[Senate Report 111-359]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 683
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-359
======================================================================
AMENDING THE YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO AND ALABAMA AND COUSHATTA INDIAN
TRIBES OF TEXAS RESTORATION ACT TO ALLOW THE YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO
TRIBE TO DETERMINE BLOOD QUANTUM REQUIREMENT FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THAT
TRIBE
_______
December 9, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Dorgan, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5811]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill, H.R. 5811, to amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama
and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to allow
the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe to determine blood quantum
requirement for membership in that Tribe, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon, without amendment, and
recommends that the bill do pass.
Purpose
The purpose of H.R. 5811 is to amend the Ysleta del Sur
Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas
Restoration Act to allow the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe of
Texas to determine blood quantum requirement for membership in
that Tribe.
Background and Need for Legislation
Congress passed the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and
Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act in 1987
((Restoration Act), Public Law 100-89). That Act restored
federal recognition to the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas and
the Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas. The
Restoration Act also contained a tribal membership provision
for the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (Tigua) Tribe which required
members to (1) have 1/8th degree or more of Tigua Indian blood
and (2) be enrolled by the tribe.
The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe has approximately 1,300
enrolled members. Due to the blood quantum restrictions in the
Restoration Act, it is believed that the Tribe will see a
significant decline in tribal membership over the next 50
years. A number of individuals have already been removed from
tribal membership as it was determined that they no longer
satisfied the blood quantum requirement, as currently
authorized under the Restoration Act.
Under the Restoration Act, the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo is one
of the few federally recognized tribes that have their
membership criteria prescribed by the federal government. One
of the most recognized aspects of tribal sovereignty is the
ability of a tribe to determine its own membership. The United
States Supreme Court acknowledged the authority of Indian
tribes to determine their own membership in Santa Clara Pueblo
v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49 (1978).
H.R. 5811 would amend the Restoration Act by authorizing
the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo to determine its own blood quantum
requirement, similar to most other federally-recognized Indian
tribes in the United States.
Legislative History
H.R. 5811 was introduced on July 21, 2010, by Congressman
Silvestre Reyes (TX), and was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources in the House of Representatives. On September
22, 2010, the House of Representatives considered and passed
H.R. 5811 by voice vote. On September 23, 2010, H.R. 5811 was
received in the Senate and referred to the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs. On November 18, 2010, the Committee on Indian
Affairs held an open business meeting and approved H.R. 5811 by
unanimous voice vote without amendment.
In the 110th Congress, Representative Reyes introduced H.R.
1696, which was almost identical to the current bill. It was
introduced on March 26, 2007 and was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources in the House of Representatives. On July
18, 2007, the bill was reported favorably without amendment to
the full House of Representatives. On July 30, 2007, the House
of Representatives passed H.R. 1696 by unanimous consent,
however, no further action was taken on the bill.
Similar bills to H.R. 5811 were also introduced from the
105th to the 109th Congresses. Unlike the current bill, each of
the bills between the 105th and 109th Congresses specifically
lowered the blood quantum requirement from \1/8\ to \1/16\, as
opposed to removing the blood quantum requirement entirely.
With the exception of H.R. 1460 in the 106th Congress, each of
these bills saw no action beyond being referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources in the House of Representatives.
In the 106th Congress, H.R. 1460 passed the House of
Representatives, but was not taken up by the Senate.
Section-by-Section of H.R. 5811
Section 1. Blood Quantum Requirement Determined by Tribe.
This section removes the 1/8th blood quantum requirement for
tribal membership from federal law, which would allow the tribe
to determine its own blood quantum criteria for tribal
membership.
Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Vote
In an open business session on November 18, 2010, the
Committee on Indian Affairs, by a unanimous voice vote, adopted
H.R. 5811, without amendment, and ordered the bill reported to
the Senate, with the recommendation that the Senate do pass the
bill.
Cost and Budgetary Consideration
The following cost estimate, as provided by the
Congressional Budget Office, dated December 7, 2010, was
prepared for H.R. 5811. The Congressional Budget Office
estimated that implementing H.R. 5811 would cost the federal
government $7 million over the 2011-2015 period.
H.R. 5811--An act to amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and
Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to allow the
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe to determine blood quantum
requirement for membership in that tribe
H.R. 5811 would amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama
and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to
eliminate the requirement that individuals have a blood quantum
level of at least one-eighth to qualify for tribal membership.
This legislation would allow the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe to
establish its own blood quantum requirement for determining
membership. Based on information from the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) and assuming appropriation of the necessary
amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5811 would cost
$7 million over the 2011-2015 period. Enacting the legislation
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 5811 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.
Enacting this legislation would benefit the Ysleta del Sur
Pueblo tribe.
Based on information from the BIA and the Ysleta del Sur
Pueblo tribe, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5811 would lead
to an increase in the tribal population of about 700 members in
2011. Those additional members of the tribe would be eligible
for services from the Indian Health Service (IHS) and BIA. Such
services are available to members of federally recognized
Indian tribes.
Based on information from IHS, CBO estimates that about 55
percent of new tribal members--or about 400 people--would
receive benefits each year. CBO expects that the cost to serve
those individuals would be similar to that for current
beneficiaries--about $2,800 per person in 2010. In addition,
based on information provided by BIA, CBO expects that
additional costs for services provided by that agency would
total about $1 million over the 2011-2015 period. In total, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 5811 would cost between $1
million and $2 million a year over that period, assuming
appropriation of the necessary amounts.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jeff LaFave
(for BIA programs) and Robert Stewart (for IHS programs). This
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Executive Communications
The Committee has received no Executive communications
regarding H.R. 5811.
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 paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that H.R. 5811
will have de minimis regulatory or paperwork impact.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes the following
changes in existing law (existing law proposed to be omitted is
enclosed in black brackets, new matter printed in italic):
25 U.S.C. 1300g-7(a)
* * * * * * *
(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\ or more of Tigua-Ysleta del Sur
Pueblo Indian blood, and
(ii) is enrolled by the tribe.]
(2) any person of Tigua Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Indian
blood enrolled by the tribe.
* * * * * * *