[House Report 115-703]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-703
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TO REPEAL SECTION 2141 OF THE REVISED STATUTES TO REMOVE THE
PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN ALCOHOL MANUFACTURING ON INDIAN LANDS
_______
May 24, 2018.--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. 5317]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5317) to repeal section 2141 of the Revised
Statutes to remove the prohibition on certain alcohol
manufacturing on Indian lands, 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. 5317 is to repeal section 2141 of the
Revised Statutes to remove the prohibition on certain alcohol
manufacturing on Indian lands.
Background and Need for Legislation
H.R. 5317 repeals an 1834 federal law prohibiting the
establishment and operation of alcohol distilleries in Indian
Country.\1\ The 1834 law was one of the Indian Trade and
Intercourse Acts enacted in the 18th and 19th centuries. The
purpose of these laws was to regulate non-Indian interaction
with individual Indians and Indian tribes on Indian lands.
While the operation of the Trade and Intercourse Acts have been
repealed or superseded by subsequent laws, several of them--
including the one prohibiting distilleries on Indian lands--
remain in effect today.
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\1\25 U.S.C. Sec. 251 (R.S. 2141 derived from act of June 30, 1834,
ch. 161, Sec. 21, 4 Stat. 732).
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The Indian Trade and Intercourse Acts\2\ reserved to the
United States the exclusive right to acquire Indian lands and
to regulate and restrict trade with tribes. The early-19th
century acts were intended to implement and enforce the terms
of Indian treaties against ``obstreperous whites, [and]
gradually came to embody the basic features of federal Indian
policy.''\3\
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\2\25 U.S.C. Ch. 5, 6.
\3\Francis Paul Prucha, The Great Father (Abridged Edition),
(Lincoln and London, University of Nebraska Press, 1986), p. 31.
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A Trade and Intercourse Act passed in 1834 (entitled An Act
to regulate trade and intercourse with Indian tribes and to
preserve peace on the frontier)\4\ imposed restrictions on the
sale, exchange, or barter of spirituous liquors to Indians in
Indian country. Section 21 of that Act (codified at 25 U.S.C.
251) provides that if any person sets up or continues a
distillery for the manufacturing of ardent spirits in Indian
country, the penalty shall be $1,000 and the superintendent of
Indian affairs shall destroy and break up the distillery.\5\
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\4\25 U.S.C. Sec. 241 et seq.
\5\25 U.S.C. Sec. 251.
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Most of the 1834 law remained in effect until 1953 when
Congress passed An Act to eliminate certain discriminatory
legislation against Indians in the United States.\6\ Under the
1953 law, the production and distribution of liquor is
permitted in Indian Country subject to the laws of the State in
which such acts or transactions occur, and subject also to
tribal ordinances approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
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\6\18 U.S.C. Sec. 1161.
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Nonetheless, because the 1834 law imposing restrictions on
distilleries in Indian Country remains in effect, there is a
question whether a tribe may lawfully construct and operate a
distillery on its reservation even though it may be permitted
to build and run a brewery or winery.
The 1834 law prevents any tribe from hosting a distillery
project on its lands. While the law may have advanced a valid
public policy goal in the mid-19th century, it is not
compatible with the modern policy of promoting tribal self-
determination and economic diversification on Indian lands
where existing laws provide reasonable regulation of liquor
transactions.
The bill is especially supported by the Confederated Tribes
of the Chehalis Reservation, which plans to construct and
operate a distillery on its lands. According to the Tribe, the
project--part of a larger brewery, distillery, and educational
project--will be wholly tribally-owned and operated, with net
profits going to the Tribe.
Committee Action
H.R. 5317 was introduced on March 15, 2018, by
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA). The bill was
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the
Committee to the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska
Native Affairs. On April 26, 2018, the Subcommittee held a
hearing on the bill. On May 8, 2018, 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.
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 and Congressional Budget Act
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, May 22, 2018.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5317, a bill to
repeal section 2141 of the Revised Statutes to remove the
prohibition on certain alcohol manufacturing on Indian lands.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese.
Sincerely,
Mark P. Hadley
(For Keith Hall, Director).
H.R. 5317--A bill to repeal section 2141 of the Revised Statutes to
remove the prohibition on certain alcohol manufacturing on
Indian lands
H.R. 5317 would repeal a law enacted in 1834 that prohibits
the establishment of a distillery on Indian lands. Using
information from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO expects
there would be minimal administrative costs associated with
implementing the bill.
Enacting H.R. 5317 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5317 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 5317 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. 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 repeal section 2141 of the Revised
Statutes to remove the prohibition on certain alcohol
manufacturing on Indian lands.
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. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
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 Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets and
existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 2141 OF THE REVISED STATUTES OF THE UNITED STATES
[Sec. 2141. Every person who shall, within the Indian
country, set up or continue any distillery for manufacturing
ardent spirits, shall be liable to a penalty of one thousand
dollars; and the superintendent of Indian affairs, Indian
agent, or sub-agent, within the limits of whose agency any
distillery of ardent spirits is set up or continued, shall
forthwith destroy and break up the same.]
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