[House Report 105-707]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
105th Congress Rept. 105-707
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 1
_______________________________________________________________________
KICKAPOO TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA FEDERAL INDIAN SERVICES RESTORATION ACT OF
1997
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September 11, 1998.--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. 2314]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2314) to restore Federal Indian services to members of
the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma residing in Maverick County,
Texas, to clarify United States citizenship status of such
members, to provide trust land for the benefit of the Tribe,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2314 is to restore Federal Indian
services to members of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma residing
in Maverick County, Texas.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 2314, the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma Federal Indian
Services Restoration Act of 1997, would restore Federal Indian
services to those members of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma
residing in Maverick County, Texas. The Committee notes that
these members of the Tribe received such services between 1983
and 1989.
H.R. 2314 is based on and mirrors the Texas Band of
Kickapoo Act of 1983 which authorized Federal Indian services,
U.S. citizenship status, and Federal trust land acquisition for
all Kickapoo Indians residing in Maverick County, Texas.
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma tribal members historically have
enjoyed a migratory lifestyle in which some reside in Maverick
County, Texas, and others in Oklahoma for the greater part of
the year. During the harvest season, many also travel northward
to such states as Montana and Utah to work as migrant farmers,
and during the winter months, many also spend time in
Nacimiento, Mexico. This migratory lifestyle has resulted in an
ambiguity about the rights of Kickapoos in Texas to U.S.
citizenship and eligibility for Federal and state health,
housing and social welfare programs. The Texas-based Kickapoos
were eligible for such services if they traveled to Oklahoma;
however, Federal legal barriers prevented them from directly
receiving these services in Texas.
In 1983, Congress enacted the Texas Band of Kickapoo Act to
allow for the direct provision of Federally funded social
services to all Kickapoos residing in Maverick County, Texas,
since these Kickapoos previously had been considered ineligible
for such services. The Act's clear intent was to resolve this
specific problem. Nothing in the 1983 Act or its accompanying
legislative history evidenced the intent of excluding any
Texas-based Kickapoos from receiving such Federal services and
programs.
However, within six years of enactment of the 1983 Act,
these issues resurfaced when, pursuant to the 1983 Act, a
faction broke off to form the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of
Texas in 1989. The 1989 Federal recognition of the Kickapoo
Traditional Tribe of Texas as a separate tribal entity
compromised the eligibility for services and rights of those
Kickapoo who chose to maintain their membership with the
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma.
Shortly after receiving recognition, the Kickapoo Tribe of
Texas began to refuse to provide medical and other social
services to those Texas Kickapoo who chose to remain affiliated
with the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma. Since that time, the
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma has repeatedly initiated and
proposed varying administrative strategies for providing
Federal Indian services to the Tribe's Texas members, only to
have the Bureau of Indian Affairsat the Department of the
Interior reject them. As a result, Congressional action is the Tribe's
only remaining alternative for resolving this dilemma.
H.R. 2314 would undo the unintended consequences of the
1989 Act by restoring the provision of Federally funded
services to the Texas-based members of the Kickapoo Tribe of
Oklahoma. More specifically, it would remove the current
bureaucratic constraints on the ability of the Kickapoo Tribe
of Oklahoma to provide Federally-supported social, medical, and
housing services to its Texas-based members.
As was provided in the 1983 Act, H.R. 2314 would clarify
the U.S. citizenship status of those Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma
members residing in Maverick County, Texas. This would assure
the free passage across the Mexican border of those few members
of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma who chose to maintain their
historically migratory lifestyle of residing in Texas for one
part of the year and in Mexico for the other part.
H.R. 2314 would also eliminate any outstanding questions as
to the Tribe's jurisdictional authority to provide Federally-
funded services to its Texas-based members by authorizing the
Secretary of the Department of the Interior to take into trust
a 45-acre parcel of land which the Tribe owns in Maverick
County, Texas.
committee action
H.R. 2314 was introduced on July 30, 1997, by Congressman
Wes Watkins (R-OK). The bill was referred primarily to the
Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the
Judiciary. On September 17, 1997, the Resources Committee met
to consider H.R. 2314. No amendments were offered to the bill,
and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by voice vote.
Committee oversight findings and recommendations
With respect to the requirements of 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 on Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
constitutional authority statement
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact H.R. 2314.
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. 2314. However, clause 7(d) of that Rule provides that this
requirement does not applywhen 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.
2314 does not contain any new budget authority, credit
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office,
enactment of H.R. 2314 could affect direct spending by
increasing outlays for the Food Stamp program, but any increase
would be negligible.
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. 2314.
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.
2314 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
congressional budget office cost estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 26, 1997.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2314, the Kickapoo
Tribe of Oklahoma Federal Indian Services Restoration Act of
1997.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lisa Daley
(for federal costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the impact on
state, local, and tribal governments).
Sincerely,
June E. O'Neill, Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 2314--Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma Federal Indian Services
Restoration Act of 1997
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2314 would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. The bill could affect
direct spending by increasing outlays for the Food Stamp
program, but any such effects would be negligible. Because H.R.
2314 could affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures
would apply. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
H.R. 2314 would restore federal services to members of the
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma who reside in Maverick County,
Texas. Though the Oklahoma tribe is currently receiving funds
to provide federal services to all of its members, those
members who live in Texas are not receiving most of the
services because they do not meet the requirement of living on
or near the Oklahoma reservation. The bill would allow these
members to be granted U.S. citizenship upon submission of an
application to the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS). Additionally, the bill would allow the Secretary of the
Interior to accept into trust for the Kickapoo Tribe of
Oklahoma 45 acres of land currently owned by the tribe.
CBO estimates that the Bureau of Land Management would
spend less than $100,000 to survey the land to be transferred
into trust, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Enacting H.R. 2314 would not increase federal spending for
tribal services. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the
individuals affected by the bill are already included in the
tribal enrollment figures that are used in calculating the
amount of funds allocated to the Kickapoo Tribe to provide
federal services. Thus, the amount of federal funding would not
change.
In addition, the bill would not result in an increase in
the amount of fees collected by the INS because most of the
individuals currently are allowed to apply for citizenship.
However, by automatically granting citizenship to those who
apply, the bill could increase spending for Food Stamps should
some individuals become eligible for the program who would not
otherwise do so. Because the number of individuals who may
receive food stamps would be small, any increase in direct
spending would be insignificant.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Lisa Daley
(for federal costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the impact on
state, local, and tribal governments). This estimate was
approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant Director for
Budget Analysis.
compliance with public law 104-4
H.R. 2314 contains no unfunded mandates.
changes in existing law
If enacted, H.R. 2314 would make no changes in existing
law.