[House Report 119-288]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 119-288
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QUINAULT INDIAN NATION LAND TRANSFER ACT
_______
September 15, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2389]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 2389) to take certain land in the State of
Washington into trust for the benefit of the Quinault 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 LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 2389 is to take certain land in the
State of Washington into trust for the benefit of the Quinault
Indian Nation, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Quinault Indian Nation is located on the western coast
of Washington state in the southwestern corner of the Olympic
Peninsula, bordered by the Pacific Ocean.\1\ The tribe has an
estimated enrollment of 2,700 members.\2\ Its reservation
encompasses 208,150 acres of land.\3\
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\1\Tiller, Veronica E. Velarde. Tiller's Guide to Indian Country:
Economic Profiles of American Indian Reservations. 3rd ed. Pg. 762.
\2\Id.
\3\Quinault Indian Nation. About Us. https://
quinaultindiannation.com/171/About-Us.
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The Treaty of Olympia, or the Quinault Treaty, was agreed
upon by the United States and the Qui-nai-elt and Quil-leh-ute
tribes between 1855 and 1856. Through the treaty, the Quinault
Indian Tribe ceded their lands and, in return, received tracts
that became the Quinault Indian Reservation.\4\ However, the
Treaty of Olympia was dismissed with the passage of the General
Allotment Act,\5\ and the Quinault Indian Nation found their
lands separated into 2,340 80-acre allotments to individual
members.\6\ One of those, ``Allotment 1157'', was part of the
tribe's reservation when it was formed but was allotted in 1928
pursuant to the General Allotment Act.\7\ Through allotment,
the land was no longer owned by the tribe itself, but rather by
an individual Indian.
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\4\Makah Indian Tribe v. Quileute Indian Tribe. 873 F.3d 1157.
(2017).
\5\Act of February 8, 1887, Ch. 119, 24 Stat. 388.
\6\Briefing Paper and Background on H.R. 9371, the Quinault Indian
Nation Land Transfer Act. Sept. 2024. On file.
\7\Id.
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In the 1960s, the Indian allottee sold Allotment 1157 to
the Anderson and Middleton Logging Company (A&M) for less than
$60,000.\8\ A&M became the owner of the property as fee land
and managed it alongside all their other fee holdings within
the Quinault Indian Reservation. In the early 1990s, A&M faced
legal challenges from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.\9\
Subsequently, in 1996, using federal funds, the Trust for
Public Land purchased the A&M land and, in turn, sold the
holding to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for approximately $3
million.\10\ Since then, the USFS has owned and managed
Allotment 1157 on the Quinault Indian Nation's reservation.\11\
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\8\Letter from Brad Thompson, State Supervisor, Washington State
Fish and Wildlife Service to The Hon. Derek Kilmer, U.S. Congressman
[D-WA-6]. Dated February 17, 2022. On File.
\9\Briefing Paper and Background on H.R. 9371, the Quinault Indian
Nation Land Transfer Act. Sept. 2024. On file.
\10\Id.
\11\Id.
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The Quinault Indian Nation has attempted to reacquire
ownership of the land on their reservation for the benefit of
their tribe. Currently, about 48 percent of the land has been
reacquired, including the land adjacent to Allotment 1157.\12\
The tribe has support to reacquire Allotment 1157 from local
stakeholders\13\ and the federal government,\14\ and plans to
use the land for heritage and cultural purposes.\15\ This bill,
introduced by Rep. Randall (D-WA-06) would place approximately
72 acres of USFS land, known as ``Allotment 1157,'' into trust
for the Quinault Indian Nation. Gaming on these lands, pursuant
to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, would be prohibited.\16\
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\12\Briefing Paper and Background on H.R. 9371, the Quinault Indian
Nation Land Transfer Act. Sept. 2024. On file.
\13\Jefferson County Board of Commissioners letter to President
Capoeman. August 5, 2024. On file.
\14\Letter from Brad Thompson, State Supervisor, Washington State
Fish and Wildlife Service to The Hon. Derek Kilmer, U.S. Congressman
[D-WA-6]. Dated February 17, 2022. On File.
\15\Id.
\16\25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2389 was introduced on March 26, 2025, by
Representative Emily Randall (D-WA). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to
the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs. On April 30,
2025, the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs held a
hearing on the bill. On June 25, 2025, the Committee on Natural
Resources met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Indian
and Insular Affairs was discharged from further consideration
of H.R. 2389 by unanimous consent. The bill was 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:
hearing by the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs held
on April 30, 2025.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 names the bill the ``Quinault Indian Nation Land
Transfer Act''.
Section 2. Land taken into trust for the benefit of the Quinault Indian
Nation
Section 2 places the USFS parcel of land known as
``Allotment 1157'' into trust for the Quinault Indian Nation.
Gaming, pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act would be
prohibited on the land placed into trust under this 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:
H.R. 2389 would transfer approximately 72 acres of land in
the state of Washington from the Forest Service to the
Department of the Interior (DOI). Under the bill, DOI would
hold title to that land for the benefit of the Quinault Indian
Nation. The bill also would prohibit certain types of gaming on
that land. Using information from DOI, CBO estimates that the
administrative costs to implement H.R. 2389 would not be
significant; any spending would be subject to the availability
of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Julia Aman. The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director
of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
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 take certain land in the State of
Washington into trust for the benefit of the Quinault Indian
Nation, and for other purposes.
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 the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 2389
contains no unfunded mandates as defined by the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act.
EXISTING PROGRAMS
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.
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
As ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources,
H.R. 2389 would make no changes in existing law.
[all]