House to consider land-into-trust bills for two tribes in California

Monday, July 4, 2016  

A welcome marker at the Tule River Reservation in California. Photo from Tule River Tribe

The House will take up two land-into-trust bills on Tuesday.

H.R.3079 places about 80 acres of federal land in trust for the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians in California. The House Subcommittee Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs took testimony bill on November 4, 2015. The Obama administration supports the bill.

H.R.4685, the Tule River Indian Reservation Land Trust, Health, and Economic Development Act, places about 34 acres of federal land in trust for the Tule River Tribe, also in California. The House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing on June 7, 2016, during which the Obama administration said it supported the bill but raised some concerns about existing uses of the land.

Both bills will be considered under a suspension of the rules, according to the House Majority Leader's calendar. The process is typically reserved for non-controversial legislation.

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House Natural Resources Committee schedules markup on four Indian bills (01/29)
House subcommittee takes testimony on three tribal bills (11/05)
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