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House Natural Resources Committee considers tribal bills at markup

Monday, July 6, 2015

Workers install a pipeline in New Mexico as part of a water rights settlement with the Navajo Nation. Photo from Bureau of Reclamation

The House Natural Resources Committee will consider three tribal bills at a markup session this week.

The first is H.R.487, a bill to allow the Miami Nation of Oklahoma to lease or transfer certain lands. The House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs took testimony on June 10.

Similar bills have been enacted for other tribes, according to the hearing memo. The Obama administration supports the measure.

The second bill is H.R.2791, the Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act. The package includes provisions to address land-into-trust and land management issues for the Coquille Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

A hearing hasn't been held on the bill in the 114th Congress. But a similar version was passed by the House during the last session.

The third item is S. 501, the New Mexico Navajo Water Settlement Technical Corrections Act. The bill makes minor changes to a water rights settlement between the Navajo Nation and the state of New Mexico.

The House Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans held a hearing on H.R.1406, an identical version of the bill, on June 25. The Senate passed S.501 on May 21 so taking up that version moves the process a little bit quicker.

The markup starts Wednesday afternoon at 4pm. It will continue on Thursday at 10am.

Committee Notices:
Full Committee Markup on H.R. 487, H.R. 959, H.R. 1554, H.R. 1937, H.R. 1949, H.R. 2223, H.R. 2791, H.R. 2898, S. 501 (July 8, 2015)
Full Committee Markup on H.R. 487, H.R. 959, H.R. 1554, H.R. 1937, H.R. 1949, H.R. 2223, H.R. 2791, H.R. 2898, S. 501 (July 9, 2015)