[House Report 114-271]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 114-271
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ALBUQUERQUE INDIAN SCHOOL LAND TRANSFER ACT
_______
September 30, 2015.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1880]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1880) to require the Secretary of the Interior
to take into trust 4 parcels of Federal land for the benefit of
certain Indian Pueblos in the State of New Mexico, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 1880 is to require the Secretary of the
Interior to take into trust four parcels of Federal land for
the benefit of certain Indian Pueblos in the State of New
Mexico.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Beginning in the late 19th century, many American Indian
children found themselves thrust into boarding schools during
the federal ``allotment and assimilation'' policy period which
lasted from 1871 to 1928. In 1881, the Federal Government
established the Albuquerque Indian School in New Mexico. The
subsequent century saw several shifts in Federal Indian policy,
up to the present policy period of self-determination and self-
governance. As the nation and tribes moved into a new era, so,
too, did the former Indian school. In 1969, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs conveyed 11 acres of the former school to the 19
Pueblos by quitclaim deed.\1\ The 19 Pueblos are the New Mexico
Indian Pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, Nambe,
Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan), Picuris, Pojoaque, San Felipe, San
Ildefonso, Sandia, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos,
Tesuque, Zia, and Zuni.
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\1\See Senate Report 95-445 at 2.
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Since 1969, the United States has engaged in the process of
converting in piecemeal fashion the Albuquerque Indian School
Reserve. H.R. 1880 is needed to transfer 11 acres of federal
land at this site into trust for the benefit of the 19 Pueblos
to expand economic development for the 19 Pueblos and the
Albuquerque community.
By 1976, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center had been
completed on 11 acres of the former school site by the 19
Pueblos.\2\ In 1978, these 11 acres were placed into trust
under legislation sponsored by members of the New Mexico
Congressional delegation, Senator Pete Domenici and Congressman
Manuel Lujan in the 95th Congress (S. 1509, Public Law 95-232).
In 1981, the All Indian Pueblo Council\3\ (AIPC) petitioned the
Bureau of Indian Affairs to transfer 44 acres of the former
Indian School site into trust. In 1984, the Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs approved the land into trust application for
the 19 Pueblos.
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\2\Senate Hearing 113-419 at 57.
\3\The AIPC is composed of the Governors of the 19 Pueblos, which
serves to administer social service programs for the benefit of the 19
Pueblos. Until 2013, AIPC was an IRS 501(c)(3) organization.
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In 2003, the AIPC again petitioned the Interior Department
to place into trust approximately 8.5 acres of the former
Indian School site, but the Interior Department was unable to
proceed. Its land-in-trust regulations\4\ had been revised in
1995 in a manner that did not contemplate the placement of land
into trust for the benefit of multiple tribes collectively. In
2008, the Albuquerque Indian School Act was enacted to place
the lands in trust for the benefit of the Pueblos collectively
(S. 1193, Public Law 110-453).
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\4\25 CFR Part 151.
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As noted above, the 95th and 110th Congresses enacted
legislation like H.R. 1880 for the same purpose and intent at
the former Albuquerque Indian School site. More recently, both
Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham and Senator Tom Udall
introduced legislation nearly identical to H.R. 1880 in the
113th Congress (H.R. 5625 and S. 2465). The Senate bill did
receive a hearing and was reported favorably out of Committee
(Senate Report 113-267) but saw no further action before the
end of the l13th Congress.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
The short title of the bill is the ``Albuquerque Indian
School Land Transfer Act''.
Section 2. Definitions
As defined, the ``19 Pueblos'' means the New Mexico Indian
Pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, Nambe, Ohkay
Owingeh (San Juan), Picuris, Pojoaque, San Felipe, San
Ildefonso, Sandia, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos,
Tesuque, Zia, and Zuni. The map reference for the lands to be
taken into trust is dated August 12, 2011. Secretary is defined
as Secretary of the Interior.
Section 3. Land taken into trust for benefit of 19 Pueblos
Subsection (a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
place into trust all right, title, and interest of the United
States in and to the Federal land described for the 19 Pueblos.
Subsection (b) describes the land depicted on U.S.
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management and
Bureau of Indian Affairs map to include an abandoned Indian
School Road, 0.83 acres; Southern part of Tract D, 6.18 acres;
Tract 1, 0.41 acres; and Western part Tract B, 3.69 acres.
Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to conduct a survey
and correct any clerical, typographical, or surveying errors in
the map.
Under subsection (d), the lands taken into trust by the
Secretary under this Act are only to be used for the
educational, health, cultural, business, and economic
development of the 19 Pueblos.
Subsection (e) provides that the land shall remain subject
to any private or municipal encumbrance, right-of-way,
restriction, easement of record, or utility service agreement
in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
Subsection (f) grandfathers Bureau of Indian Affairs rights
to use the lands for facilities and purposes in existence on
the date of enactment of this Act. The Bureau will not incur
any rental fee.
Section 4. Effect of other laws
Section 4 makes clear that the lands taken in trust shall
be subject to other Federal laws relating to trust lands,
except that gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is
prohibited on such lands.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 1880 was introduced on April 16, 2015, by
Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM). The bill was
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the
Committee to the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska
Native Affairs. The Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill on
July 22, 2015. On September 9, 2015, the Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was
discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and
the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent on September 10, 2015.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 1880--Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act
H.R. 1880 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
place four parcels of federal land (totaling about 11 acres) in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, into trust for the benefit of 19
Indian Pueblos in New Mexico. Under the bill, those Pueblos
would be authorized to use the land for educational, health,
cultural, business, or economic purposes. The bill would
prohibit gaming activities on the affected properties.
Additionally, the bill would allow the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) to continue to use the facilities on that land as they
were used prior to enactment.
CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have
no significant effect on the federal budget. Discretionary
spending for the administrative costs of the transfer would be
negligible.
Based on information provided by BIA, the affected parcels
of federal land currently generate no receipts and are not
expected to do so over the 2016-2025 period. Therefore, CBO
estimates that transferring the lands into trust for the
Pueblos would not affect offsetting receipts, which are certain
collections that are treated as reductions in direct spending.
Because enacting H.R. 1880 would not affect direct spending or
revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1880 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On May 26, 2015, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
986, the Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act, as
ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on
May 13, 2015. The two bills are similar, and the estimated
budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. The Congressional
Budget Office estimates that implementing the legislation would
have ``no significant effect'' on the federal budget.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to require the Secretary of the
Interior to take into trust four parcels of Federal land for
the benefit of certain Indian Pueblos in the State of New
Mexico.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
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