[House Report 106-830]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     106-830

======================================================================



 
  AMENDING THE YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO AND ALABAMA AND COUSHATTA INDIAN 
                    TRIBES OF TEXAS RESTORATION ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 7, 2000.--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. 1460]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1460) to amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and 
Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to decrease 
the requisite blood quantum required for membership in the 
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe, 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. 1460 is to amend the Ysleta del Sur 
Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas 
Restoration Act to decrease the requisite blood quantum 
required for membership in the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    H.R. 1460 would amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama 
and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act (Public 
Law 100-89, 25 U.S.C. 1300g et seq.) to decrease the requisite 
blood quantum required for membership in the Ysleta del Sur 
Pueblo tribe, also known as the Tigua Indian Tribe. That 1987 
Act, which restored recognition to the Tribe, requires that 
this Tribe's members have a blood quantum of at least one-
eighth to qualify for tribal membership.
    All federally-recognized Indian tribes have the power to 
determine their own membership criteria, including their own 
blood quantum requirements. However, this power can be, and at 
this Tribe's insistence, has been superseded by Congress. H.R. 
1460 would amend the Tribe's blood quantum requirement from 
one-eighth to one-sixteenth at the request of the Tribe.
    There are currently 1,252 members of the Tribe. However, if 
the current blood quantum requirements remain in effect, the 
membership of Tribe would be reduced significantly within three 
generations. To date, 27 individuals have been removed from the 
Tribe's rolls because their blood quantum has been determined 
to be below the requisite minimum now mandated by law. Upon 
enactment of H.R. 1460 those individuals would be eligible to 
petition for re-enrollment in the Tribe.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 1460 was introduced on April 15, 1999, by Congressman 
Silvestre Reyes (D-TX). The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Resources. On July 26, 2000, the Full Resources Committee 
met to mark up the bill. No amendments were offered and the 
bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

            Committee Oversight Findings And Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII 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 this bill.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) 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 this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
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 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII 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 on this bill.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII 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 this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, August 15, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1460, a bill to 
amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta 
Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to decrease the 
requisite blood quantum required for membership in the Ysleta 
del Sur Pueblo tribe.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Lanette J. 
Keith, and Eric Rollins.
            Sincerely,
                                               Arlene Holen
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1460--A bill to amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and 
        Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to decrease 
        the requisite blood quantum required for membership in the 
        Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe

    H.R. 1460 would decrease the level of blood required for 
membership in the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe. Currently, 
individuals must have a blood quantum level of at least one-
eighth to qualify for tribal membership. This bill would change 
that level to one-sixteenth for the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo 
tribe.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1460 would cost the 
federal government $5 million over the 2001-2005 period, 
assuming that the tribes receives health services and benefits 
at a level similar to currently recognized tribes and that the 
necessary funds are appropriated. Enacting H.R. 1460 would not 
affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would not apply. H.R. 1460 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on 
state, local, or tribal governments.
    Although the bill does not specifically authorize the 
appropriation of funds, it would increase the number of people 
eligible to join the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe, and thus 
become eligible for health service benefits available to 
members of federally recognized Indian tribes. The Indian 
Health Service (IHS) could seek additionally funds to provide 
benefits to new tribal members.
    Based on information from IHS, CBO estimates that the 
average annual cost of health service and benefits provided 
tribal members is about $1,500 per individual. Based on 
information from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO estimates 
that enacting H.R. 1460 would increase the population of the 
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe by about 550 members in 2001. 
Therefore, CBO estimates that H.R. 1460 would cost the federal 
government about $1 million each year.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Lanette J. 
Keith, and Eric Rollins. This estimate was approved by Peter H. 
Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

  SECTION 108 OF THE YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO AND ALABAMA AND COUSHATTA 
                 INDIAN TRIBES OF TEXAS RESTORATION ACT

SEC. 108. TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.

  (a) In General.--The membership of the tribe shall consist 
of--
          (1) the individuals listed on the Tribal Membership 
        Roll approved by the tribe's Resolution No. TC-5-84 
        approved December 18, 1984, and approved by the Texas 
        Indian Commission's Resolution No. TIC-85-005 adopted 
        on January 16, 1985; and
          (2) a descendant of an individual listed on that Roll 
        if the descendant--
                  (i) has [\1/8\] \1/16\ degree or more of 
                Tigua-Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Indian blood, and
                  (ii) is enrolled by the tribe.

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