[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2153-H2154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBE LEASING AUTHORITY
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1246) to authorize leases of up to 99 years for land held in
trust for federally recognized Indian Tribes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1246
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBE 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 any other Indian tribe included on the list
published by the Secretary pursuant to section 104 of the
Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C.
5131)'' after ``Chehalis Reservation''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Wyoming (Ms. Hageman) and the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger
Fernandez) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wyoming.
General Leave
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. 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. 1246, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Wyoming?
There was no objection.
{time} 1530
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, my bill, H.R. 1246, would amend the Long-Term Leasing
Act to authorize any federally recognized Indian Tribe to lease land
held in trust for the Tribe's benefit for up to and including 99 years,
subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
In 1955, Congress passed the Long-Term Leasing Act, which authorized
the Tribal owners to lease any lands held in trust for the benefit of
the Tribes for nongrazing purposes, subject to the approval of the
Secretary of the
[[Page H2154]]
Interior, for only up to 25 years. Any nongrazing lease could be
renewed up to one additional term of 25 years for a total of 50 years.
The restriction on the length of time a Tribe can lease their land
can have a negative impact on a Tribe's ability to negotiate long-term
commercial leases and, subsequently, a Tribe's economic development
opportunities.
Congress has amended the Long-Term Leasing Act more than 50 times to
adjust the terms and conditions of leases of Tribal lands and authorize
specific Tribes or Tribal lands to lease for a term of up to 99 years,
subject to approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
This legislation would put a stop to Tribes having to rely on
Congress to pass specific legislation so that they can enter into long-
term leases should they choose to do so.
H.R. 1246 would proactively extend leasing authority to all federally
recognized Tribes while providing a more expedited path forward for
economic development. This is commonsense legislation that will benefit
Tribes long into the future.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage adoption of the legislation, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be a cosponsor of H.R. 1246, which would
amend the Long-Term Leasing Act to authorize federally recognized
Tribes to enter into lease agreements on their lands for periods of up
to 99 years.
As noted, currently under the Long-Term Leasing Act, Tribes are
generally limited to lease agreement terms that are no more than 25
years with an option to renew for an additional 25 years. This has led
so many Tribes to enter into very complex leasing agreements of 25 plus
25 when all of that puts a constraint on the economic development
opportunities that Tribes must be taking advantage of and that they
want to take advantage of.
As you can imagine, Mr. Speaker, these limits are challenging, and
they are not needed.
For that reason, though, historically, Congress has passed
noncontroversial bills to allow certain Tribes that come before them to
have longer leases under the act. We have done this in a piecemeal
fashion. In fact, as noted, since the passage of the Long-Term Leasing
Act in 1955, some additional 60 Tribes have been added to the growing
list of exceptions to the act.
Last Congress, we authorized long-term leasing authority for the
Seminole Tribe, and on the floor of the House, I called for legislation
to make this applicable to all Tribes so we didn't have to do it one at
a time. I am pleased today that, under the leadership of Chair Hageman,
we are moving to make that a reality.
Today's bill, H.R. 1246, would strengthen Tribal sovereignty by
allowing all federally recognized Tribes to enter into lease agreements
for periods up to 99 years, providing Tribes the ability to pursue
economic development activities for the benefit of their communities
that have been typically limited under the Long-Term Leasing Act.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, as noted, I urge all of my colleagues to
support this bill and, in this manner, to support Tribal sovereignty
and, once again, bipartisan legislation, which we often see coming out
of the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs. This is the way that
we need to encourage to have work coming out of our committees in a
bipartisan fashion that increases Tribal sovereignty and that leads us
to honor our trust responsibility to our Tribes.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, my legislation would promote economic development for
Tribes by ensuring that they are on the same playing field as other
landowners who can enter into long-term leases on their land.
This legislation is a proactive step to support Tribes and their
ability to create and pursue economic opportunity.
As the chairman of the Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee, I do
and will continue to advocate for commonsense solutions for our Indian
Tribes.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this 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 Wyoming (Ms. Hageman) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1246.
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.
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