[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.

                          ____________________