[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 9, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H5080-H5081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1540
LOWER ELWHA KLALLAM TRIBE PROJECT LANDS RESTORATION ACT
Mr. CRANK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 2388) to take certain Federal land in the State of Washington
into trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2388
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 ``Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
Project Lands Restoration Act''.
SEC. 2. LAND TAKEN INTO TRUST FOR THE LOWER ELWHA KLALLAM
TRIBE.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Reservation.--The term ``Reservation'' means the Lower
Elwha Indian Reservation, also known as the Lower Elwha
Reservation, located in the State of Washington.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(3) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Lower Elwha Tribal
Community, also known as the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe,
located in the State of Washington.
(b) Land Held in Trust.--
(1) In general.--Subject to all valid existing rights of
the United States, the approximately 1,082.63 acres of
Federal land generally depicted as ``NPS Parcels to be
Transferred to Tribe'' on the map entitled ``Olympic National
Park Proposed Transfer of Elwha Lands'', numbered 149/178020,
and dated December 2021 is hereby taken into and held in
trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe.
(2) Inclusion in reservation.--The land taken into trust
under paragraph (1) shall be part of the Reservation.
(3) Law applicable to certain land.--The land taken into
trust under paragraph (1) shall not be subject to any
requirements for valuation, appraisal, or equalization under
any Federal law.
(c) Land Management.--Of the land taken into and held in
trust under subsection (b)(1), the portion of the Elwha River
subject to section 3(c)(3) of the Elwha River Ecosystem and
Fisheries Restoration Act (Public Law 102-495; 106 Stat.
3175) shall be managed in accordance with subsection (b) of
the first section of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16
U.S.C. 1271), except for necessary modifications under
section 3(c)(3) of the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries
Restoration Act (Public Law 102-495; 106 Stat. 3175).
(d) Map and Survey.--
(1) Boundary adjustment; survey.--As soon as practicable
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
conduct a survey to define the boundaries of the land taken
into and held in trust under subsection (b)(1).
(2) Adjustments.--The Secretary may--
(A) make minor boundary adjustments to the land taken into
and held in trust under subsection (b)(1); and
(B) correct any minor errors in any map, acreage estimate,
or description of that land.
(e) Gaming Prohibition.--No land taken into and held in
trust for the benefit of the Tribe under this section shall
be considered Indian lands for the purpose of the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).
SEC. 3. NO IMPACT ON TREATY RIGHTS.
Nothing in this Act affects treaty rights under the Treaty
between the United States of America and the S'Klallams
Indians, concluded at Point no Point, Washington Territory,
January 26, 1855 (12 Stat. 933) (commonly known as the
``Treaty of Point No Point'').
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Crank) and the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Randall)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado.
General Leave
Mr. CRANK. 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. 2388, the bill now under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Mr. CRANK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2388, the Lower Elwha Klallam
Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act, sponsored by Congresswoman
Randall. H.R. 2388 would take approximately 1,083 acres of National
Park Service land into trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.
The Tribe is located within the Olympic Peninsula in northwest
Washington and has approximately 984 enrolled members.
The Tribe signed the Treaty of Point No Point in 1855, which entitled
them to share a small reservation not on their traditional lands. After
signing the treaty, most Tribal members opted not to live on their
reservation, instead choosing rivers, shorelines, and sites of their
ancestral burial grounds.
Through the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the Federal Government
acquired 372 acres of land and assigned it to 14 families in the Tribe.
In 1968, the Tribe received Federal recognition, which included the
acres given to the families. As a result of Federal recognition, the
Lower Elwha Reservation was formally established for the Tribe.
The approximately 1,083 acres of National Park Service land in this
legislation were acquired in the 1990s through the Elwha River
Ecosystems and Fisheries Restoration Act. The act required the National
Park Service to identify lands to be transferred to the Lower Elwha
Klallam Tribe for housing, cultural, or economic development purposes
and place them into trust.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bill, and I reserve the balance
of my time.
Ms. RANDALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill, the Lower
Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act.
I thank Chairman Westerman and Subcommittee Chairman Hurd for their
partnership in bringing this important legislation to the floor. I am
deeply honored to serve on the House Natural Resources Committee and
the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs. I am proud to represent
a district that is home to 12 federally recognized Tribes, Tribes that
led the Nation in co-stewardship, climate resilience, and ecosystem
restoration.
Each time this Congress gathers to address land restoration and
treaty reserved rights, we are doing incredibly meaningful work, not
only alongside the Tribes that we serve, but in service of the
integrity of our Federal Government's commitments.
I also want to extend a special thank you to Chairwoman Frances
Charles of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe for testifying before the
committee earlier this year on this bill. Chairwoman Charles has spent
her career protecting the Lower Elwha's culture, preserving their
language, and ensuring that treaty reserved hunting and fishing rights
remain.
It strengthens the restoration of the Elwha watershed, which is one
of the most iconic examples of climate resilience and ecological
recovery anywhere in the country. This bill recognizes that the Lower
Elwha people have lived on and cared for this land since time
immemorial.
Transferring land into trust is one of the most impactful actions the
United States can take to deliver on trust and treaty obligations. It
is one of the clearest ways we can demonstrate respect for Tribal
sovereignty and return land to the stewardship of the people who know
it best.
This bill is straightforward, and it is long overdue. It aligns our
policies with our values, and it honors the community that has spent
decades repairing the damage caused by a Federal infrastructure that
was built without Tribal consent.
As someone who has the honor of representing the Lower Elwha Klallam
Tribe, I am proud to lead this legislation alongside Senators Cantwell
and Murray. I recognize the dedication and work of my predecessor,
Representative Derek Kilmer, who championed this bill in past
Congresses prior to his retirement last year.
[[Page H5081]]
Chairwoman Charles' leadership has been essential to one of the most
ambitious restoration projects in our country's history: the removal of
the two dams on the Elwha River, the largest dam removal project of our
Nation's history at the time, and the healing of a river system that
has been blocked for a century.
Just this year, we celebrated an anniversary of the river being free,
the return of the salmon through canoe journey. This is an endeavor in
which Tribal canoe families journey from around the Salish Sea and
British Columbia to come to land, to celebrate, to commemorate their
history, and to promise to preserve the land, water, and ecosystem for
seven generations forward.
This legislation is an important piece of that puzzle, transferring
approximately 1,082 acres of Federal land into trust for the Lower
Elwha Klallam Tribe. These are lands once tied to the Federal
hydroelectric project, lands acquired during the dam removal process,
lands that include cultural sites, historic villages, and ecological
areas directly connected to the Tribe's stewardship of the Elwha River.
Placing these lands into trust is not just a procedural act. It is a
promise fulfilled. It affirms the Tribe's sovereign right to protect
and manage sacred sites for generations to come.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in moving this
bill forward so we can take the final step in returning these lands to
the Lower Elwha people, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CRANK. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2388 takes approximately 1,083 acres of
National Park Service land into trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam
Tribe.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Randall for her work on this legislation, I
urge the 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 Colorado (Mr. Crank) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2388.
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.
____________________