[Senate Report 110-480]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                      Calendar No. 1041
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-480

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AMENDING THE ACT OF AUGUST 9, 1955, TO AUTHORIZE THE COW CREEK BAND OF 
      UMPQUA TRIBE OF INDIANS, THE COQUILLE INDIAN TRIBE, AND THE 
 CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE SILETZ INDIANS OF OREGON TO OBTAIN 99-YEAR 
                     LEASE AUTHORITY FOR TRUST LAND

                                _______
                                

  September 22 (legislative day, September 17), 2008.--Ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Dorgan, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 3192]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 3192) to amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to authorize 
the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the Coquille 
Indian Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians 
of Oregon to obtain 99-year lease authority for trust land, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the 
title of the bill. The Committee recommends that the bill, as 
amended, do pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 3192, as amended, is to amend the Act of 
August 9, 1955, to authorize the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua 
Indians of Oregon, the Coquille Tribe of Oregon, and the 
Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon, to 
obtain 99-year lease authority for trust land, and to authorize 
the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Morongo 
Reservation, California to obtain 50-year lease authority for 
trust land.

                               Background

    Since the enactment of the Act of June 30, 1834, 4 Stat. 
730, codified as 25 U.S.C. Sec. 177, and predecessor statutes, 
land transactions with Indian tribes were prohibited unless 
specifically authorized by Congress. This law is commonly known 
as the Nonintercourse Act.
    Congress enacted the Act of August 9, 1955, codified at 25 
U.S.C. Sec. 415, commonly known as the Long-Term Leasing Act, 
to overcome the prohibition of the Nonintercourse Act. The 
Long-Term Leasing Act permitted some land transactions between 
Indian tribes and non-federal parties--specifically, the 
leasing of Indian lands. The Act required that leases of Indian 
lands be approved by the Secretary of the Interior and limited 
lease terms to 25 years.
    As business opportunities and economic considerations 
changed over time, leases longer than 25 years were desired. To 
facilitate economic development on trust lands, over the years, 
a number of tribes have obtained amendments to the Long-Term 
Leasing Act so that they could enter into leases for terms 
longer than 25 years. Approximately 50 tribes have obtained 
these amendments and all are listed in the Long-Term Leasing 
Act as having authority to enter into leases for terms as long 
as 99 years.
    S. 3192, as amended, would further amend the Long-Term 
Leasing Act by adding four additional tribes to the list. S. 
3192, as amended, adds the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians of 
Oregon, the Coquille Tribe of Oregon, and the Confederated 
Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon to the list of tribes 
that may enter into 99-year leases. S. 3192 also authorizes the 
Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Morongo 
Reservation, California to enter into 50-year leases.

                       Summary of the Amendments

    At its July 31, 2008 business meeting, the Committee 
adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute to S. 3192 
and an amendment to the title of the bill. Like the original 
bill, the amended bill would amend the Long-Term Leasing Act, 
25 U.S.C. Sec. 415, to provide long-term leasing authority to 
the tribes listed in the bill.
    An amendment in the nature of a substitute was adopted for 
three reasons. First, the substitute amendment ensures that the 
names of the tribes listed in the bill match the names of the 
tribes as they appear on the Department of the Interior's list 
of federally recognized tribes. The Department's list is the 
official list of federally recognized tribes. The list is 
published annually in the Federal Register pursuant to Section 
104 of the Act of November 2, 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-454, 108 
Stat. 4791.
    Second, the substitute amendment eliminates some formatting 
and technical changes that were proposed in the original text 
of S. 3192. The substitute amendment, lacking the proposed 
changes, maintains the long-standing and well-understood format 
of 25 U.S.C. Sec. 415.
    Third, the amendment in the nature of a substitute added 
authority for the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of 
the Morongo Reservation, California to enter into 50-year 
leases. The provision regarding the Morongo Band is included in 
H.R. 5680 which passed the House on June 18, 2008, and was 
referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. The substitute 
amendment to S. 3192 includes the same Morongo Band provision 
that is in H.R. 5680.
    An amendment to the title of the bill was also adopted to 
accurately reflect the names of the tribes that were included 
in the bill.

           Section-by-Section Analysis of S. 3192 as Amended


Section 1. Leases of restricted land

    This section amends subsection (a) of the first section of 
the Act of August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. Sec. 415(a)), in the 
second sentence by inserting ``, land held in trust for the Cow 
Creek Band of Umpqua Indians of Oregon, land held in trust for 
the Coquille Tribe of Oregon, and land held in trust for the 
Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Reservation, Oregon'' after 
``Devils Lake Sioux Reservation''.
    This section also amends subsection (a) of the first 
section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. Sec. 415(a)), 
in the second sentence by inserting ``and except leases of land 
held in trust for the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians 
of the Morongo Reservation, California, which may be for a term 
not to exceed 50 years,'' before ``and except''.

                          Legislative History

    S. 3192 was introduced by Senator Wyden on June 25, 2008. 
Senator Smith is an original cosponsor of the bill. The bill 
was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. At an open 
business meeting on July 31, 2008, the Committee approved S. 
3192, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an 
amendment to the title of the bill.

            Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Vote

    At an open business meeting held July 31, 2008, the 
Committee on Indian Affairs, by a voice vote, adopted S. 3192, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an 
amendment to the title of the bill. The Committee ordered the 
bill reported to the Senate with the recommendation that the 
Senate do pass S. 3192 as amended.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The cost estimate for S. 3192, as calculated by the 
Congressional Budget Office, is set forth below:

S. 3192--A bill to amend the act of August 9, 1955, to authorize the 
        Cow Creek Band of Umqua Tribe of Indians, the Coquille Indian 
        Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon 
        to obtain 99-year lease authority for trust land

    S. 3192 would authorize the Cow Creek Band of Umqua Tribe 
of Indians, the Coquille Indian Tribe, and the Confederated 
Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon to lease lands held in trust 
for up to 99 years. The bill also would authorize the Morongo 
Band of Mission Indians to lease trust lands for up to 50 
years. Under current law, the tribes can lease trust lands to 
schools, businesses, and public entities for 25-year terms, 
subject to the approval of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 3192 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Any additional 
proceeds from such leases would accrue to the owners of the 
trust land and would have no effect on the federal budget. CBO 
also estimates that implementing the bill would have a 
negligible effect on BIA's workload. Enacting S. 3192 would not 
affect direct spending or revenues.
    S. 3192 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.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Leigh Angres. 
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

               Regulatory and Paperwork Impact Statement

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill evaluate 
the regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The Committee has concluded that the 
regulatory and paperwork impacts of S. 3192 should be de 
minimis.

                        Executive Communication

    The Committee has received no official communication from 
the Administration on the provisions of S. 3192.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 3192, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new language to be added in italic, existing law to 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                         ACT OF AUGUST 9, 1955


AN ACT To authorize the leasing of restricted Indian lands for public, 
religious, educational, recreational, residential, business, and other 
           purposes requiring the grant of long-term leases.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) 
any restricted Indian lands, whether tribally or individually 
owned, may be leased by the Indian owners, with the approval of 
the Secretary of the Interior, for public, religious, 
educational, recreational, residential, or business purposes, 
including the development or utilization of natural resources 
in connection with operations under such leases, for grazing 
purposes, and for those farming purposes which require the 
making of a substantial investment in the improvement of the 
land for the production of specialized crops as determined by 
said Secretary. All leases so granted shall be for a term of 
not to exceed twenty-five years, except leases of land located 
outside the boundaries of Indian reservations in the State of 
New Mexico, leases of land on the Agua Caliente (Palm Springs) 
Reservation, the Dania Reservation, the Pueblo of Santa Ana 
(with the exception of the lands known as the ``Santa Ana 
Pueblo Spanish Grant''), the reservation of the Confederated 
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Moapa 
Indian reservation, the Swinomish Indian Reservation, the 
Southern Ute Reservation, the Fort Mojave Reservation, the 
reservation of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian 
Reservation, the Burns Paiute Reservation, the Kalispel Indian 
Reservation, the pueblo of Cochiti, the pueblo of Pojoaque, the 
pueblo of Tesuque, the pueblo of Zuni, the Hualapai 
Reservation, the Spokane Reservation, the San Carlos Apache 
Reservation, the Yavapai-Prescott Community Reservations, the 
Pyramid Lake Reservation, the Gila River Reservation, the 
Soboba Indian Reservation, the Viejas Indian Reservation, the 
Tulalip Indian Reservation, the Navajo Reservation, the Cabazon 
Indian Reservation, the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation and land 
held in trust for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, the Mille Lacs 
Reservation with respect to a lease between an entity 
established by the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians and the 
Minnesota Historical Society, leases of the lands comprising 
the Moses Allotment Numbered 8 and the Moses Allotment Numbered 
10, Chelan County, Washington, and lands held in trust for the 
Las Vegas Paiute Tribe of Indians, and lands held in trust for 
the Twenty-nine Palms Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, and 
lands held in trust for the Reno Sparks Indian Colony, lands 
held in trust for the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, 
lands held in trust for the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians of 
the Guidiville Indian Rancheria, lands held in trust for the 
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, lands 
held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs 
Reservation of Oregon, lands held in trust for the Cherokee 
Nation of Oklahoma, lands held in trust for the Fallon Paiute 
Shoshone Tribes, lands held in trust for the Pueblo of Santa 
Clara, land held in trust for the Yurok Tribe, land held in 
trust for the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians of the Hopland 
Rancheria, lands held in trust for the Yurok Tribe, lands held 
in trust for the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians of the Hopland 
Rancheria, lands held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of 
the Colville Reservation, lands held in trust for the Cahuilla 
Band of Indians of California, lands held in trust for the 
confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, and 
the lands held in trust for the Confederated Salish and 
Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Montana, and 
leases to the Devils Lake Sioux Tribe, or any organization of 
such tribe, of land on the Devils Lake Sioux Reservation, land 
held in trust for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians of 
Oregon, land held in trust for the Coquille Tribe of Oregon, 
and land held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the 
Siletz Reservation, Oregon, which may be for a term of not to 
exceed ninety-nine years, and except leases of land held in 
trust for the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the 
Morongo Reservation, California, which may be for a term not to 
exceed 50 years, and except leases of land for grazing purposes 
which may be for a term not to exceed ten years. Leases for 
public, religious, educational, recreational, residential, or 
business purposes with the consent of both parties may include 
provisions authorizing their renewal for one additional term of 
not to exceed twenty-five years, and all leases and renewals 
shall be made under such terms and regulations as may be 
prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. Prior to approval 
of any lease or extension of an existing lease pursuant to this 
section, the Secretary of the Interior shall first satisfy 
himself that adequate consideration has been given to the 
relationship between the use of the leased lands and the use of 
neighboring lands; the height, quality, and safety of any 
structures or other facilities to be constructed on such lands; 
the availability of police and fire protection and other 
services; the availability of judicial forums for all criminal 
and civil causes arising on the leased lands; and the effect on 
the environment of the uses to which the leased lands will be 
subject.

                                  
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