[House Report 104-7]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



104th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                      104-7
_______________________________________________________________________


 
 TO TRANSFER A PARCEL OF LAND TO THE TAOS PUEBLO INDIANS OF NEW MEXICO

                                _______


January 27, 1995.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 101]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 101) to transfer a parcel of land to the Taos Pueblo 
Indians of New Mexico, having considered the same report 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill 
as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. LAND TRANSFER.

    (a) Transfer.--The parcel of land described in subsection (b) is 
hereby transferred without consideration to the Secretary of the 
Interior to be held in trust for the Pueblo de Taos. Such parcel shall 
be a part of the Pueblo de Taos Reservation and shall be managed in 
accordance with section 4 of the Act of May 31, 1933 (48 Stat. 108) (as 
amended, including as amended by Public Law 91-550 (84 Stat. 1437)).
    (b) Land Description.--The parcel of land referred to in subsection 
(a) is the land that is generally depicted on the map entitled ``Lands 
transferred to the Pueblo of Taos--proposed'' and dated September 1994, 
comprises 764.33 acres, and is situated within sections 25, 26, 35, and 
36, Township 27 North, Range 14 East, New Mexico Principal Meridian, 
within the Wheeler Peak Wilderness, Carson National Forest, Taos 
County, New Mexico.
    (c) Conforming Boundary Adjustments.--The boundaries of the Carson 
National Forest and the Wheeler Peak Wilderness are hereby adjusted to 
reflect the transfer made by subsection (a).
    (d) Resolution of Outstanding Claims.--The Congress finds and 
declares that, as a result of the enactment of this Act, the Taos 
Pueblo has no unresolved equitable or legal claims against the United 
States on the lands to be held in trust and to become part of the 
Pueblo de Taos Reservation under this section.

                          purpose of the bill

    The purpose of H.R. 101, as amended, is to transfer 764.33 
acres of the Wheeler Peak Wilderness to the Secretary of the 
Interior to be held in trust for the Pueblo de Taros Indians.

                  background and need for legislation

    H.R. 101 would transfer to the Pueblo de Taros in New 
Mexico, 764.33 acres of Carson National Forest lands that are 
within the congressionally designated Wheeler Peak Wilderness. 
The lands would be transferred without compensation in either 
cash or land.
    The lands are known as the Bottleneck tract and are 
surrounded on three sides by lands already owned by the Pueblo. 
The adjacent Pueblo lands are known as the Blue Lake 
Wilderness. The lands for this tribal wilderness were given to 
the Pueblo in 1970 by Public Law 91-550. The 1970 Act requires 
the Pueblo to manage Blue Lake to be ``forever wild'' and the 
Act references the definition of wilderness found in Section 
2(c) of the Wilderness Act of 1964. As part of the Wheeler Peak 
Wilderness, the Bottleneck lands currently are managed under 
the provisions of the Wilderness Act.
    H.R. 101 directs the Bottleneck be managed under the 1970 
Act once it is transferred to the Pueblo. The Pueblo has stated 
that its intent is to manage the Bottleneck as part of its Blue 
Lake Wilderness. The Blue Lake area, including the Bottleneck, 
is sacred to the Pueblo and is used for religious ceremonial 
purposes. A sacred trail known as that Trail of Life crosses 
the Bottleneck. From the Bottleneck, the general public can 
look down at Blue Lake, making it difficult to maintain privacy 
for religious ceremonies. There is a long history of 
controversy as to the ownership of the Bottleneck and adjacent 
lands.

                            committee action

    H.R. 101 was introduced on January 4, 1995, by Mr. 
Richardson, and referred to the Committee on Resources. The 
Committee retained the bill at Full Committee. The bill, as 
amended, was ordered reported by the Committee to the House of 
Representatives on January 18, 1995, by unanimous voice vote.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1 has four subsections. Subsection (a) transfers 
the lands known as the Bottleneck tract to the Secretary of the 
Interior to be held in trust for the Pueblo de Taros. It 
directs that these lands be managed in accordance with section 
4 of the Act of May 31, 1933 (48 Stat. 108) as amended, 
including as amended by Public Law 91-550 (84 Stat. 1437).
    Subsection (b) describes the lands to be transferred and 
references a map.
    Subsection (c) adjusts the boundaries of the Carson 
National Forest and the Wheeler Peak Wilderness.
    Subsection (d) states that this transfer of land completes 
the transfer effected by Section 4 of the Act of May 31, 1933, 
as amended, particularly as amended in 1970. The Committee 
intends that this Act bring closure to the Pueblo's claims for 
National Forest lands in and around the Blue Lake area.

            committee oversight findings and recommendations

    Pursuant to clause 2(l)(3) of rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives and clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee's 
oversight findings and recommendations are contained in the 
body of this report.

                     inflationary impact statement

    Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that the 
enactment of H.R. 101 will have no significant inflationary 
impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national 
economy.

                        cost of the legislation

    Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 101. However, clause 7(d) of that Rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     compliance with house rule xi

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 
101 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 101.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 101 
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, January 24, 1995.
Hon. Don Young;
Chairman, Committee an Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 101, a bill to transfer a parcel of land to the 
Taos Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, as ordered reported by the 
House Committee on Resources on January 18, 1995. CBO estimates 
that H.R. 101 would have no significant impact on the federal 
budget and no impact on the budgets of state and local 
governments. Because enactment of H.R. 101 would not affect 
direct spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would not 
apply to the bill.
    H.R. 101 would transfer to the Secretary of the Interior 
764 acres of Carson National Forest lands, which would be held 
in trust for the Pueblo de Taos and be part of the Pueblo de 
Taos Reservation. The bill would not result in the loss of 
timber receipts because the land is currently managed under the 
Wilderness Act of 1964, which prohibits the extraction of 
natural resources.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Theresa 
Gullo.
            Sincerely,
                                    Robert D. Reischauer, Director.

                        changes in existing law

    If enacted, H.R. 101 would make no changes in existing law.

                          departmental reports

    The Committee has received no departmental reports on H.R. 
101.