[Senate Report 115-396]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 685
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-396
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TO PROVIDE FOR THE TRANSFER OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND IN THE STATE OF
MINNESOTA FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE LEECH LAKE BAND OF OJIBWE
_______
November 28, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hoeven, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2599]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (S. 2599) to provide for the transfer of certain Federal
land in the State of Minnesota for the benefit of the Leech
Lake Band of Ojibwe, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill,
as amended, do pass.
PURPOSE
The bill, S. 2599, intends to transfer 11,760 acres of
federal land from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to
the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) for the benefit of
the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Indian tribe (Tribe or Tribal).
BACKGROUND
The bill, S. 2599, would restore Tribal land that was lost
during the termination era when many of its members were
illegally dispossessed of their land via ``secretarial
transfers,'' a transaction where the DOI approved the sale or
transfer of tribal land and/or individually owned Indian
allotments without the consent of the tribe or the individual
Indian allottees. The Tribe maintains that this practice by the
DOI resulted in the Tribe having an insufficient land base to
meet the current needs of its membership.\1\ The Tribe is
seeking the return of the described land in S. 2599 to help
restore its land base, to protect tribal sacred sites, and to
build housing on some of the tracts of land near the Tribe's
existing communities.
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\1\The Tribe has the largest population out of the State of
Minnesota tribes (about 10,660 as of the 2010 census), the Tribe has
the smallest amount of land available for its use, as much of its
reservation is submerged under the area's lakes.
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SUMMARY OF THE BILL AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The federally recognized Tribe has a membership of
approximately 10,660 members and its reservation is located
within the National Chippewa Forest in Cass County, Minnesota.
The Tribe is part of the greater Minnesota Chippewa tribes,
which is comprised of the Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand
Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, and White Earth.
Under the provisions of S. 2599, approximately 11,760 acres
of federal land, located in Cass County, Minnesota would be
transferred from the USDA to the DOI. The federal land
described in S. 2599 is located within the Chippewa National
Forest and contains utility easements, rights-of-way for roads,
and flowage and reservoir rights. No cabins, campgrounds,
lodges, or resorts are located on the land.
The land described in S. 2599 will be considered a part of
the Tribe's reservation. Following a survey, mapping, and legal
description of the land by the Secretary of the USDA, the land
shall be transferred to the Secretary of the DOI, including all
right, title, and interest of the federal land described in the
bill.
The Tribe intends to respect all existing easements,
rights-of-way and other encumbrances on the land and does not
intend to immediately modify the current land uses. The federal
land will stay in tax-exempt fee status as part of the Chippewa
National Forest until the Tribe develops a plan to allow for
economic and residential use.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
On March 22, 2018, Senator Smith introduced the Leech Lake
Band of Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act. The bill, S. 2599,
was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate
on the same day.
On July 11, 2018, the Committee held a legislative hearing
on S. 2599. At this hearing, Ms. Leslie Weldon, Deputy Chief
for National Forest System, Forest Service, USDA, and the
Honorable Faron Jackson, Sr., Chairman, Leech Lake Band of
Ojibwe, both positively testified regarding the legislation. On
September 17, 2018, Senator Klobuchar was added as a cosponsor.
On September 26, 2018, the Committee held a duly called
business meeting to consider S. 2599. Senator Smith filed a
timely amendment in the nature of a substitute, which addresses
comments provided by the Forest Service of the USDA. The
Committee passed S. 2599 by voice vote and ordered the bill, as
amended, to be favorably reported.
A House companion bill, H.R. 5529, was introduced by
Representative Nolan on April 17, 2018. On April 20, 2018, the
bill, H.R. 5529, was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives, Subcommittees on
Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs, and on Federal
Lands. On July 26, 2018, Representative McCollum was added as a
cosponsor. No further action has been taken on H.R. 5529.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
This section provides the short title of the bill as the
``Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act''.
Sec. 2. Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation Restoration
This section:
Provides the Congressional Findings and
Definitions used in the bill.
Requires that the federal land transferred between
the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the
Interior for the benefit of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe be
held in trust by the United States and considered to be part of
the Tribe's reservation.
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to complete,
within 180 days after date of enactment of this Act, a plan of
survey to establish boundaries of the land; and submit a map
and legal description of the land to the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Indian Affairs of the Senate, and be made available to the
public. The map and legal description of the land may be
updated for any clerical or typographical errors, by the
Secretary of Agriculture.
Provides that nothing in this section affects any
right or claim of the tribe, unless expressly provided in this
section, in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, to
any land or interest in land.
Applies federal law, including regulations
relating to the export of unprocessed logs harvested from
federal land, to any unprocessed logs that are harvested from
the federal land.
Prohibits that the federal land transferred in
this Act from being eligible or used for any gaming activity
carried out under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C.
2701 et seq.)
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following cost estimate, as provided by the
Congressional Budget Office, dated November 7, 2018, was
prepared for S. 2599:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, November 7, 2018.
Hon. John Hoeven,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 2599, the Leech Lake
Band of Ojibwe Reservation Restoration 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.
S. 2599--Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act
S. 2599 would take into trust for the benefit of the Leech
Lake Band of Ojibwe Indians approximately 12,000 acres of land
in the Chippewa National Forest currently administered by the
Forest Service. The bill would prohibit certain types of gaming
on the land and require that commercial forestry on the land be
managed in accordance with federal law. Using information from
the Forest Service, CBO estimates that taking the land into
trust would cost less than $500,000. Any such spending would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The land that would be taken into trust generates
offsetting receipts, which are treated as reductions in direct
spending, from the sale of timber, and minerals and from other
special uses. A portion of those receipts can be spent without
further appropriation. Using information from the Forest
Service, CBO estimates enacting S. 2599 would reduce offsetting
receipts from those collections by about $1 million over the
2019-2028 period.
Because enacting S. 2599 would affect direct spending, pay-
as-you-go procedures apply. However, because under current law,
some receipts would be spent, CBO estimates that enacting S.
2599 would have no significant net effect on direct spending in
any year or over the 2019-2028 period. Enacting the bill would
not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 2599 would not significantly
increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of
the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
S. 2599 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes S. 2599 will have
minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The Committee has received no communications from the
Executive Branch regarding S. 2599.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In accordance with Committee Rules, subsection 12 of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate is waived. In the
opinion of the Committee, it is necessary to dispense with
subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate
to expedite business of the Senate.
[all]