[House Report 113-631]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     113-631

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                      MAY 31, 1918 ACT REPEAL ACT

                                _______
                                

December 1, 2014.--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. 5050]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 5050) to repeal the Act of May 31, 1918, and for 
other purposes, 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. 5050 is to repeal the Act of May 31, 
1918.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Fort Hall Indian Reservation, located in southeast 
Idaho near Pocatello and Blackfoot, was originally established 
in 1867 by Executive Order for the benefit of various Bands of 
the Shoshone and Bannock Indians (Tribes). Over time the Tribes 
ceded portions of the reservation which were eventually 
allotted to individual Indians. Today, the reservation 
encompasses 544,000 acres of land, 97 percent of which is held 
by the United States in trust for the Tribes or individual 
Indians. There are more than 6,000 people residing on the 
reservation.
    In 1918, Congress passed the May 31, 1918 Act (40 Stat. 
592, chapter 88). Under this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 
was authorized to set aside and reserve approximately 120 acres 
for town-site purposes and such land as may be necessary for 
public interest. Approximately 10 acres of land was also to be 
patented for a school, park, and other public purposes. These 
120 acres had been held in trust for the Tribes prior to 
enactment of the 1918 Act.
    The town-site envisioned under the 1918 Act never came to 
fruition, and the land is now owned by Bingham County. The 
Tribes ultimately seek restoration of the lands into tribal 
ownership because the lands are centrally located on the 
Reservation. The lands are only a few blocks away from the 
tribal business center, the health clinic, and other tribal 
facilities.
    In 2009, the Tribes entered into a Memorandum of Agreement 
with Bingham County for exclusive use of the land by the 
Tribes. Under the agreement, the County defers all property 
issues to the Tribes, the Tribes provide all government 
services on the land, and the County does not assess taxes on 
persons residing on the land.
    H.R. 5050 is needed to restore tribal lands that were 
originally held in trust for the benefit of the Tribes. H.R. 
5050 repeals the Act of May 31, 1918, and provides the Tribes 
with a right of first refusal to purchase at fair market value 
land in the Fort Hall town-site that is offered for sale. Any 
land currently held in fee by the Tribes or by a tribal member 
in the town-site and land purchased under the terms of the bill 
will be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of 
the Indians.
    The Tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs estimate that 
approximately 111 acres would be placed back into trust if H.R. 
5050 is enacted. This is due to some non-Indians residing on 
fee property within the town-site. Nothing in this bill affects 
any valid right to any land set aside or set apart under the 
1918 Act.
    At the July 29, 2014 hearing on the bill, the 
Administration testified in support of H.R. 5050.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 5050 was introduced on July 9, 2014, by Congressman 
Michael Simpson (R-ID). The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. On July 29, 
2014, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On September 
18, 2014, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider 
the bill. The Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs 
was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were 
offered, and the bill was 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. 5050--May 31, 1918, Act Repeal Act

    H.R. 5050 would repeal the authority for the Department of 
the Interior (DOT) to reserve land for a town site within the 
Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Idaho for the benefit of the 
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. The bill would give the tribes the 
right of first refusal to purchase the land that is currently 
reserved and would authorize DOT to take approximately 111 
acres of land into trust for the benefit of the tribes.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5050 would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget. None of this land is 
federally owned and the cost to hold it in trust for the tribes 
would be minimal. Enacting the bill would not affect direct 
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do 
not apply.
    H.R. 5050 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    On September 23, 2014, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
S. 2041, the May 31, 1918, Act Repeal Act, as ordered reported 
by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on June 11, 2014. The 
two pieces of legislation are similar, and the CBO cost 
estimates are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von 
Gnechten. 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, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase 
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 5050 would have no significant effect on the 
federal budget.
    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 is to repeal the Act of May 31, 1918.

                           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.

                       Compliance With H. Res. 5

    Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that 
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any 
specific rule-making proceedings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                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 and 
existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

                    ACT OF MAY 31, 1918 (CHAPTER 88)


 AN ACT To authorize the establishment of a town site on the Fort Hall 
                       Indian Reservation, Idaho.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, [That the 
Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to 
set aside and reserve for town-site purposes a tract of land 
within the Fort Wall Indian Reservation, Idaho, as in his 
opinion may be required for the future public interests, and he 
may cause the same to be surveyed into suitable lots and blocks 
and to dedicate the streets and alleys thereof to public uses; 
and he is hereby authorized to set apart and reserve for 
school, park, and other public purposes not more than ten acres 
in such town site; and patents shall issue for the lands so set 
apart and reserved for school, park, and other public purposes 
to the municipality legally charged with the care and custody 
of lands donated for such purposes on condition that Indian 
children shall be permitted to attend the public schools of 
such town under the same conditions as white children.]
  [Sec. 2. That the Secretary of the Interior is further 
authorized to cause the lots within such town site as may be 
established hereunder to be appraised and disposed of under 
such rules and regulations as he may prescribe and any and all 
expenses in connection with the survey, appraisement, and sale 
of such town site shall be reimbursed from the sales of town 
lots, and the net proceeds derived therefrom shall be placed in 
the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Indians 
of the Fort Hall Reservation and shall be subject to 
appropriation by Congress for their benefit: Provided, however, 
That any lands disposed of hereunder shall be subject to all 
the laws of the United States prohibiting the introduction of 
intoxicants into the Indian country until otherwise provided by 
Congress.]