[House Report 112-675]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-675

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



 
   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.

                                  
