DENNIS A. CARDOZA: “the Democrats on the Committee on Resources support the passage of H.R. 1797, which will provide a fair and equitable…”

“the Democrats on the Committee on Resources support the passage of H.R. 1797, which will provide a fair and equitable financial settlement for the Spokane Tribe of Indians. H.R. 1797 will provide the Spokane Tribe of Indians with compensation which will be proportional to the compensation provided to the Colville Tribes through enactment of Public Law 103-436, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Grand Coulee Dam Settlement Act. Our only concern with H.R. 1797 is the included sunset language in section 6 of the bill. As noted in the additional views filed with the committee report on this bill, however, the Spokane Tribe has agreed to the sunset provision in the bill with the understanding that in the future the tribe may seek an amendment to extend or modify the sunset provision or otherwise seek reauthorization of the Bonneville Power Administration's annual payments after the year 2030. With this understanding, and in the interest of moving the legislation forward and thereby providing long overdue relief to this tribe, we do not object to the inclusion of the sunset provision in the bill, and urge passage of the bill.”