To take certain Federal lands located in El Dorado County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman for yielding, and let me rise to indicate my recognition of the importance of this legislation and to support it.

I want to make a point simply on this bill dealing with the Secretary of the Interior, that it is to study the issue of large parks, urban parks in our respective urban areas as being in the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, the Interior Department, because we are losing that park land because of the inability to collaborate with the Federal Government on the resources that are so necessary.

I recognize that we are in sequestration, but I believe that it is important that we collaborate. I wanted to make sure that I put that on the record.

Let me also put on the record, as a member of the Homeland Security Committee, my support for the TSA Loose Change Act, H.R. 1095; my support for H.R. 2719, the Transportation Acquisition Security Reform Act; and my special support for H.R. 1204, the Aviation Security Stakeholder Participation Act of 2013 because, in fact, that stakeholder committee is going to help provide more security for our TSA officers and have stakeholders dealing with issues like phones on airplanes and knives on airplanes. Certainly, guns are only held by the pilots in the pilot program. But it is going to be able to allow stakeholders to be able to have a real say in aviation security, and I think that is crucially important.

Let me also acknowledge my support for the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 and its extension. I would hope that that bipartisan support, along with Mr. Coble, whom we have so much great respect for, will lead us to universal background checks and the passage of Federal legislation that would require all of us to store our guns. It is not difficult to provide or buy a simple safe to store your guns and to protect those from undue harm.

I thank my colleague for yielding to me.

My understanding is that we are here on the floor of the House to do work. Some people find it humorous when Members rise to the floor and add additional commentary dealing with their constituency and their work. And since I believe in working and I believe in working on behalf of my constituents, I am very grateful to the gentleman from Arizona recognizing the seriousness of which I make these points and allowing me to have this time on this legislation. I think all of us can recognize that when the floor is open, it is open for Members to come and make serious commentary about the work that they would hope this Congress would be able to do.

I close by thanking the gentleman. He has many capacities, such as the cochair of the Progressive Caucus. I want to thank him for his leadership on immigration reform. And for those of us who were down with the Fast for Families, I again say that we pray for them. We pray that the hearts of this Congress will be touched, that we will be able to finish and complete comprehensive immigration reform, something my constituency is also now praying for on the steps of the city hall.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2388) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to take certain Federal lands located in El Dorado County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and for other purposes, as amended.

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, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians occupies a Federal reservation in the Sierra foothills in El Dorado County, California. They lost much of their land when Highway 50 was constructed through the reservation several decades ago. They were left with enough land to eventually build a successful casino, but have very little additional space for tribal housing.

Adjacent to their reservation is a 40-acre abandoned and landlocked property. I say ``abandoned'' because it was never developed, and it is presently dangerously overgrown with scrub brush that is just waiting to become a wildfire, which could rapidly spread either to the existing reservation or to an adjacent residential neighborhood.

As it turns out, this abandoned parcel is owned by the Bureau of Land Management. The Bureau of Land Management didn't even know that it owned the property when the Miwok first approached it about this matter. In fact, I am told the BLM actually had to be convinced that it does, indeed, own the land that it has obviously never managed.

The Miwok would like to acquire this parcel for the reservation, making up some of the land they lost due to the construction of Highway 50. It would be used for tribal housing, and the bill specifically forbids its use for gambling, a condition that the Shingle Springs Band has agreed to.

The parcel is untended, overgrown, and unused, and this land transfer

would put it to productive use for reservation housing, use fully compatible with adjacent land usage. Indeed, by doing so, the tribe will be removing a major risk for both the reservation and the nearby community. Access would be through the existing reservation to avoid any impact on the existing neighborhood, and the tribe is committed to working with the nearby homeowners association to assure that it doesn't affect the rural nature of the community.

The property is on unincorporated county land, and the County Board of Supervisors, which is the land use planning agency with jurisdiction over this land, fully supports the transfer.

The administration supports my bill. I urge adoption of the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for their support of this legislation, 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 Wednesday, May 21, 2014, in room SD-628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct business meeting to consider the following bills: S. 1474, to encourage the State of Alaska to enter into intergovernmental agreements with Indian tribes in the State relating to the enforcement of certain State laws by Indian tribes, to improve the quality of life in rural Alaska, to reduce alcohol and drug abuse, and for other purposes; S. 1603, to reaffirm that certain land has been taken into trust for the benefit of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She- Wish Band of Pottawatami Indians, and for other purposes; S. 1622, to establish the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children, and for other purposes; S. 1818, to ratify a water settlement agreement affecting the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and for other purposes; S. 2040, to exchange trust and fee land to resolve land disputes created by the realignment of the Blackfoot River along the boundary of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, and for other purposes; S. 2132, to amend the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self- Determination Act of 2005, and for other purposes; H.R. 2388, to take certain Federal lands located in El Dorado County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and for other purposes. Those wishing additional information may contact the Indian Affairs Committee at (202) 224-2251.

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

The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians is a federally recognized Indian tribe with a reservation located 40 miles east of Sacramento. The band is currently in need of housing to accommodate its growing membership and identified approximately 41 acres of land currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management for placement into trust. The band anticipates designing a residential community with community buildings and recreational facilities within that community and will also consider nongaming economic development, as well.

H.R. 2388 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to take the land into trust and would explicitly prohibit class 2 and class 3 gaming activities on these lands once they are placed into trust.

The County of El Dorado supports the band's efforts to secure the BLM property in trust and has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the band.

We support H.R. 2388 and these efforts, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 439, H.R. 2388.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.