Congress sends more Indian Country bills to President Trump

Tuesday, December 11, 2018  

By Acee Agoyo

H.R.3764, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Restoration Act, has been added to the list of legislation pending in the 115th Congress. The bill restores federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, based in Montana. The bill passed the House on September 12, 2018, and awaits further action in the Senate.

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Congress keeps sending more Indian Country bills for President Donald Trump to sign as the clock winds down on the current session.

On Monday, the Republican-controlled House passed S.245, the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act Amendments, and debated S.825, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Land Transfer Act, before putting it to a final vote on Tuesday . Both previously cleared the Senate so all that's needed for them to become law is Trump's signature.

A third bill on its way to the White House too. Lawmakers took final action on S.943, the Johnson-O’Malley Supplemental Indian Education Program Modernization Act, on Tuesday afternoon.

The activity on Capitol Hill helps bring Republicans closer to their goal of having 20 Indian Country bills signed into law by Trump. As of Tuesday, he has signed seven and two more have been presented to him.

Assuming Trump signs those two measures and the three new ones, 12 stand-alone Indian Country bills will have become law during the 115th Congress. The session began in January 2017, when the Republican president took office.

What's Left? Bills awaiting action in House [12] | Bills awaiting action in Senate [7]

But that record pales in comparison that of former president Barack Obama, a Democrat. During the 114th Congress, which ran from 2015 through 2017, he signed 22 Indian bills into law, according to the highest-ranking GOP aide on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

Going back even further, the late George H.W. Bush, a Republican who passed away on November 30 at the age of 94, signed 20 bills during the 101st Congress and another 25 during the 102nd, according to a lengthy list compiled by the committee.

Although the 115h Congress is about to end, there is still time for Trump to catch up to both of those presidents. As many as 19 other Indian Country bills have cleared either the House or the Senate so lawmakers would need to take action on just a few more before going on break later this month.

Any bills that do not pass both chambers would have to be reintroduced in the next session.

The 116th Congress convenes on January 3, 2019. When that happens, the House will be under Democratic control for the first time since the session that took place between 2009 and 2011.

Additionally, two Native women will serving in the House for first time in history. Deb Haaland, who hails from the Pueblo of Laguna, will be representing New Mexico's 1st Congressional District. Sharice Davids, who is a citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation, will be representing the 3rd Congressional District in Kansas.

• S.245, the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act Amendments
• Sponsor: Sen. John Hoeven, Republican from North Dakota

Tribes are hailing passage of S.245, the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act Amendments. They say the bill will help them expand energy and economic development opportunities on their homelands.

“It’s taken a while, but we are grateful that this will now be signed into law,” observed Rodney Cawston, the chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

The tribe has been working on provisions in the bill since 2010, Cawston said. Devastating fires that struck the reservation and surrounding areas in eastern Washington in 2015 confirmed the need to conduct forest health and biomass activities on federal forest land, according to the chairman.

“This new authority is a major step toward preventing this from happening to the Colville Tribes and other tribes in the future," Cawston said.

President Russell Begaye of the Navajo Nation welcomed final action on S.245 as well. He said the measure will enable his tribe to enter into certain mineral leases without seeking approval from the federal government.

“For many years, we have watched as Congress has failed to pass this bill,” Begaye said on Monday. “Navajo and other tribal nations have endured a long struggle to assume control over our own natural resources. Passage of this bill is monumental for Native people. It’s a game-changer for tribes.”

Additionally, S.245 updates a much-criticized provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. That law encourages tribes to develop tribal energy resource agreements, or TERAs, and submit them to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for acceptance.

The concept is similar to the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act (HEARTH Act) in that a tribe isn't required to seek BIA approval for every single agreement once their regulations are accepted. The HEARTH Act has proven to be popular in Indian Country, with dozens streamlining their leasing regulations.

However, no tribe has ever developed a TERA since 2005 even though the law was touted as a step toward greater self-determination during the Republican-controlled 109th Congress.

“TERAs facilitate more tribal control by authorizing tribal contracts, leases, and rights-of-ways for energy development without unnecessary, cumbersome federal bureaucracy," Sen. John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the sponsor of S.245, said in a press release on Monday. "The bill will help level the playing field for tribes so that they can participate, if they choose, in the booming energy market.

“I have always said that Alaska Natives and American Indians are the best caretakers of their lands," added Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who has been trying to get Indian energy legislation passed since 2011.

"Tribal self-determination is all about empowering Native communities with the tools and authority to manage their resources, which this legislation will promote," Young said on Monday.

• S.825, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Land Transfer Act.
• Sponsor: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Republican from Alaska

Another issue Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) has been working on for several years is Indian health care. Passage of S.825, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Land Transfer Act, helps achieve that goal.

The bill authorizes the transfer of property owned by the Indian Health Service to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. The Native organization plans to use the property in Sitka, Alaska, to build a new health facility to replace one that is nearly 70 years old.

"The hospital was constructed towards the end of World War II," Young said on the House floor on Monday. "It is in dire need of updating due to its age and condition."

Similar legislation has already been enacted into law for other Native organizations in Alaska. Congress has had to step in due to existing restrictions regarding surplus property.

“I’m encouraged to know that this legislation will allow SEARHC to renovate one of the oldest and largest Native run hospitals in our country and to ensure access to more advanced healthcare opportunities,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the sponsor of S.825, said on Monday.

• S.943, the Johnson-O’Malley Supplemental Indian Education Program Modernization Act.
• Sponsor: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat from North Dakota

After more than two decades of work, the Johnson-O'Malley Program is finally getting an update.

Johnson-O'Malley, or JOM, supports a wide variety of Indian education efforts. Cultural programming, language classes, school supplies, powwows, field trips, career fairs and countless other initiatives across the nation depend on funding from JOM.

"For American Indian students, this program can be a lifeline," Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) said on the House floor on Tuesday.

But funding is based on a student count from 1995, despite growth in the Indian population since then. S.943, the Johnson-O’Malley Supplemental Indian Education Program Modernization Act, addresses the situation requiring the Bureau of Indian Affairs to update the data.

An update is expected to bring significant benefits to JOM. Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona) pointed out that the BIA is still basing funding on a count of about 274,000 Indian students. More recent estimates put the population at more than 750,000, he said.

"This policy is just another in a long list of second-class treatment to American Indians by our government," Grijalva said on the House floor.

Two additional Indian Country bills have cleared both the House and the Senate. Both were presented to President Donald Trump on November 29 and await his signature.

• H.R.5317, the Repeal of Prohibition on Certain Alcohol Manufacturing on Indian Lands Act.

• H.R.1074, To repeal the Act entitled "An Act to confer jurisdiction on the State of Iowa over offenses committed by or against Indians on the Sac and Fox Indian Reservation".

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the Indian Country bills that have already passed the Senate and await further action in the House.

• S.254, the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act.

• S.269, a bill to provide for the conveyance of certain property to the Tanana Tribal Council located in Tanana, Alaska, and to the Bristol Bay Areal Health Corporation located in Dillingham, Alaska,

• S.302, the John Smith Act, or the Tribal Infrastructure and Roads Enhancement and Safety Act (TIRES Act).

• S.343, the Repealing Existing Substandard Provisions Encouraging Conciliation with Tribes Act, also known as the RESPECT Act.

• S.607, the Native American Business Incubators Program Act.

• S.669, the Columbia River In-Lieu and Treaty Fishing Access Sites Improvement Act.

• S.995, the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation Equitable Compensation Act.

• S.1116, the Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act.

• S.1223, the Klamath Tribe Judgment Fund Repeal Act.

• S.1333, the Tribal HUD-VASH Act.

• S.1942, Savanna's Act.

• S.2515, the Practical Reforms and Other Goals To Reinforce the Effectiveness of Self-Governance and Self-Determination for Indian Tribes Act, otherwise known as the PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the Indian Country bills that have already passed the House and await further action in the Senate.

• H.R.146, the Eastern Band Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act.

• H.R.597, the Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act.

• H.R.1491, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Land Affirmation Act.

• H.R.1532, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians Land Reaffirmation Act.

• H.R.2606, the Stigler Act Amendments.

• H.R.3764, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Restoration Act.

• H.R.4032, the Gila River Indian Community Federal Rights-of-Way, Easements and Boundary Clarification Act.

Since the start of the 115th Congress, lawmakers have sent seven tribal-specific bills to President Donald Trump. He has signed all of them into law:

• H.R.228, the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act. The new law makes an Indian Country job program permanent. It was signed on December 18, 2017.

• H.R.1306, the Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act. The new law helps the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians and the Coquille Tribe with issues affecting their homelands. It was signed on January 8, 2018.

• H.R.984, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act. The new law extends federal recognition to the Chickahominy Tribe, the Chickahominy Tribe - Eastern Division, the Monacan Nation, the Nansemond Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe and the Upper Mattaponi Tribe. It was signed on January 29.

• S.772, the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act. The new law makes tribes eligible for AMBER Alert grants for the first time. It was signed on April 13.

• S.1285, the Oregon Tribal Economic Development Act. The bill helps the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians improve their economies by resolving land and leasing issues. It was signed on June 1.

• S.2850, a bill to help the White Mountain Apache Tribe with a critical drinking water project in Arizona and two Pueblo tribes with economic development efforts in New Mexico. It was signed on August 1.

• H.R.6124, the Tribal Social Security Fairness Act. The new law authorizes the Social Security Administration to enter into government-to-government agreements with tribes so that tribal officials have the option of paying into and receiving Social Security benefits -- a privilege already extended to state and local governments. It was signed on September 20.

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