[Senate Report 118-245]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 560
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 118-245
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A BILL TO AMEND THE MICCOSUKEE RESERVED AREA ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE
EXPANSION OF THE MICCOSUKEE RESERVED AREA AND TO CARRY OUT ACTIVITIES
TO PROTECT STRUCTURES WITHIN THE OSCEOLA CAMP FROM FLOODING, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
_______
November 18, 2024.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Schatz, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2783]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill, (S. 2783) to amend the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act to
authorize the expansion of the Miccosukee Reserved Area and to
carry out activities to protect structures within the Osceola
Camp from flooding, and for other purposes, having considered
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment, and
recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
S. 2783 would amend the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act to
authorize inclusion of the ``Osceola Camp'' into the Miccosukee
Reserved Area and up to $14 million in appropriations to
protect the Camp from flooding.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Miccosukee Tribe is a federally recognized Indian Tribe
whose reservation is located within the exterior boundaries of
the Everglades National Park (ENP) in Miami-Dade, Florida. From
1964 to 1998, the Miccosukee Tribe lived and governed their own
affairs on a strip of land on the northern edge of the ENP,
known as the Special Use Permit Area, under permits from the
National Park Service and other legal authority.\1\
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\1\Miccosukee Reserved Area Act (MRAA), Pub. L. No. 105-313, 112
Stat. 2964 (1998).
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In 1998, Congress passed the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act
(MRAA), which replaced the special use permit with a permanent
legal framework that expanded the Miccosukee Tribe's Special
Use Permit Area for its exclusive use, occupancy, and
governance in perpetuity.\2\ Congress expressly provided that
such land, now known as the Miccosukee Reserved Area (MRA),
would be considered ``Indian Country'' and treated as an Indian
reservation.\3\ The MRAA reserved the federal government's
ability to engage in activities for the restoration or
protection of the South Florida ecosystem under federal law,
and provided that the costs of such restoration would be borne
by the federal government, including compensating the
Miccosukee Tribe for any loss of Tribal structures within the
MRA.\4\
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\2\Id.
\3\MRAA Sec. 5(c) (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151).
\4\MRAA Sec. 8(e)(2)-(3).
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The MRAA did not include the Osceola Camp, a residential
village situated within the ENP and home to several families of
the Miccosukee Tribe, in the MRA. Established in 1935, the Camp
includes housing structures, water supply systems, roadways,
and wastewater treatment systems, among other infrastructure.
It is experiencing flooding caused by ecosystem restoration
efforts from the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan
(CERP) and Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP),\5\ which
are part of ongoing efforts to improve the ecological health of
the ENP by diverting hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of
water per year from Lake Okeechobee south to Florida Bay to
increase and improve water flow. Consequently, buildings within
the Camp need to be elevated in order to avoid a safety hazard
to the residents and allow continued residential and commercial
use of the site, which is in the middle of the project area.\6\
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\5\News Release, National Park Service, Everglades National Park
Seeks public input on Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida Osceola
Camp Cure Plan (Nov. 1, 2023) (on file with the Committee), https://
www.nps.gov/ever/learn/news/osceola-cure-plan-ea.htm.
\6\Id.
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The legislation would amend the MRAA by incorporating the
Osceola Camp into the MRA and authorizing the Secretary of the
Interior, in consultation with the Miccosukee Tribe, to take
actions to protect Camp structures from damage due to flooding.
SUMMARY OF S. 2783 AS ORDERED REPORTED
S. 2783 amends the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act to include
Camp Osceola as part of the Miccosukee Reserved Area; directs
the Department of the Interior, in consultation with the Tribe,
to take appropriate actions to protect structures within Camp
Osceola from flooding; and authorizes appropriations of such
sums as necessary to protect structures within Camp Osceola,
not to exceed $14 million.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF S. 2783 AS ORDERED REPORTED
Section 1--Short title
This section sets forth the short title as the ``Miccosukee
Reserved Area Amendments Act''.
Section 2--Miccosukee Reserved Area addition
This section amends the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act to
include ``Camp Osceola'' as part of the Miccosukee Reserved
Area.
Section 3--Protection of the Osceola Camp from flooding
This section amends the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act to--
Direct the Secretary of the Interior to take
appropriate actions to protect structures within
Osceola Camp from flooding within two years of
enactment and in consultation with the Miccosukee
Tribe; and
Authorize, beginning in Fiscal Year 2024,
appropriation of such sums as necessary to protect
structures within Osceola Camp, not to exceed $14
million.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
On September 13, 2023, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced S. 2783, the Miccosukee
Reserved Area Amendments Act. On the same day, the Senate
referred the bill to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On July
10, 2024, the Committee held a legislative hearing to receive
testimony on S. 2783. On July 25, 2024, the Committee met at a
duly convened Business Meeting and ordered S. 2783 reported
favorably, without amendment.
On September 18, 2023, Representatives Gimenez (R-FL) and
Diaz-Balart (R-FL) introduced H.R. 5537, identical companion
legislation. On the same day, the House of Representatives
referred H.R. 5537 to the Committee on Natural Resources and
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. On
September 19, 2023, the bill was further referred the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water
Resources and Environment. To date, the House of
Representatives has taken no further action on the bill.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the
Congressional Budget Office, to the extent practicable, to
prepare estimates of the budgetary effects of legislation
ordered reported by Congressional authorizing committees. In
order to provide the Congress with as much information as
possible, the attached table summarizes information about the
estimated direct spending and revenue effects of some of the
legislation that has been ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs during the 118th Congress. The
legislation listed in this table generally would have small
effects, if any, on direct spending or revenues, CBO estimates.
Where possible, the table also provides information about the
legislation's estimated effects on spending subject to
appropriation and on intergovernmental and private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
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Spending subject Pay-As-You-
Bill Last Budget Direct Revenues, to Go Budgetary
number Title Status action function spending, 2025-2034 appropriation, procedures effects Mandates Contact
2025-2034 2025-2029 apply after 2034
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S. 2783 Miccosukee Ordered 07/25/24 300 0 0 Not estimated No No No Alaina
Reserved reported Rhee
Area Act
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S. 2783 would amend the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act to add a tract of land, known as the Osceola Camp, to the area reserved for the Miccosukee Tribe
under that act. Under the bill, the Osceola Camp would be subject to the Miccosukee tribe's rights, responsibilities, and restrictions. The bill also
would require the Department of the Interior, within two years of enactment, to protect structures within the Osceola Camp from flooding and would
authorize appropriations of no more than $14 million to do so. CBO estimates that enacting S. 2783 would not affect direct spending or revenues. CBO
has not estimated the bill's effects on spending subject to appropriation. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
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 that S. 2783, as
reported, will have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork
requirements.
EXECUTIVE TESTIMONY
Written statement of Jason Freihage, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Management for Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of
the Interior, before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs, July 10, 2024, follows below:
Good afternoon, Chairman Schatz, Vice Chairman Murkowski,
and members of the Committee. My name is Jason Freihage, and I
am the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Management for Indian
Affairs at the Department of the Interior (Department). Thank
you for the opportunity to present testimony on S. 2783,
``Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act,'' . . .
S. 2783, Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act
S. 2783 would amend the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act by
authorizing expansion of the Miccosukee Reserved Area to
include Osceola Camp (Camp), which is situated within the
boundary of Everglades National Park. The bill would uphold the
sovereignty of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians and ensure the
Camp remains within the landscape of Everglades National Park
in perpetuity. The NPS currently authorizes management of the
Camp through a Special Use Permit; this bill would ensure
permanence and protection of the Camp and eliminate the need
for recurring permit approval. Additionally, the bill would
authorize appropriations of such sums as necessary, but not
more than a total of $14,000,000, to safeguard structures
within the Camp from flooding events.
The Department supports S. 2783.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The Committee has received no communications from the
Executive Branch regarding S. 2783.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
On February 9, 2023, the Committee unanimously approved a
motion to waive subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules of the Senate. 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 the business of the
Senate.
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