{"id":30818,"date":"2023-02-06T01:32:27","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T06:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=30818"},"modified":"2023-02-06T10:56:20","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T15:56:20","slug":"republican-controlled-house-set-to-approve-first-indian-country-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2023\/02\/06\/republican-controlled-house-set-to-approve-first-indian-country-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican-controlled House set to approve first Indian Country bills"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Tanasi<\/a>
The Tanasi Memorial in Tennessee marks the site of the Cherokee Nation capital in the early 1700s. Photo: Brian Stansberry<\/a>
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Republican-controlled House set to approve first Indian Country bills<\/div>\r\n
Monday, February 6, 2023<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. —\r\nThe 118th Congress is finally underway and Indian Country bills are among the first to advance in a new political atmosphere on Capitol Hill.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nTwo tribal homelands bills are set to be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives<\/a> as soon as Monday afternoon. Both measures are being considered under a suspension of the rules, meaning they enjoy broad support among Republican and Democratic lawmakers, a notable feat in a chamber that remains deeply divided along party lines.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBut the long-running practice of quickly passing non-controversial legislation under a suspension of the rules has fallen out of favor among Republicans, who took control of the House at the start of the 118th Congress on January 3. Complaints about suspensions, in fact, were part of a bitter dispute that prevented Rep. Kevin McCarthy<\/a> (R-California) from being seated as Speaker because members of his own party withheld their support until he agreed to change the way business is conducted in the chamber.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“The American public said they want a change,” Rep. Andy Biggs<\/a> (R-Arizona) said on January 5 as he nominated — and voted for — a different Republican candidate for Speaker, an act that kept McCarthy from taking control<\/a> until a record 15th round of voting in the chamber. \r\n

<\/P>\r\n“They want something new,” said Biggs, whose record includes enactment of the Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act<\/a>. “They want something different, and we are on a path that just continues.”\r\n

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The 118th Congress began in a most unusual fashion as Republicans descended into what one Democrat derided as \u201cchaos\u201d in the U.S. House of Representatives.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/p>\r\nSo far in the 118th Congress, Republicans appear to be taking a more cautious approach to suspensions. Fewer than a dozen bills have been considered under a suspension of the rules over the past month, according to a review of the legislative record.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“I was told I should not be so concerned with \r\nthese suspension bills that get passed every week because now they have \r\nmade an amendment,” said Rep. Matt Rosendale<\/a> (R-Montana) as he too withheld support for McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House. “We keep hearing about these amendments and the concessions that were made. The concession was that they will not ask for anything to be suspended that costs more than $100 million.’\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“Now, I don’t know about the neighborhoods that you live in, but in \r\nthe neighborhood that I live in, $100 million is a lot of money,” said Rosendale, who serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources<\/a>, which has jurisdiction over Indian Country issues.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nIn comparison, Democrats used suspensions extensively when they controlled the House. According to the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center<\/a>, 301 of the 350 measures that passed the chamber in 2022 were approved under an expedited \u201csuspension bill\u201d process.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“Of the suspension bills considered in 2022, 98.4 percent (301 bills) passed the House,” the non-profit said in explaining how the process<\/a> has been used to quickly get legislation approved.\r\n

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