[House Report 112-675]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 112-675
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TO ALLOW THE PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE TO DETERMINE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
MEMBERSHIP IN THAT TRIBE
_______
September 18, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3319]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3319) to allow the Pascua Yaqui Tribe to
determine the requirements for membership in that tribe, 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 all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP DETERMINED BY TRIBE.
Section 3 of Public Law 95-375 (25 U.S.C. 1300f-2) is amended to read
as follows:
``Sec. 3. For the purposes of section 1 of this Act, membership of
the Pascua Yaqui Tribe shall consist of any United States citizen of
Pascua Yaqui blood enrolled by the tribe.''.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 3319, as ordered reported, is to allow
the Pascua Yaqui Tribe to determine the requirements for
membership in that tribe.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe was recognized under Public Law 95-
375 (25 U.S.C. 1300f et seq.). Prior to its recognition by the
United States, Private Law 88-350 (October 8, 1964) conveyed a
parcel of public land to the Pascua Yaqui Association, Inc. The
tribe today is composed of members living in several
communities from the Tucson area to Scottsdale, Arizona.
Under its recognition Act, the Tribe's members consist of:
(1) members of the Pascua Yaqui Association, Inc., who applied
for enrollment within a year from September 18, 1978; (2) all
U.S. citizens of Yaqui blood who apply for membership within
two years from September 18, 1978, and further meet the Yaqui
Association's enrollment criteria; (3) all U.S. citizens of
Yaqui blood who apply within three years after October 14,
1994, and who meet the tribe's enrollment criteria; and (4)
direct lineal descendants of the previous categories of
members, providing they meet any other criteria developed by
the tribe.
Until recent decades, members of federally recognized
Indian tribes generally consisted of distinct communities of
people with at least one-eighth and often one-quarter degree
Indian ancestry. This membership requirement was often
contained in a statute or a tribe's own constitution, laws, or
customs. In the modern era of federal Indian policy, Congress
and the Executive Branch have relaxed what it means to be a
member of Indian tribe, leaving the determination of membership
criteria to the discretion of the tribe. This has enabled
tribes, at their option, to enroll members possessing very
small degrees of Indian ancestry, though many tribes
nonetheless choose to adhere to strict Indian blood quantum
limits.
While the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's recognition statute does not
contain a minimum Indian ancestry requirement, it limited
eligibility in a manner that prevents a number of people with
Yaqui ancestry from applying for membership to that tribe.
H.R. 3319 eliminates all membership criteria established in
the tribe's recognition Act and substitutes it with a simple
requirement that ``membership of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe shall
consist of any United States citizen of Pascua Yaqui blood
enrolled by the tribe.''
The only practical changes made by H.R. 3319 to current law
governing the tribe's membership criteria are to authorize the
tribe to admit anyone of Yaqui blood regardless of any prior
association with the recognized tribe. In the Committee markup
of H.R. 3319, an amendment to require each member of the tribe
to be a United States citizen, offered by Congressman Paul
Gosar (R-AZ), was unanimously adopted.
On July 24, 2012, the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska
Native Affairs held a hearing on H.R. 3319. The Bureau of
Indian Affairs testified in support of the bill without, as has
been typical under the Obama Administration, providing
substantial background information.
Committee support for H.R. 3319 does not necessarily
reflect support for continuing the modern Congressional policy
of extending recognition to tribes without imposing even the
barest limits on who may form tribes. Under current policy, a
group could conceivably obtain federal recognition as a tribe
without being required to prove that its members are distinctly
American Indian in a meaningful sense. A widely dispersed group
of people, for example, who are fully assimilated in mainstream
communities in big cities, who do not speak a Native tongue and
were not raised practicing Native customs, could be federally
recognized as an ``Indian tribe.'' Such a tribe would--in the
eyes of the United States--be on an equal footing with any
treaty tribe whose members include people with no less than
one-quarter degree Indian ancestry who have continuously
resided on their reservation where speaking in a Native tongue
and practicing Native culture is the way of life.
While this modern federal Indian policy remains a concern,
it cannot be resolved piecemeal through imposing new membership
requirements on individual tribes that have been recognized by
a prior Act of Congress. Thus, H.R. 3319 merits favorable
consideration in the House as long as Members are aware of the
need to address--with the consultation of Indian tribes--
whether federal recognition policy must be adjusted for all
American Indian tribes.
Committee Action
H.R. 3319 was introduced on November 2, 2011, by
Congressman Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ). The bill was referred to
the House Committee on Natural Resources, and within the
Committee to the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native
Affairs. On July 24, 2012, the Subcommittee on Indian and
Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing on the bill. On August 1,
2012, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
The Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs was
discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
offered an amendment designated .092 to the bill; the amendment
was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, was
then adopted and 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 Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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. 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:
H.R. 3319--A bill to allow the Pascua Yaqui Tribe to determine the
requirements for membership in that tribe
H.R. 3319 would allow the Pascua Yaqui tribe of Arizona to
establish its own eligibility requirements for determining
membership in the tribe. Based on information provided by the
Department of the Interior and the Pascua Yaqui tribe, CBO
estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $9
million over the 2013-2017 period, assuming appropriation of
the necessary funds.
CBO estimates that the legislation would increase tribal
membership by about 800 people compared to the existing
population of about 18,000. The new members would be eligible
for benefits provided by the Indian Health Service (IHS).
Assuming appropriation of the necessary funds, CBO estimates
that the IHS benefits for the additional members would cost
about $2 million annually. Enacting H.R. 3319 would not affect
direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures do not apply.
H.R. 3319 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no cost on state, local, or tribal governments.
Enacting this legislation would benefit the Pascua Yaqui tribe.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von
Gnechten (for Bureau of Indian Affairs programs) and Robert
Stewart (for Indian Health Service programs). The estimate was
approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget
Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of 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, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures. Based on information provided by
the Department of the Interior and the Pascua Yaqui tribe, CBO
estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $9
million over the 2013-2017 period, assuming appropriation of
the necessary funds.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to allow the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe to determine the requirements for membership
in that tribe.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
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 3 OF THE ACT OF SEPTEMBER 18, 1978
(Public Law 95-375)
AN ACT To provide for the extension of certain Federal benefits,
services, and assistance to the Pascua Yaqui Indians of Arizona, and
for other purposes.
[Sec. 3. For the purposes of section 1 of this Act,
membership of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe shall consist of--
[(A) the members of the Pascua Yaqui Association,
Incorporated, as of the date of the enactment of this
Act, who apply for enrollment in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe
within one year from the date of enactment of this Act
pursuant to the membership criteria and procedures
provided for in the official governing documents of the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe;
[(B) all those persons of Yaqui blood who are
citizens of the United States and who, within two years
from the date of enactment of this Act, apply for, and
are admitted to, membership in the Association pursuant
to article VII of the Articles of Incorporation of the
Association;
[(C) all those persons of Yaqui blood who are
citizens of the United States and who, within three
years after the date of enactment of this paragraph,
apply for enrollment in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe pursuant
to the membership criteria and procedures provided for
in the official governing documents of the Pascua Yaqui
Tribe; and
[(D) direct lineal descendants of such persons,
subject to any further qualifications as may be
provided by the Tribe in its constitution and bylaws or
other governing documents.]
Sec. 3. For the purposes of section 1 of this Act, membership
of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe shall consist of any United States
citizen of Pascua Yaqui blood enrolled by the tribe.