The Senate Indian Affairs Committee took action on several items at a business meeting on Thursday.

The committee approved the nomination of Tracie Stevens as chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission. If confirmed by the full Senate, she will be the first woman to lead the agency.

The committee also approved the nominations of JoAnn Balzer and Cynthia Chavez Lamar to serve in the board of trustees for the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development, otherwise known as the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The pair will also go to the Senate floor for a final vote.

On legislative matters, the committee approved three bills. They are:

• S.2802, the Blackfoot River Land Settlement Act, a bill to settle a land dispute on the Shoshone-Bannock Reservation in Idaho. The committee held a hearing on the bill on April 29.
• S.2906, A bill to amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify a provision relating to leases involving certain Indian tribes. The committee did not hold a hearing on the bill.
• S.1448, a bill to amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to authorize the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw, the Klamath Tribes, and the Burns Paiute Tribe to obtain 99-year lease authority for trust land. The committee did not hold a hearing on the bill.

The meeting was not webcast.

Committee Notice:
BUSINESS MEETING on pending Committee issues (June 10, 2010)

Related Stories:
Agenda for SCIA business meeting includes nominations, bills (6/9)
Indian Affairs Committee business meeting set for Thursday (6/8)