To amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify a provision relating to leases involving certain Indian tribes.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and I rise in strong support of S. 2906, a bill introduced by Senator Cantwell that is the companion to H.R. 4401, which I introduced in the House last year.

S. 2906 amends the Indian Long-Term Leasing Act for the benefit of three federally recognized Tribes in the State of Washington: the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, which is in my district.

Specifically, this legislation amends the leasing act to allow the Puyallup Tribe and the Kalispel Tribe to enter into 99 year business leases. Currently, these Tribes are limited to 25 year business leases.

Additionally, S. 2906 eliminates the requirement that the Puyallup Tribe, the Kalispel Tribe, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community seek the approval of the Secretary of the Interior for every business deal involving tribal lands.

Under S. 2906, the Tribes will adopt leasing regulations, to be approved by the Department of the Interior. Once the Department approves the Tribal regulations, the Department will be relieved of its obligations to approve the Tribes' leases of less than 75 years and the Tribe will then be required to follow its own leasing regulations for leases of its land. The Department will still retain the authority to review and approve leases of Tribal lands for more than 75 years.

This bill is tremendously important to the Puyallup Tribe in my district, as it will enable the Tribe to move forward with its plans to develop a marine terminal on its land in the Port of Tacoma.

The shipping terminal will be the largest economic development and job-creation project the Tribe has undertaken, and when fully constructed, will be the largest international container terminal facility in the Pacific Northwest. This project will provide tremendous benefits both to the Puyallup Tribe as well as the South Puget Sound economy.

Unfortunately, until now, the Tribe has found it difficult to engage and move forward with business partners in furthering the terminal project because of the burdensome and uncertain bureaucratic process of obtaining Interior approval for the deals.

Passage of S. 2906 will ensure that that the Tribe and its business partners will have certainty in moving forward with this and other business opportunities that will enhance the economy of the Puyallup Tribe and the Port of Tacoma, and will help to spur job creation in the South Puget Sound region.

I thank the Chairman and Ranking Member for their help in advancing this legislation, and I ask for my colleagues' support for the passage of S. 2906.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2906, legislation to amend certain provisions of the Long-Term Leasing Act of 1955 for the benefits of the three Washington State Indian tribes, the Kalispel Tribe and the Puyallup Tribe, and the Swinomish Tribal Community.

First I want to commend Senator Maria Cantwell for her leadership. I also want to thank Senator Pat Murray, Representative Adam Smith, and Representative Norman Dicks, for their support and advocacy on behalf of the Indian Tribes in the State of Washington.

Similar to S. 1448, this bill will amend the Long-Term Leasing Act of 1955, to add three more Indian Tribes from the State of Washington to the list of Indian Tribes that have been granted authority to enter into long-term leases of up to 99 years.

Conditions for economic development and business opportunities have significantly changed since Congress passed the Long-Term Leases Act in 1955. The current economic downturn has certainly exacerbated already deteriorating economic conditions for many of the Indian tribes. As such, extending the privileges of the Long-Term Leases Act is essential for economic development and business opportunities. It is the longstanding responsibility of our Federal Government to provide assistance to the Indian people in their efforts to improve their economic conditions and maximize business opportunities for the betterment of the Indian people.

I urge my colleagues to pass S. 2906.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 2906) to amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify a provision relating to leases involving certain Indian tribes.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, as with the bill we just considered, the pending legislation would amend the long-term leasing act to allow several tribes, in this case located in Washington State, to issue leases for trust lands for terms not to exceed 99 years. As business opportunities and economic considerations

change over time, leases longer than what is allowed in current law are often necessary to facilitate economic development on trust lands.

In closing, this legislation would advance tribal sovereignty, promote job growth, and speed up business deals. I want to commend our colleague, Representative Adam Smith, who has pressed for passage of S. 2906.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2906, which allows the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians to lease land placed in trust for a term greater than 25 years. This legislation further allows the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and the Kalispel Tribe of Indians to lease restricted lands under certain conditions without requiring the Secretary of the Interior's approval.

I thank Senator Cantwell for introducing this legislation, and I also thank Chairman Rahall for bringing this bill to the floor today.

As a member of the Native American Caucus, I have worked with my colleagues in Congress to address the needs of all Native Americans. While the legislation before us today affects three tribes in Washington State, I will continue to work on behalf of the nearly 100 federally recognized tribes in California and all tribes across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 2906.

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

As a matter of policy, authorizing 99-year lease terms for tribes is a means of increasing tribal independence from the Bureau of Indian Affairs bureaucracy. Therefore, we have no objection to this bill.

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