Bridgeport Indian Colony Land Trust, Health, and Economic Development Act of 2012

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 2467, the Bridgeport Indian Colony Land Trust, Health, and Economic Development Act of 2012. I want to thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Markey, as well as subcommittee Chairman Young and Ranking Member Lujan, for giving my legislation a fair hearing and moving the bill through the committee.

Mr. Speaker, the Bridgeport Indian Colony is a Federally recognized Indian tribe with a reservation located near the town of Bridgeport in Mono County, California. The tribe's reservation is approximately 40 acres and was established by Federal law in 1974. However, the size of the current reservation is insufficient for the tribe's housing and community development needs.

In order to create space for economic development and housing, my legislation proposes to transfer from the BLM to the BIA to hold in trust for the tribe one parcel of land contiguous to the tribe's existing reservation, totaling approximately 31 acres. On this parcel, the tribe plans to construct an RV park, gas station, convenience store, and residential housing for tribal members, as well as a recreational center to serve the greater community.

Mr. Speaker, many tribal members have expressed interest in moving back to the reservation if housing and job opportunities can be made available. And this bill will create jobs in a part of my district where unemployment is over 10 percent.

Additionally, my legislation would promote the health care of the tribe and community by taking into trust a 7-acre BLM parcel where the Toiyabe Indian Health Project previously served the community, allowing the clinic to be reopened and returned to service. Currently, members of the tribe have to drive 90 miles to Bishop to obtain health care services.

In the 1980s, the tribe applied for and received a community development block grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to build a health care facility in Mono County. With Toiyabe Indian Health Project directing the project, the Camp Antelope Health Clinic was built on a 7.16-acre parcel of Federal land one mile north of Walker, California, approximately 30 miles from the tribe's reservation--60 miles closer than the Bishop health clinic. Unfortunately, the Toiyabe Indian Health Project closed the Camp Antelope Health Clinic in 2006.

The tribe and the Toiyabe Indian Health Project have agreed that the health clinic needs to be reopened, and the investment of the Federal funds in the development of the health clinic from the CDBG grant adds to the importance of maintaining the parcel under Federal ownership.

Mr. Speaker, throughout the process of developing this legislation, I worked closely with the tribe and the Bridgeport Public Utility District to mitigate any concerns that the utility district had regarding the rights of way of an easement which crosses the first parcel proposed for transfer from the BLM to the BIA in trust to the tribe. The services provided by the utility district, both to the community of Bridgeport as well as to the tribe, depend on the infrastructure where this easement is located. Currently, the easement is managed by the BLM and is subject to periodic renewal. I clarified in my legislation that this easement should continue to be managed by the BLM, as this has proven successful.

The Mono County Board of Supervisors voted to support the land transfer in October of 2009 and agreed unanimously in April of 2010 to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the tribe, thus supporting the tribe's efforts to have these parcels of land transferred into trust. Additionally, there is language contained in my bill that clarifies that there will be no new gaming on lands that are acquired by the tribe.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving my bill time on the floor. The additional land will be greatly beneficial to the Bridgeport Indian Tribe, and I urge Members to support this vital legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2467) to take certain Federal lands in Mono County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony, as amended.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2467, which is sponsored by our colleague from California (Mr. McKeon), places two parcels of land in trust for a tribe in his district known as the Bridgeport Indian Colony. This is a small tribe located in a fairly remote area in eastern California.

The two parcels are approximately 40 acres of public land currently administered by the Bureau of Land Management. One parcel is a 32-acre tract located along Highway 182, adjacent to the tribe's existing reservation. The tribe states that it intends to use the lands for housing and related community development because its existing reservation is running out of room for additional uses.

The other parcel is a 7.5-acre tract located 30 miles off the tribe's reservation. The tribe originally leased this property from the Bureau of Land Management for a health clinic which closed several years ago. The tribe still owns the building and has expressed its intent to reopen the clinic, but without ownership of the property in trust it is unlikely this purpose can be achieved.

Hearings were held on a similar bill in the last Congress, and the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing this year. The Department of the Interior has not expressed reservations with holding these public lands in trust for the tribe, nor has it requested the tribe to pay for the public land.

Though the committee has heard no opposition to the bill, the local public utility district serving the city of Bridgeport requested language to clarify that existing easements serving the district's customers remain the responsibility of the BLM. The bill's sponsor, Mr. McKeon, worked out language, after consulting with all affected parties, to ensure this request was appropriately handled for the benefit of the town and of the tribe.

I want to point out that while the bill was reported by the Natural Resources Committee without objection from its members, it lacked language addressing potential tribal gambling rights on the new trust land. Because the expansion of gambling under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act may cause concern among many Members in the House, and because the primary purpose of the lands, as explained by the tribe, is not for operating a casino, the text of the bill before us today includes new language prohibiting class II and class III gaming on the public lands.

With that, the bill is a good bill, and I urge its passage. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased to yield 5 minutes to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon).

Mr. Speaker, I tell my friend I have no requests for time, and I am prepared to yield back if the gentleman is.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good piece of legislation; I urge its passage. And I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I would like to announce that the Committee on Indian Affairs will meet during the

session of the Senate on September 20, 2012, in room SD-628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, at 2:15 p.m., to conduct a business meeting to consider the following:

S. 65, A bill to reauthorize the programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing assistance for Native Hawaiians; S. 2024, A bill to make technical amendment to the T'uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Act, and for other purposes; S. 3546, Esther Martinez Language Preservation Act Reauthorization; S. 3548, To clarify certain provisions of the Native American Veterans' Memorial Establishment Act of 1994; and H.R. 2467, To take certain Federal lands in Mono County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony).

Those wishing additional information may contact the Indian Affairs Committee at (202) 224-2251.

Mr. President, I would like to announce that the Committee on Indian Affairs will meet during the session of the Senate on September 20, 2012, in room SD-628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, at 2:15 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Advancing the Federal-Tribal Relationship through Self-Governance and Self- Determination.''

Those wishing additional information may contact the Indian Affairs Committee at (202) 224-2251.

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

(Mr. SABLAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2467 would transfer two parcels of Federal land into trust for the exclusive benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony, a Federally recognized Indian tribe located in rural Mono County, California.

The tribe seeks to expand its reservation in order to address its additional housing and community development needs, as well as to address its need for a local community health services clinic that will service Indian and non-Indians in the area.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2467, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, may I ask if there are additional speakers on the other side?

Mr. Speaker, we also urge the support and passage of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr President, I wish to announce that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will meet in on Thursday, September 20, 2012, at 10 a.m. in room 430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``Roundtable Discussion: Pension Modernization for a 21st Century Workforce.''

For further information regarding this meeting, please contact Michael Kreps of the committee staff on (202) 224-6572.