The Senate Indian Affairs Committee approved S.676, a bill to fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, at a business meeting on Thursday.

The bill amends the Indian Reorganization Act to ensure that "any federally recognized Indian tribe" can benefit from the land-into-trust process. It also ratifies prior approvals by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), the vice chairman of the committee, presented an amendment to require the Interior Department to submit a study about the impacts of the decision on tribes, including a list of tribes affected by it. The amendment was adopted by the committee.

The bill will now go to the Senate floor for consideration. Two versions of the fix, H.R.1291 and H.R.1234, have been introduced in the House but have not been considered.

Get the Story:
Bill granting land-trust status advances (The Providence Journal 4/7)

Committee Notice:
BUSINESS MEETING to consider: S. 675, S. 676 (April 7, 2011)

Supreme Court Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Thomas] | Concurrence [Breyer] | Dissent [Stevens] | Concurrence/Dissent [Souter]

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