Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. COLE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I would like to thank the chairman for his extraordinary work on this legislation. Furthermore, both he and Chairman Bishop of the Committee on Natural Resources have graciously tried to resolve a matter of great significance to Indian Country.

Beginning in the late 16th century, the size of so-called Indian Country, in what later became the United States, has steadily diminished. To reverse this trend, in 1934 Congress passed a law which allowed the Federal Government to take land into trust for the benefit of Indian tribes. Interior has done so for the past 82 years.

Interior's ability to take land into trust for all tribes was questioned in 2009 following the Supreme Court's opinion in the Carcieri v. Salazar decision. The Carcieri opinion cast doubt on whether Interior has the ability to take land into trust for the benefit of tribes if they were not ``under Federal jurisdiction'' in 1934.

Since then, Indian tribes have been threatened by legal challenges to the status of their trust lands. The possibility of litigation chills economic and infrastructure development on trust lands.

Together we have worked closely with the House Committee on Natural Resources on a provision that would have settled any dispute as to the status of a trust land up to the Carcieri decision of 2009. I come to the House floor today to express my gratitude for that effort.

I would like to stress that this provision had nothing to do with promoting or enhancing the ability of tribes to build and operate a gaming facility away from reservations or existing land, though, of course, they have every right to operate on existing lands as long as they comply with the provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

In no way is this provision designed to promote off-reservation gaming. Quite frankly, the overwhelming majority of Indian trust lands are used to provide essential government services, such as education, health care, and housing.

Well in advance of the Interior Subcommittee markup, a meeting was held between myself, Chairman Calvert, Chairman Young, and Chairman Bishop of the Natural Resources Committee. We believed an agreement had been reached between the authorizers and the appropriators. However, further staff discussions revealed that differences still remain. For that reason, we have decided to table this matter for the time being and continue working together on a solution amenable to all parties involved.

I would like to emphasize that both the authorizers and the appropriators have worked in good faith, and I promise that we will keep doing so.

Despite the fact that the so-called Cole provision was stricken from the Interior appropriation bill, I am encouraged with the progress we have made thus far. There is no easy solution for the Carcieri problem. But if we keep working at it, I am convinced that we can reach an agreement that is acceptable to all parties.

Again, I thank the chairman for his work.

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