[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 1508-1509]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            GUADALUPE-HIDALGO TREATY LAND CLAIMS ACT OF 1999

  (Mr. UDALL of New Mexico asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a 
bill to right long-standing injustices. One hundred fifty-one years ago 
the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed by the United States of 
America and the Republic of Mexico. In that the government, our 
government, promised to respect and protect the culture, property 
rights and language of the residents who would later become United 
States citizens.
  These promises by our government were broken. Many land grant 
communities no longer exist. Many individuals have lost their land. 
This bill starts the long process to resolve these disputes and to 
bring our government in line with its treaty obligations.
  Exactly 151 years ago today, the United States and Mexico signed the 
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, officially ending the Mexican-American 
war.
  Under the treaty, signed February 2, 1848, Mexico ceded to the United 
States more than 525,000 square miles of land, including all of what is 
now California, Nevada and Utah, as

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well as parts of four other states including my state of New Mexico.
  As part of the treaty, the United States also agreed to honor the 
land holdings of the existing residents of its vast new territory. In 
many cases, however, the government ignored that pledge and the 
protections provided by the Constitution as more and more new settlers 
moved into this land covered by numerous Mexican and Spanish land 
grants.
  Mr. Speaker, for 151 years, the United States government has turned 
its back on this issue. For 151 years, land grant heirs of New Mexico 
have cried out for justice.
  Robert Kennedy once said that ``Justice delayed is democracy 
denied.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to stop denying the full blessings of 
democracy to the land grant heirs. It's time to start hearing their 
cries.
  In 1997, then-Representative Bill Richardson of New Mexico introduced 
legislation that would create a Presidential Commission to study the 
claims of the land grant heirs.
  Last year, my predecessor, Mr. Redmond, introduced similar 
legislation in this body. With tremendous bipartisan support, the 
Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Act of 1998 passed overwhelmingly. 
Its supporters and co-sponsors included not only the current Speaker of 
the House, but former Speaker Gingrich and members of the leadership of 
both parties.
  With the passage of this bill, the House of Representatives sent a 
clear message that it was time to undo 151 years of injustice.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the legislation never made it through the 
Senate. And so I stand here today urging my colleagues to once again 
take a stand for justice.
  The bill I introduce today is substantively the one passed by this 
body last year. The bill will:
  (1) Create a five person Presidential Commission, called the 
Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Commission, to review the claims 
of the land grant heirs.
  (2) This commission will examine land claims, made by three or more 
eligible descendants of the same community land grant.
  (3) The members of the commission will be appointed by the President 
by and with the advice of the Senate.
  (4) The bill also creates a Community Land Grant Study Center at the 
Onate Center in Alcalde, New Mexico. The center will provide the means 
by which to conduct research, study and investigate the land grant 
claims.
  (5) The bill authorizes a total of $8 million over the next eight 
years to pay for this.
  This bill is a beginning, Mr. Speaker. It is my hope that this bill 
will be the conduit to continue to focus on this issue. I am confident 
that this body, and specifically members of the New Mexico delegation, 
can work together on this important matter.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill rights a wrong. It creates a Presidential 
Commission to study the claims of the land grant heirs whose land was 
improperly taken over the past 151 years in the absence of protection 
by the U.S. government over the past 151 years.
  It is time for our government to stop turning its back on the people 
of New Mexico. It is time for our government to stop turning its back 
on the Constitution.
  Simply, Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to do the right thing.
  This bill creates a commission that will evaluate each individual 
claim and make recommendations to Congress for final consideration.
  It provides a fair solution. It provides a reasonable solution. And 
most importantly, Mr. Speaker, it provides a just solution.

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