[House Report 117-164]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                    {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                    {      117-164

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



 
       EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE HISTORIC LANDS REACQUISITION ACT

                                _______
                                

November 1, 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. 2088]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2088) to take certain Federal lands in Tennessee 
into trust for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee 
Indians, 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. 2088 is to take certain Federal lands 
in Tennessee into trust for the benefit of the Eastern Band of 
Cherokee Indians.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is one of three 
federally recognized Cherokee tribes and is the only federally 
recognized tribe in North Carolina. The Eastern Band's 
ancestral homeland includes substantial parts of seven eastern 
states, including Tennessee. The 57,000-acre ``Qualla 
Boundary'' is the name of the Cherokee Indian Reservation in 
North Carolina.
    H.R. 2088 will transfer approximately 76 acres of 
historically significant lands from the Tennessee Valley 
Authority (TVA) to the United States to be held in trust for 
the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. It also grants two 
permanent easements over TVA property to be held in trust for 
the Tribe to create recreational trails between the sites.
    The properties are located in Monroe County, Tennessee, 
near the town of Vonore, and are adjacent to Tellico Lake, the 
reservoir behind TVA's Tellico Dam. The Tribe currently manages 
most of these properties under two permanent easements granted 
in 1984 and 1986. These easements were a result of an informal 
agreement to address the Tribe's objections to TVA's 
construction of the Tellico Dam and Reservoir in 1979, which 
inundated the sacred sites and archaeological remains of 
historic Overland Cherokee towns, including the Cherokee 
capitals of the 1700s, along the lower Little Tennessee and 
Tellico Rivers.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2088 was introduced on March 19, 2021, by 
Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN). 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 October 13, 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 unanimous consent.

                                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 October 13, 2021.

            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) of rule XIII 
of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) 
of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect to 
requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested 
but not received a cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of Congressional Budget Office. The Committee adopts 
as its own cost estimate the forthcoming cost estimate of the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office, should such cost 
estimate be made available before House passage of the bill.
    The Committee has requested but not received from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office a statement as to 
whether this bill contains any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    The Committee notes that CBO's analysis of H.R. 146 
(115th), the version of the bill from the 115th Congress, is 
available and shows the bill as having a ``negligible'' effect 
on direct spending and no effect on revenues.\1\
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    \1\https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/
costestimate/hr146.pdf.
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    Congressional Budget Office staff have informed the 
Committee on a preliminary, informal, nonbinding basis that the 
bill likely: would not affect revenues, would have an 
insignificant net effect on direct spending over the 2022-2031 
period, and would increase discretionary costs by an 
insignificant amount over the 2022-2026 period.
    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 take certain Federal lands in 
Tennessee into trust for the benefit of the Eastern Band of 
Cherokee Indians.

                           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

    An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the 
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chair of 
the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the 
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.
    The Committee notes that CBO's analysis of H.R. 146 
(115th), the version of the bill from the 115th Congress, is 
available and shows the bill as not creating any mandates for 
purposes of UMRA.\2\
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    \2\Id.
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                           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]