time} 1715
Plans for development of the landfill ceased when the original owner
of the property fell into bankruptcy in 2014.
A successor company began exploring other development opportunities
and began meeting with the Tribe to sell a portion of the land to the
Tribe for cultural preservation as it contains cultural sites and
components meaningful to the Pala Band.
In 2016, 721 acres were purchased by the Tribe. Pala Band Chairman
Robert Smith testified to Congress that these acres were historically
occupied by Native peoples and are the site of an ancestral village,
rock art paintings, and ancient artifacts.
H.R. 423 does not affect any current land and water rights, nor does
it impact any rights-of-way or rights-of-use that are currently
permitted. The bill also prohibits any gaming pursuant to the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act on these lands.
Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Issa for his leadership on this
issue. I support the bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, it is an honor to be on the floor of the people's
House once again in support of this bill, as we hope to pass it out of
the House. It passed in the 117th Congress, and I have great
expectations that it will do so again.
H.R. 423, the Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act,
introduced by Representative Issa from California, will direct, as
noted, the transfer of approximately 721 acres of land into trust for
the Pala Band of Mission Indians.
The Pala Band is located in northern San Diego County with 918
enrolled Tribal members. Members of the Pala Band belong to the Cupeno
and Luiseno Tribes, who were forced together by Spanish Franciscan
missionaries during the 1800s.
The Pala Band recently purchased the property that includes the
remaining portion of Gregory Mountain that is not on the existing Pala
Band Reservation and other sacred and culturally significant sites in
Gregory Canyon.
The land was purchased to protect and preserve Gregory Mountain,
Medicine Rock, and other sites considered sacred by Luiseno Tribes.
Taking land into trust is an integral part of the government-to-
government relationship between the United States and Tribal
governments. By maintaining Tribal lands, Tribal governments can
protect and preserve their ancestral homelands or sacred sites
considered culturally significant.
This bill takes those 721 acres into trust for the benefit of the
Pala Band to ensure that the sacred sites and cultural history located
on those lands will be honored and appropriately safeguarded. As noted,
it also stipulates that current land and water rights are not affected
by its enactment, nor is there any effect on any rights-of-way or
rights-of-use as currently permitted.
Madam Speaker, I would point out that the two bills we are
considering on the floor today have significance beyond the acreage
that is being transferred. As noted earlier, the United States has
moved from an era when it systematically pushed Native Americans off
their ancestral lands through treaties that were broken, as we heard
about in the bill we considered earlier, into ever-smaller territories
of reservation land.
There was an effort to try to destroy Tribal culture and ``kill the
Indian to save the man.'' It has taken far too long, but Congress has
finally recognized that Tribal nations will not and cannot be
vanquished out of existence and that previous policies were pushing our
indigenous nations and Tribes into extreme poverty.
The 1934 Indian Reorganization Act recognized that allowing Tribes to
reacquire land and place it into trust was key to the future prosperity
of Tribes and essential for them to maintain the culturally significant
areas that are central to their identity, religion, and beliefs.
It has not been an easy path forward since then, but Congress has
repeatedly adopted laws that also recognize and strengthen Tribal self-
governance and sovereignty. Today's bills are continuity of this
recognition.
Madam Speaker, I take this moment to thank Chairman Westerman for
bringing these two bipartisan bills to the House floor for passage in
the first few weeks of our legislative business in the people's House.
I often note that the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs,
previously known as the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the
United States, is some of the most bipartisan work in the House. It is
extremely important work that we do for millions of Native Americans,
Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, who rely on Congress to act
consistent with the trust responsibility we owe Tribal nations and
peoples.
Congress must legislate on issues regarding criminal jurisdiction,
health, and education funding, and so much more. Each Member of this
body represents Native Americans, and many of us represent one or more
of the 574 federally recognized Tribes. In some districts, like mine,
they represent a significant portion of the population. In many
districts, Tribes are major drivers of the economy.
Approximately 56 million acres of land are held in trust for Tribes
and individuals, and they are proud stewards of the natural resources
on those lands.
Last week, one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle
belittled this important congressional work by calling it similar to
naming post offices. Such a statement does not recognize the importance
of our work in Congress on Tribal issues.
In contrast, Chairman Westerman's presentation of these bills today
demonstrates his commitment and leadership on Tribal issues. Once
again, I thank Chairman Westerman for recognizing how important our
work is for Tribal nations and peoples.
Madam Speaker, I support this bill. I thank Representative Issa for
bringing it once again to Congress and the floor of the House, and I
urge my colleagues to vote in favor.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Issa), the sponsor of the bill.
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I spoke on this a year or two ago, and not
much has happened except more time has passed since this land was taken
from this Tribe.
I represent 21 Tribes in my congressional district. I believe that
when I come to the floor, people look and say, well, you are always
representing Tribal issues. I represent the issues that became an issue
when Ulysses S. Grant recognized what he had done wrong to Tribes. We
began the process over 100 years ago of turning around that challenge.
As the ranking member mentioned, in 1934, we passed significant
legislation. Much has happened since that time. One of the things that
has happened is, here on the House floor, we talk about CBO scoring. I
want to touch on that today, which I didn't do a year ago.
CBO says this has a cost. Yes, when we move land into trust, when we
move it into Federal ownership, it loses property tax so there is a
small cost. This is not a cost objected to by my county or any of the
surrounding cities.
The Native American Tribes in my district have more than compensated
the community from the revenues they earn, and they have been good
stewards. This land failed to even qualify as a landfill over decades.
This is land that, to many, would be considered not usable. It has
water challenges that the Tribe will be spending time and money making
sure that they prevent the runoff, that they preserve.
They have antiquity on this site. They will be investing in that.
Yes, a few Members, mostly in my own party, last year failed to vote
for this because they said: Well, it is an unfunded mandate. It costs a
little money.
Yes, it costs money to transfer things into Federal hands because we
lose a little bit of revenue, but over 100 years ago--far over that;
actually, during the Spanish time--this land was taken from a people,
and there was no compensation.
[[Page H694]]
As we put it back, I would ask each of the Members who considered not
voting for it a year ago to reconsider, to consider that every piece of
every objection, other than that small one, has been taken care of.
The Tribe will be a better steward of the land than it is now. The
land will be better preserved and will be used in a way that--
certainly, if you can't qualify as a landfill, it is not exactly the
land everybody is looking for.
The reality is the Pala Band has taken what they have earned over the
years in agriculture and from their gaming concession and are putting
it back into their ancestral land.
I have another Tribe that we are working on that is trying to simply
get their graveyard back into trust. We will have the same challenge.
They will say: But the graveyard might have an economic cost when it
goes into Federal land.
Madam Speaker, I expect this bill to pass--it passed in the last
Congress--but I would hope that all my colleagues would look very
carefully and say not all transfers are the same. None of them are the
same as naming a post office, although naming a post office after a
fallen hero is not without its own merit.
Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman and ranking member. I hope that
my thoughts, in addition to the kind words said by both sides, will
convince us to be united this year. This is an important piece of
legislation for a people who have done everything we have asked them to
do and more.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his tireless
advocacy on behalf of his constituents, and particularly the Pala Band
in this instance. I know he has worked on this more than just this
year.
Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I have no further
requests for time. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of
my time.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Issa for
that great summary of the importance of this land to the Pala Band, and
the fact that we will actually probably see some economic benefit
because they know how to be good stewards of the land. They know what
they are going to be doing with the land, rather than letting it sit in
the condition it does now.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, H.R. 423 is commonsense legislation,
just like the previous bill that we looked at. It will enable the Pala
Band of Mission Indians to protect their sacred land and ensure the
protection of the Tribe's timeless heritage, culture, tradition, and
history.
I thank my colleague, Mr. Issa, for his leadership and for fulfilling
a vital constituent service.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 423, the
Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2023, which will take
certain land located in San Diego County, California into trust for the
benefit of the Pala Band of Mission Indians.
H.R. 423 directs the Department of the Interior to take 721.12 acres
of tribal land in San Diego County, California, into the trust in order
to preserve and protect the part of the Pala Band's reservation land.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and any other federal statute are
both prohibited by H.R. 423 from being used to allow gambling on the
land.
The Pala Band, whose reservation it adjoins, currently owns the land
in fee simple.
The land is significant because it contains Chokla, a peak that is
extremely holy to the Pala Band and many other tribes in Southern
California.
Since at least 1903, the Pala Band, which consists of both Cupeo and
Luiseo ancestors, has used Chokla as a location for prayer and fasting.
In addition, the land has the remains of an ancestral village,
drawings on rocks, relics, and a variety of culturally significant
flora and animals.
In an attempt to prevent the construction of a landfill at the base
of Chokla in Gregory Canyon, the Pala Band bought the property in 2016.
The Pala Band aims to protect this holy area in its original state
after it is placed in trust, according to the U.S. Department of the
Interior.
A tribe's belief systems frequently have a physiological basis in
sacred sites.
These stories serve as a link between successive generations and
their predecessors, weaving them into the fabric of tribal identity and
culture.
The preservation and transmission of the unique identities,
traditions, and histories of Native peoples from one generation to the
next depends on the protection of Native sacred places and the defense
of the right to perform rites and ceremonies at these sites in secrecy
and without interference.
It goes beyond just being a matter of culture or religion for sacred
locations to be used and protected.
It is a recognized and safeguarded human right under international
law.
According to Article 25 of the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous People states that, ``Indigenous peoples have the
right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual
relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and
used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources
and to uphold their obligations to future generations in this regard.''
It is important that we uphold the laws passed in the past to
preserve Indigenous peoples' traditions and cultures.
I strongly urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 423, which enables
the Pala Band tribes to secure their sacred place in order to preserve
their traditions and culture for future generations.
The bill will also restrict any gaming on Pala Band's land by putting
in the trust so tribes can peacefully perform and enjoy their rituals
at the scared land.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 423.
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.
____________________