Senate Committee on Indian Affairs schedules hearing on four bills

• S.2636, the Reservation Land Consolidation Act. The bill requires the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve land-into-trust applications for property within or contiguous to the boundaries of an existing reservation, which would essentially streamline the process.
• S.3216, a bill to repeal the 1948 federal law that granted jurisdiction over the Meskwaki Settlement to the state of Iowa. The state has already taken steps to cede jurisdiction over offenses committed by members of the Meskwaki Tribe and of other tribes.
• S.3222, the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act. The bill would pave the way for the Columbia River treaty tribes to receive housing and infrastructure they were promised at traditional fishing sites along the Columbia River. It puts the Bureau of Indian Affairs in charge of assessing conditions at the sites.
• S.3300, the Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2016. The bill ratifies a water rights settlement between the Hualapai Tribe, the state of Arizona and the federal government.

Mr. Larry Roberts
Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

The Honorable Damon Clarke, Ed. D.
Chairman, Hualapai Tribe, Peach Springs, AZ

The Honorable Lavern Jefferson
Treasurer, Meskwaki Tribal Council, the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, Tama, IA

The Honorable W. Ron Allen
Treasurer, National Congress of American Indians, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Paul Lumley
Executive Director, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Portland, OR