House committee set to advance Indian Country bills

Note: The House Committee on Natural Resources video feed will start shortly before 11am Eastern on May 26, 2021.

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Indianz.Com

The House Committee on Natural Resources is meeting to advance more Indian Country bills ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.

Three items of interest are on the agenda for the markup session on Wednesday morning. They follow:

• H.R.164, a bill to authorize the Seminole Tribe to lease or transfer certain land in Florida without running afoul of existing federal laws. A hearing hasn’t taken place in the 117th Congress but earlier versions were considered during prior legislative sessions.

• H.R.438, a bill to amend the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act. The bill extends the deadline for a report by the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children by another two years. The report would be due sometime in 2024 if H.R.438 became law. A hearing took place on May 20.

• H.R.1619, the Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act. The bill confirms that the Catawba Nation can engage in gaming on lands acquired in trust in North Carolina. The measure also confirms that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has the authority to acquire about 17 acres in in North Carolina trust for the tribe. A hearing hasn’t taken place in the 117th Congress but an earlier version of the bill was considered during the last legislative session.

Assuming the bills are approved at the markup, they can then be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives for passage. Since the start of the 117th Congress in January, the chamber has passed at least five stand-alone bills of interest in Indian Country.

A total of eight bills are on the agenda for the committee markup, which is scheduled to begin at 11am Eastern. It will be broadcast on YouTube.

House Committee on Natural Resources Notice

Remote Full Committee Markup (May 26, 2021)