[House Report 115-564]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                     {      115-564

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



 
                 OREGON TRIBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

 February 15, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3225]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 3225) to allow the Confederated Tribes of Coos, 
Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, the Confederated Tribes of 
the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of 
Siletz Indians of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Warm 
Springs, and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians to 
lease or transfer certain lands, 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. 3225 is to allow the Confederated 
Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, the 
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the 
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon, the 
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and the Cow Creek Band of 
Umpqua Tribe of Indians to lease or transfer certain lands.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    A law commonly called the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act 
reserves to the United States the exclusive right to acquire 
Indian lands.\1\ The Act was intended to protect Indian tribes 
by preventing the loss of their lands, except by treaty. 
Specifically, the Act prohibits the transfer, sale, lease, or 
other conveyance of land owned by an Indian tribe to third 
parties without federal approval. This prohibition applies to 
both trust and fee lands of a tribe.
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    \1\25 U.S.C. 177.
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    Over the last century, Congress has enacted laws that 
govern the acquisition by the Secretary of the Interior of land 
in trust for tribes, and for the leasing of these trust lands. 
Because such laws, which are thought to supersede the Indian 
Trade and Intercourse Act, do not impose a restriction on a 
tribe's acquisition, sale, exchange, or leasing of land not 
held in trust, tribes often buy, sell, and dispose of non-trust 
lands without federal approval, notwithstanding that the Indian 
Trade and Intercourse Act remains in the U.S. Code. Although 
the purpose of the Act is viewed by some as outdated, the U.S. 
Supreme Court in 2005 said it ``remain[s] substantially in 
force today . . . [and] bars sales of tribal land without the 
acquiescence of the Federal Government.''\2\
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    \2\City of Sherrill v. Oneida Nation of New York, 544 U.S. 197, 204 
(2005) (internal citation omitted).
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    Tribes occasionally seek a waiver of the Act to facilitate 
business transactions and mortgages related to their non-trust 
lands. For example, in the 113th and 114th Congresses, bills 
similar to H.R. 3225 were enacted to permit the Miami Tribe of 
Oklahoma and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to 
lease or transfer interests in their fee land without further 
federal approval.\3\ In the 106th Congress, a bill was enacted 
into law with a similar purpose for the Lower Sioux Indian 
Community in Minnesota.\4\ Congress has also enacted other 
legislation authorizing several tribes to sell or mortgage 
specific parcels of fee lands.\5\
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    \3\See P.L. 114-127 and P.L. 113-88.
    \4\See P.L. 106-217.
    \5\See P.L. 102-497; P.L. 107-331; P.L. 103-435; P.L. 105-256; and 
P.L. 110-76.
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    H.R. 3225 would allow five tribes\6\ in Oregon to lease, 
sell, convey, warrant, or transfer all or any portion of 
interest in any real property not held in trust for the tribes. 
Without this bill, these tribes may encounter difficulty 
securing financing or demonstrating clear title due to the 
restrictions imposed by the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act.
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    \6\Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, 
the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the 
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon, the Confederated 
Tribes of Warm Springs, and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of 
Indians.
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    H.R. 3225 is similar to S. 1285, which was reported by the 
Committee on January 10, 2018 (H. Rept. 115-507). Both bills 
waive the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act for the non-trust 
lands of five tribes in Oregon; however, S. 1285 additionally 
waives the Act for the Klamath Tribes and the Burns Paiute 
Tribes.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3225 was introduced on July 13, 2017, by Congressman 
Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR). The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs. On 
January 17, 2018, the Natural Resources Committee met to 
consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous 
consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill was 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 AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, February 13, 2018.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3225, the Oregon 
Tribal Economic Development Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese.
            Sincerely,
                                                Keith Hall,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3225--Oregon Tribal Economic Development Act

    H.R. 3225 would authorize five Indian tribes located in 
Oregon to lease, sell, or otherwise transfer any real property 
owned by those tribes that is not held in trust by the United 
States for the benefit of those tribes. Under current law, 
those tribes are prohibited from leasing, selling, or otherwise 
transferring any land, whether or not the government holds it 
in trust for their benefit, without specific Congressional 
approval.
    Because H.R. 3225 would not affect land that has any 
associated costs or benefits to the federal government, CBO 
estimates that enacting the bill would have no effect on the 
federal budget.
    Enacting H.R. 3225 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3225 would not increase 
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 3225 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The 
bill would benefit the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower 
Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the 
Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of 
Siletz Indians of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of Warm 
Springs, and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians by 
allowing the tribes to lease or transfer some land.
    On January 5, 2018, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
1285 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural 
Resources on December 13, 2017. The two pieces of legislation 
are similar (S. 1285 would affect seven tribes whereas H.R. 
3225 would affect five tribes), and CBO's estimates of their 
budgetary effects are the same.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Robert Reese 
(for federal costs) and Rachel Austin (for mandates). The 
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. 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 allow the Confederated Tribes of 
Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, the Confederated 
Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the Confederated 
Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of 
Warm Springs, and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians 
to lease or transfer certain lands.

                           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. This bill does not contain any 
directed rule makings.
    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

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing 
law.

                                  [all]