Dusty Johnson: “this bill, S. 723, is identical to a bill that I had introduced here in the House, H.R. 2130. It made its way through…”

“this bill, S. 723, is identical to a bill that I had introduced here in the House, H.R. 2130. It made its way through the Natural Resources Committee and had a hearing, for which I am very thankful to the chair and ranking member of that committee. It passed out of that committee unanimously. This is a strong piece of commonsense legislation. Mr. Speaker, what does it do? First off, we know that our country is facing a housing affordability crisis. In Indian Country, it is even worse. This legislation addresses specific and solvable problems that contribute to this problem on Tribal land. Frankly, it is hard to understand what a big problem this is in Indian Country. People can't get their hands on the proper mortgage documents because, today, mortgages on Tribal trust land, whether they are residential or commercial, must be reviewed and approved by BIA before they can be finalized. Mr. Speaker, the BIA has established timelines for that process, but those timelines are rarely met, and that contributes to serious delay. As a result, Native Americans living on Tribal trust land face a reduced opportunity, a reduced access to homeownership, a piece of the American Dream.”