[House Report 117-114]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                    {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                    {       117-114

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



 
                    CATAWBA INDIAN NATION LANDS ACT

                                _______
                                

August 13, 2021.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Grijalva, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1619]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1619) to clarify the status of gaming conducted 
by the Catawba Indian Nation, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 1619 is to reaffirm the action taken by 
the Secretary of the Interior on July 10, 2020, to place 
approximately 17 acres of land located in Cleveland County, 
North Carolina, into trust on behalf of the Catawba Indian 
Tribe (Catawba or Tribe), for the purpose of conducting Indian 
gaming subject to the provisions of the Indian Gaming 
Regulatory Act of 1988.

                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Section 14 of the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina 
Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993\1\ (1933 Settlement Act) 
prohibits the Tribe from utilizing the Indian Gaming Regulatory 
Act\2\ (IGRA) and conducting gaming activities within their 
lands.\3\ The Tribe is subject to state gaming law and 
regulations, which prohibit all major forms of gambling.
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    \1\Pub. L. No.103-116, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-
107/pdf/STATUTE-107-Pg1118.pdf, 107 Stat. 1118 (1993), https://
uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=107& page=1118 (codified as 
amended at various, see https://uscode.house.gov/table3/103_116.htm).
    \2\Pub. L. No. 100-497, 102 Stat. 2467 (1988), https://
uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm? volume=102&page=2467 (codified as 
amended at various, see https://uscode.house.gov/table3/100_497.htm) 
(statutory compilation as amended through P.L. 109-221 at https://
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-1405/pdf/COMPS-1405.pdf).
    \3\Section 14 of the 1993 Settlement Act states: (1) IGRA shall not 
apply to the Tribe, and (2) The Tribe shall have the rights and 
responsibilities set forth in the Settlement Agreement and the State 
[of South Carolina] Act with respect to the conduct of games of chance 
and that otherwise all laws, ordinances, and regulations of the state 
and its subdivisions shall control regarding gaming conducted by the 
Tribe on and off the Reservation. 107 Stat. at 1136.
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    Under current state law, South Carolina allows casino style 
gaming that occurs on casino cruises that originate in South 
Carolina ports and is conducted at least three miles from South 
Carolina's shores. The Tribe sued in South Carolina state court 
to assert a right to game on its reservation under that law,\4\ 
but the Supreme Court of South Carolina rejected the Tribe's 
argument that allowing casino cruises conferred a right to 
gaming under Section 14 of the Settlement Act.\5\ The court 
also held that South Carolina authorized gaming only outside of 
its boundaries (beyond the three-mile limit) and not within the 
state,\6\ effectively foreclosing the Tribe's right to 
conducting gaming in South Carolina under the casino cruises 
law.
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    \4\Catawba Indian Nation v. South Carolina, 756 S.E. 2d 900 (S.C. 
2014).
    \5\Id. at 910.
    \6\Id. at 909-10.
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    Consequently, the Tribe is seeking legislative action to 
reaffirm the action by the Secretary of the Interior to place 
lands located outside of the state in neighboring North 
Carolina into trust for the purposes of conducting class III 
gaming under IGRA. North Carolina allows for gaming through its 
state lottery and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North 
Carolina conduct class III gaming under IGRA.

                               BACKGROUND

    History of the Federal Relationship with Catawba. The 
history of the Catawba Tribe is similar to many ``first 
contact'' tribal nations located in the southern and eastern 
parts of the United States. The ``first contact'' with early 
settlers' attempts to lay claim to the ``New World'' was 
subject to multijurisdictional treaties. At first, these 
treaties were ratified between an Indian Tribe and another 
sovereign, such as the King of England. However, these treaties 
would then be renegotiated with the newly formed colonial 
governments and eventually affirmed by the newly founded United 
States of America. These early treaties between various 
sovereigns and Indian Tribes included terms that recognized 
territorial boundaries, hunting and fishing rights, access to 
commerce, and other inherent tribal rights.
    From ``first contact'' to present day, many colonial-era 
tribes attempted to resolve or amend ambiguities in the earlier 
treaties with different sovereigns that transitioned into the 
role of ``treaty partners'' with those tribes. The U.S. Supreme 
Court recognized this transition of sovereigns and that the 
exclusive right of the British government to the lands occupied 
by the Indians passed to the United States.\7\
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    \7\Johnson v. M`Intosh, 21 U.S. 543, 568, 584 (1823).
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    In an effort to resolve these centuries-old disputes, 
Congress passed the Act of August 13, 1946\8\ that created the 
Indian Claims Commission (ICC). The purpose of the ICC was to 
hear claims from any Indian Tribe, band, or other identifiable 
group of American Indians against the United States. Tribes 
brought claims against the United States through the ICC and 
sought compensation for the loss of ``aboriginal title'' to 
their lands.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\Ch. 959, 60 Stat. 1049 (1946), https://uscode.house.gov/
statviewer.htm?volume=60& page=1049 (previously codified as amended at 
various, see https://uscode.house.gov/table3/1946_959.htm).
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    In 1978, the ICC adjourned and transferred its pending 
cases to the United States Court of Claims.\9\ These land claim 
suits became land claim settlements that involved the aggrieved 
Indian Tribe, the federal government, and any states that may 
have been a party to the original claim. Executed land claim 
settlements would often result in the extinguishment of tribal 
claims to aboriginal title. Since the ICC's adjournment, 
Congress, which has sole and plenary authority to extinguish 
aboriginal title, is required to ratify these settlements in 
statute.
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    \9\See Pub. L. No. 94-465, 90 Stat. 1990 (1976), https://
uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=90&page=1990 (providing for the 
dissolution of the ICC).
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    In 1760 and 1763, the Catawba Tribe entered into treaties 
with the Crown of England. Through these agreements, the Tribe 
ceded vast portions of its aboriginal territory in current day 
North and South Carolina for the guarantees of being settled on 
a 144,000-acre reservation.\10\
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    \10\See 107 Stat. at 1118, of which the above text and the account 
that follows is largely excerpts.
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    In 1943, the United States entered into an agreement with 
the Tribe and South Carolina to provide services to the Tribe 
and its members. South Carolina purchased 3,434 acres of land 
and conveyed it to the Secretary of the Interior in trust for 
the Tribe. The Tribe also organized under the Indian 
Reorganization Act.
    Congress took subsequent action in 1959 by enacting the 
Catawba Tribe of South Carolina Division of Assets Act (the 
1959 Act).\11\ This Act released the federal government of its 
obligation under the 1943 agreement, thus terminating the 
federal trust relationship with the Tribe and disestablishing 
the Tribe's reservation.
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    \11\ Pub. L. No. 86-322, 73 Stat. 592 (1959), https://
uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume= 73&page=592 (codified at 25 
U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 931-38).
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    In 1980, the Tribe sued in federal court to regain 
possession of their original treaty reservation. At that time, 
the Tribe argued that their treaty rights were preserved under 
the 1959 Act. To resolve the lawsuit brought by the Tribe, 
Congress passed the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land 
Claims Settlement Act of 1993 (1933 Settlement Act).
    The 1993 Settlement Act restored and extended federal 
recognition, rights, and services to the Tribe by repealing the 
original 1959 Act that terminated the Tribe. The 1993 
Settlement Act also authorized settlement appropriations for 
the Tribe, ratified prior extinguishment of the Tribe's claim 
to aboriginal lands, set forth procedures for organizing the 
Tribal government and its membership, and established a fund 
for acquiring more lands for the Tribe. Notably, the 1993 
Settlement Act made IGRA inapplicable to the Tribe but 
permitted games of chance as provided under South Carolina law.
    Indian Gaming Under South Carolina State Law. Section 14 of 
the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims 
Settlement Act of 1993 provides that: (1) IGRA shall not apply 
to the Tribe; and (2) all laws, ordinances, and regulations of 
the state of South Carolina and its political subdivisions 
shall govern the regulation of gambling devices and the conduct 
of gambling or wagering by the Tribe on and off the 
Reservation.
    Agency Action. On March 12, 2020, Assistant Secretary--
Indian Affairs (AS-IA) Tara Sweeney published in the Federal 
Register that the Department of the Interior (Department) made 
the final agency determination to acquire 16.57 acres, more or 
less, of land in trust for the Catawba Indian Nation for gaming 
and other purposes.\12\ As part of this agency action, the 
Department used newly established guidance\13\ from Department 
Solicitor Daniel H. Jorjani to determine whether the Secretary 
of the Interior had authority to take land into trust for an 
Indian Tribe under the authority of the Indian Reorganization 
Act of 1934. On July 10, 2020, this agency action was made 
final, and the land was placed into trust on behalf of the 
Tribe.
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    \12\Land Acquisitions; Catawba Indian Nation, Kings Mountain 
Parcel, North Carolina, 85 Fed. Reg. 17,093 (Mar. 12, 2020), https://
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-202003-26/pdf/2020-06325.pdf.
    \13\Daniel H. Jorjani, Solicitor, U.S. Dep't of the Interior, 
Procedure for Determining Eligibility for Land-into-Trust under the 
First Definition of ``Indian`` in Section 19 of the Indian 
Reorganization Act (Mar. 10, 2020), available at https://www.bia.gov/
sites/bia.gov/files/assets/bia/ots/pdf/Solicitors Procedures for 
Determining Eligibility for Land into Trust under Category1.pdf. The 
Committee notes that this guidance is the subject of ongoing 
litigation.
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    On March 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Interior approved 
the Tribal-State Compact with the state of North Carolina.\14\
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    \14\Indian Gaming; Approval of Tribal-State Class III Gaming 
Compact in the State of North Carolina, 86 Fed. Reg. 15,958 (Mar. 25, 
2021), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-03-25/pdf/2021-
06111.pdf.
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                                OVERVIEW

    This legislation, H.R. 1619, amends the Catawba Indian 
Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 to:
    Reaffirm the Catawba Indian Nation's right to own and 
operate a gaming facility on lands described in the bill, which 
are located in Cleveland County, North Carolina;
    Mandate that the facility located on the newly acquired 
lands be regulated in accordance with the Indian Gaming 
Regulatory Act (IGRA), except for section 20, which will not 
apply to the lands described in this bill;\15\
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    \15\Section 20 of IGRA prohibits gaming on trust lands acquired 
after the 1988 passage of IGRA, unless an exception outlined in this 
section applies. The main exceptions are: (1) the Secretary of the 
Interior and the governor of the state affected by the gaming proposal 
must agree that a gaming establishment on newly acquired lands would be 
in the best interest of the Indian Tribe and its members, and that 
gaming establishment would not be detrimental to the surrounding 
community; (2) the land taken into trust is part of a ``land claim 
settlement''; (3) the land taken into trust is part of a newly 
recognized Tribe's initial reservation; or (4) the land taken into 
trust is part of the restoration of lands for an Indian Tribe that is 
has been restored to federal recognition. (25 U.S.C. 2719 (1988)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Reaffirms the action taken by the Secretary of the Interior 
on July 10th, 2020, to take land into trust on behalf of the 
Catawba Tribe for the purpose of conducting gaming;
    Reserve the rights of all entities that are a party to the 
Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement 
Act of 1993; and
    Provide that the land taken into trust by the Secretary of 
Interior on July 10th, 2020 for the benefit of the Catawba 
Nation shall:
          (1) Be part of the Catawba reservation and 
        administered in accordance with the laws for an Indian 
        Tribe; and
          (2) Be deemed to have been acquired and taken into 
        trust as part of the restoration of lands for an Indian 
        Tribe that is restored to federal recognition pursuant 
        to Section 20(b)(1)(B)(iii) of the Indian Gaming 
        Regulatory Act.
    The bill also clarifies that nothing in this bill shall 
enhance nor diminish the existing rights of the Catawba Nation.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1619 was introduced on March 8, 2021, by Majority Whip 
Jim Clyburn (D-SC). The bill was referred solely to the 
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States. On 
May 26, 2021, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider 
the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. 
No amendments were offered. The bill was adopted and ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice 
vote.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House Rule XIII, the 
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure: 
full committee markup held on May 26, 2021.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1. Short title.
    Section 2. Application of current law. Section 2 affirms 
the application of Section 14 of the Catawba Indian Tribe of 
South Carolina Claims Settlement Act of 1993, which requires 
the State of South Carolina to approve Catawba gaming within 
the state. Section 2 also clarifies that gaming conducted by 
the Catawba tribe outside the State of South Carolina shall be 
subject to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
    Section 3. Reaffirmation of status and actions. Section 3 
reaffirms the action by the U.S. Department of the Interior to 
take the land into trust on behalf of the Catawba Tribe and 
confirms that nothing else within the Catawba Indian Tribe of 
South Carolina Claims Settlement Act of 1993, including water 
rights, rights of way, or future authority to take land into 
trust, will be diminished by this legislation. Finally, this 
section also affirms that the parcel taken into trust meets the 
section 20(b)(1)(B)(iii) ``restored lands'' exception of the 
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

            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, July 22, 2021.
Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
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. 1619, the Catawba 
Indian Nation Lands Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    H.R. 1619 would affirm the status of approximately 17 acres 
of land in North Carolina that were taken into trust in 2020 by 
the Department of the Interior (DOI) for the benefit of the 
Catawba Indian Nation. The bill also would make gaming 
activities conducted on that land subject to the Indian Gaming 
Regulatory Act. Using information provided by the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, CBO estimates that the administrative costs to 
implement H.R. 1619 would not be significant; any spending 
would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    H.R. 1619 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as 
defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) on the 
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee Nation, by 
restricting their existing right of action to pursue a case 
against DOI under the Administrative Procedures Act. The 
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is challenging how the DOI 
applied its procedures to transfer land into trust for the 
Catawba Indian Tribe. The United States District Court for the 
District of Columbia denied the challenge motion, but the case 
is currently before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals--D.C. 
Circuit. There are no costs associated with the mandate because 
there is no loss to be made whole by compensatory damages to 
the plaintiffs in the court of appeals.
    H.R. 1619 does not contain private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jon Sperl (for 
federal costs) and Lilia Ledezma (for mandates). The estimate 
was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget 
Analysis.
    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goals and 
objectives of this bill are to reaffirm the action taken by the 
Secretary of Interior on July 10, 2020, to place approximately 
17 acres of land located in Cleveland County, North Carolina, 
into trust on behalf of the Catawba Indian Tribe, for the 
purpose of conducting Indian gaming subject to the provisions 
of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

                           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.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    According to CBO, H.R. 1619 would impose an 
intergovernmental mandate as defined by the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act (UMRA) on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and 
the Cherokee Nation, by restricting their existing right of 
action to pursue a case against DOI under the Administrative 
Procedures Act. CBO's full analysis is reproduced above.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of 
the federal government known to be duplicative of another 
program.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

               PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

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

        SUPPLEMENTAL, MINORITY, ADDITIONAL, OR DISSENTING VIEWS

    None.

                                  [all]