The U.S. House of Representatives considers H.R.2208, the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Settlement Act, on May 12, 2021.

The bill ensures that the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, also known as the Tigua Tribe, and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe can engage in gaming on their lands in the same manner as almost every other Indian nation. The tribes are currently hindered by an overly restrictive interpretation of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act, the law that restored the tribes to federal recognition.

“The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas was federally terminated in 1954. This wrong was followed in 1968 by termination of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, also known as the Tigua Tribe,” said Rep. Darren Soto (D-Florida). “Congress rightfully restored both the Pueblo and the tribe by enacting the aforementioned Restoration Act of 1987.”

“The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was enacted just one year later, in 1988. The framework that it created should have applied to both the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe, just as it did to every other tribe,” Soto said.

Following debate, the House passed H.R.2208 by a voice vote under a suspension of the rules.

Video Courtesy C-SPAN