A bill to require the Secretary of the Interior to accept the conveyance of certain land, to be held in trust for the benefit of the Puyallup Indian tribe.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the distinguished gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands for recognizing me. I want to thank the chairman and the others who presented the bill.

I rise in strong support of this bill, S. 1382, which would require that reservation land be put into trust on behalf of the Puyallup Indians. I introduced similar legislation in the House, which was approved by the Resources Committee in March.

Passage of the Senate bill today will clear the legislation for the President's signature. I want to thank Resources Chairman Pombo for his support of this legislation and the action of the Resources Committee took to move the bill forward. I also want to extend my gratitude toward ranking Democratic Member Rahall for his assistance. The staff of both of these Members have been very helpful.

The legislation is consistent with previous actions that Congress has taken on behalf of the Puyallup tribe. After many years of negotiations, the tribe and the local community came together to settle the serious and long-standing land claims that affected a large portion of what is now the Port of Tacoma.

When the settlement agreement was reached in 1989, Congress approved specific legislation authorizing the terms of this landmark settlement, which has now led to robust development in the Port of Tacoma. The creation of a substantial number of new jobs in shipping and trade- related businesses and to the development of many new tribal enterprises that will sustain the current and next generation of Puyallup tribe members really was a win-win situation for the tribe, the Port of Tacoma, the city of Tacoma, the city of Fife and for Pierce County.

With the support of Congress, it has resulted in a very productive working relationship between all of those parties. A prime example of this improved relationship is the mutually beneficial situation that led to the legislation we are considering today.

A few years ago, the Port of Tacoma was presented with the opportunity to build a large new container terminal that would lead to the creation of many new family wage jobs if it could build on tribal- owned land in the port. After some negotiation, the tribe agreed to relocate a casino that was situated on this land in order to allow for the type of cargo-handling development to occur at the waterfront, consistent with the goals of the settlement agreement.

This is another case in which everyone wins. The State of Washington and

all local governments have recognized the tribe's cooperative spirit and have actively supported this relocation. Thus, this legislation would simply allow for the alternate parcel of reservation land in Fife to be put into trust status in order to meet the requirements of the State of Washington.

Again, I want to thank the chairman, the ranking member and the Resources Committee for their assistance in moving this piece of legislation that will result in further job creation and economic development in the Port of Tacoma, not only helping the tribe in the local community, but positively affecting our Nation's balance of trade.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1382) to require the Secretary of the Interior to accept the conveyance of certain land, to be held in trust for the benefit of the Puyallup Indian tribe.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 1382 will expedite the approval process for relocating a casino owned by the Puyallup Indian tribe of Washington State. This business is affected by the planned expansion of the Port of Tacoma. On November 16, 2004 the Port of Tacoma, State of Washington, the tribe and the cities of Fife and Tacoma signed an agreement to pursue a major expansion of terminal facilities at that time Port of Tacoma.

The agreement allows the tribe to move its Emerald Queen Casino, which is impacted by the construction of the new Port of Tacoma terminal facility, to a new location within the boundaries of the tribe's reservation. The agreement will create nearly 4,000 jobs for the local area and increase the cargo capacity of the Port of Tacoma, already the seventh busiest waterborne freight gateway in the United States.

S. 1382 has the full support of the Washington State delegation, and I look forward to the support of this House.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

I rise in strong support of this legislation and to congratulate the gentleman from Washington, Norm Dicks, who is the author of the House companion bill.

Mr. Dicks has worked tirelessly over the last several months to bring this bill before us today. This provision would enable the Puyallup Indian tribe to continue its ability to provide needed services to its members and to preserve a significant number of jobs held by both Indians and non-Indians.

The port and other State and local entities support the tribe's effort to have this land placed into trust. Once enacted, this legislation will assist the tribe in its business ventures.

I would again pay tribute to Congressman Dicks for his tenacity in getting this bill moved through the House. This provision has already passed the Senate and has the support of State and local government.

I urge all of our colleagues to support the passage of S. 1382.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield such time as he might consume to the sponsor of the bill, Mr. Dicks.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that today the House of Representatives passed S. 1382, a bill which would allow the Puyallup Indian Tribe to convert parts of their tribal land into a Trust held by the Department of the Interior.

The Puyallup Tribe has worked in partnership with the State of Washington, the Port of Tacoma, Pierce County, the Cities of Fife, Puyallup, and Tacoma to finalize an arrangement that will enable more than $450 million in new investment and create an estimated 4,000 construction jobs and nearly 6,000 permanent jobs in Pierce County. Under the multi-party agreement--which builds on the 1988 Puyallup Indian Land Claims Settlement--relocation of some of the tribal lands will enable construction of a major new container terminal on the Blair Waterway.

S. 1382 is critical to the success of this broad-based agreement, and I look forward to the President signing this important legislation into law so that it can be fully implemented and the region can realize the benefits. I commend all parties involved on the way they worked together to allow for this expansion which will be an economic driver for the region.

I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 162, S. 1382.

I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.