[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 20 (Monday, February 5, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H406-H407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  WINNEBAGO LAND TRANSFER ACT OF 2023

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1240) to transfer administrative jurisdiction of certain 
Federal lands from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, to take such lands into trust for the Winnebago Tribe of 
Nebraska, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1240

       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 ``Winnebago Land Transfer Act 
     of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. LAND TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.

       (a) In General.--Subject to all valid existing rights, all 
     right, title, and interest (including improvements and 
     appurtenances) of the United States in and to the Federal 
     lands described in subsection (b), those Federal lands--
       (1) are declared to be part of the Winnebago Reservation 
     created by the Treaty between the United States and the 
     Winnebago Tribe in 1865; and
       (2) shall be held in trust by the United States for the 
     benefit of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska subject to the 
     same terms and conditions as those lands described in the 
     Treaty with the Winnebago Tribe, 1865 (14 Stat. 671).
       (b) Federal Lands Described.--The Federal lands described 
     in this subsection are the following:
       (1) That portion of Tract No. 119, the description of which 
     is filed in the United States District Court for the Northern 
     District of Iowa (Western Division), Civil Case No. 70-C-
     3015-W, executed May 11, 1973, said tract being situated in 
     Section 8 and the accretion land thereto, the Southwest 
     Quarter of Section 9, the West Half of Section 16, the East 
     Half of Section 17, Township 86 North, Range 47 West of the 
     Fifth Principal Meridian, Woodbury County, Iowa, lying 
     Easterly of the Nebraska/Iowa State Line and Southerly of the 
     Easterly extension of the North line of the Winnebago 
     Reservation.
       (2) Tract No. 210, as described in Schedule ``A'' of the 
     ``Declaration of Taking, Legal Description of Tract 210 and 
     Judgment on Stipulation and Order of Distribution'', filed in 
     the United States District Court for the Northern District of 
     Iowa (Western Division), Civil Case No. 70-C-3015-W.
       (3) Tract No. 113, as described in the ``Judgment on 
     Declaration of Taking and Legal Description of Tract 113'', 
     filed in the United States District Court for the District of 
     Nebraska, Civ. No. 03498.
       (c) Gaming Prohibition.--Class II and class III gaming 
     under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et 
     seq.) shall not be allowed at any time on the land taken into 
     trust under subsection (a).

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on H.R. 1240, 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. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1240, the Winnebago Land Transfer Act of 2023, 
would replace approximately 1,600 acres of land into trust for the 
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
  The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is one of the federally recognized 
Tribes of the Ho-Chunk people. Their reservation encompasses 117,000 
acres of land located in Thurston and Dixon Counties in Nebraska and 
Woodbury County in Iowa.
  The treaties of 1865 and 1874 between the Tribe and the U.S. 
Government established the land that is now known as the Winnebago 
Tribe's reservation.
  In 1970, the Army Corps of Engineers condemned tracts of land on the 
eastern boundary of the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska and Iowa 
through eminent domain for the use of the Snyder-Winnebago Oxbow Lake 
Recreation Complex project. The Tribe challenged this taking in Federal 
Court. In Nebraska, the District Court ruled in favor of the Tribe, and 
the parcels in the State were returned.
  That was not the case in Iowa. A failure to properly preserve a right 
of appeal meant that the Eighth Circuit Court could not return the land 
to the Tribe through a court order, even though they won their case. 
The land would have to be returned to the Tribe through an act of 
Congress.
  H.R. 1240 would right the wrong that occurred in 1970 by returning 
the land and placing it into trust. An additional 60-acre tract that 
was condemned by the Army Corps of Engineers would also be placed into 
trust as it would be landlocked by the main parcels being placed into 
trust.
  The land is currently woodland and marsh and has recreational, 
hunting, and fishing values. The Tribe testified they intend to manage 
the land under their Winnebago Wildlife and Parks Department and plan 
to make few, if any, changes to the conservation measures currently in 
place. Under this legislation, the land would be ineligible for gaming 
under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra) for his 
work on the bill, I encourage adoption of the legislation, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1240, the Winnebago Land 
Transfer Act of 2023, introduced by my colleague from Iowa, 
Representative Feenstra.
  This bill would return two tracts of land acquired through eminent 
domain by the Army Corps of Engineers back into the trust for the 
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
  In 1865, the Winnebago Tribe and the United States signed a treaty 
promising the Tribe their reservation in Nebraska along the Missouri 
River for the cession of their Dakota lands.
  The United States violated this treaty in the 1970s when the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers acquired land from the reservation for flood 
control by invoking eminent domain without congressional approval or 
approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has since held that 
the Army Corps of Engineers lacked the authority to exercise eminent 
domain over trust lands. Despite the court's decision, the land has 
never been returned to the Tribe and remains in the possession of the 
Army Corps of Engineers.
  H.R. 1240 seeks to rectify this wrong by returning and reintegrating 
the land into the Winnebago Tribe's reservation.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to right this wrong and vote 
``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the bill's sponsor, 
the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra).
  Mr. FEENSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Westerman for bringing 
this important bill to the floor.
  The Winnebago Reservation was established by two treaties in 1865 and 
1874 and has been the home of the Winnebago Tribe ever since.
  In 1975, more than 100 years later, the Army Corps of Engineers took 
two

[[Page H407]]

small pieces of land within the Missouri River away from the Winnebago 
Tribe. Since then, the Federal Government has ignored the land and has 
not made any plans to develop it. The bill would make things right by 
returning the land that was taken by the Army Corps of Engineers and 
give it back to the Winnebago Tribe.

  During this process, I have gotten to know many of the people of the 
Winnebago Tribe. I have learned about the great work and the things 
they do in agriculture, business, and community development.
  It is wonderful to see several of them in our gallery today, and I 
thank them for coming.
  This is so important to them and for our land. From my conversations 
with them, the Winnebago Tribe plans to use this land for conservation 
that will be open to the public, and I am excited to see their plans 
for how they will improve this land.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to lead this effort in the House, I encourage 
my colleagues to support this important bill, and I thank the chairman 
for yielding me time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I am 
prepared to close, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I 
strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, as has been stated, the Winnebago Tribe 
has been working for more than 50 years to have these approximately 
1,600 acres restored to their reservation. I am hopeful that in this 
Congress we can finally get it done.
  Mr. Speaker, I, again, want to thank Congressman Feenstra and the 
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska for their hard work on this legislation. I 
urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  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. 1240, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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