Senate Indian Affairs Committee adds land-into-trust fix to bill

Friday, July 29, 2011  

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee approved S.703, the HEARTH Act, at a business meeting on Thursday.

The bill allows tribes to bypass the Bureau of Indian Affairs for certain housing leases. It was amended to include S.676, a bill to fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

The fix amends the Indian Reorganization Act to ensure that "any federally recognized Indian tribe" can benefit from the land-into-trust process. The Supreme Court ruling affects tribes that were recognized after 1934.

"The language merely reaffirms the intent of the Indian Reorganization Act as it has been carried out for the past 75 years," Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), the chairman of the committee, said in a press release.

Committee Notice:
Business Meeting (July 28, 2011)

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

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