Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 3773 would amend current law to authorize the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation to lease their land held in trust for a term of up to 99 years. Since 1834, land transactions with Native Americans have been prohibited unless specifically authorized by Congress. This has continued to apply to lands held in trust by the United States for the benefit of individual Indians or Tribes. In 1955, Congress authorized that any Indian lands held in trust or land subject to a restriction against alienation could be leased by the Indian owner, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior for terms of 10 or 25 years. Today the 10- or 25-year lease length can be a challenge, especially when Tribes want to engage in economic endeavors requiring longer lease periods. To date, Congress has authorized specific Indian land or Indian Tribes to lease land, subject to approval of the Secretary, for a term of up to 99 years more than 50 times. This bill would provide the same authority for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, authorizing the Tribe to lease its trust land for terms up to 99 years. Granting this authority will allow the Tribe to develop multiple warehouse facilities on the trust lands to support American supply chain infrastructure and generate economic opportunity for the Tribal community. While I fully support the policy contained in S.…”