Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land Into Trust Confirmation Act of 2023
Floor Speech
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 382) to take certain land in the State of Washington into trust for the benefit of the Puyallup Tribe of the Puyallup Reservation, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: S. 382
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land Into Trust Confirmation Act of 2023''. SEC. 2. LAND TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUYALLUP TRIBE OF THE PUYALLUP RESERVATION.
(a) In General.--The approximately 17.264 acres of land owned in fee by the Puyallup Tribe of the Puyallup Reservation in Pierce County, Washington, and described in subsection (b) is hereby taken into trust by the United States for the benefit of the Puyallup Tribe of the Puyallup Reservation.
(b) Land Descriptions.--
(1) Parcel 1.--Lots 1 to 4, inclusive, Block 85, Map of Tacoma Tidelands, as surveyed and platted by the Board of Appraisers of Tide and Shore Lands for Pierce County, according to Plat filed for record on September 14, 1895, in the Office of the County Auditor, in Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington.
(2) Parcel 2.--Lots 5 to 9, inclusive, Block 85, Map of Tacoma Tidelands, as surveyed and platted by the Board of Appraisers of Tide and Shore Lands for Pierce County, according to Plat filed for record on September 14, 1895, in the Office of the County Auditor, in Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington.
(3) Parcel 3.--Parcel A of City of Tacoma Boundary Line Adjustment MPD2011-40000166230, recorded October 12, 2011, under Pierce County Auditor Recording No. 201110125009, as corrected by Affidavit of Minor Correction of Map Recorded September 25, 2012, under Pierce County Auditor Recording No. 201209250440.
(c) Administration.--Land taken into trust under subsection (a) shall be--
(1) part of the Reservation of the Puyallup Tribe of the Puyallup Reservation; and
(2) administered in accordance with the laws and regulations generally applicable to property held in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian Tribe.
(d) Environmental Liability.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the United States shall not be liable for any environmental contamination that occurred on the land described in subsection (b) on or before the date on which that land is taken into trust under subsection (a).
(e) Gaming Prohibited.--Land taken into trust under subsection (a) shall not be used for any class II gaming or class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) (as those terms are defined in section 4 of that Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)).
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Ms. HAGEMAN. 382, the bill now under consideration.
Mr. Speaker, S. 382, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land Into Trust Confirmation Act, would place approximately 17 acres of land in Pierce County, Washington, into trust for the Tribe.
The land in question is currently owned by the Tribe in fee simple, and the Tribe intends to use the land for economic development purposes to benefit the Tribe and the surrounding area.
The parcels contain evidence of environmental contamination, which complicates the process by which the Bureau of Indian Affairs would take land into trust through the administrative fee-to-trust process. Under an administrative process, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or BIA, would require full land remediation before the process even begins. This would be cost prohibitive for the Tribe and unnecessary given the Tribe's intended use of the land as a shipping terminal and transportation facility.
Additionally, S. 382 makes clear that the United States is not liable for any environmental contamination on the land and includes a prohibition on gaming pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 382, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land Into Trust Confirmation Act of 2023, introduced by Senator Cantwell and led in the House by my incredibly brilliant colleague from Washington, Representative Kilmer.
We know that land is at the very essence of Tribal sovereignty, cultural survival, and economic sovereignty. That is why taking land into trust for Tribes, either through the BIA or congressional process, is essential if we are to honor our trust responsibilities to Tribes, if we are to honor our commitment to help reverse, if only by a few acres at a time, some of the worst of our Federal policies from the 19th and 20th centuries.
This bill would authorize the United States to take approximately 17.2 acres of land located in Pierce County, Washington, and owned by the Puyallup Tribe into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
Typically, land is taken into trust under the Bureau of Indian Affairs administrative process. However, it is not uncommon for Tribes to take a legislative route depending on their circumstances.
In the case of the Puyallup Tribe, the Tribe identified legacy contamination from historical industrial sites when undergoing environmental site assessments.
When placing land into trust, the Federal Government does not take liability for environmental contamination that could have occurred prior to the transfer. As that is the case here, the BIA is unable to take the land into trust administratively, and congressional action through legislation is the most viable option for the Tribe in this case.
This legislation would move the Tribe's land-into-trust process forward and ultimately expand job and economic development opportunities. By adding these lands in the port area, the Tribe will be able to develop a 21st century shipping terminal that will help address the backlog facing our Nation's ports. Placing this land into trust will make this land the first international Tribal trade center in modern times. I say in modern times because we know there was much trade that was going on before European contact.
The Puyallup Tribe is a signatory to the Treaty of Medicine Creek of 1854, which designated 200,000 acres as permanent homeland for their people. However, the ink had barely dried on the treaty before efforts to take the Tribe's land began through acts of Congress, illegal sales of reservation land, and outright theft.
Given so much historical and cultural loss, it is appropriate to grant the restoration of these lands to the Tribe.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, yield myself the balance of my time to close.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Kilmer and Senator Cantwell for bringing this legislation forward. I also thank Chairman Sterud and the people of the Puyallup Tribe because what they are doing here today is beneficial not only for the Tribe, but, as noted, for the entire region.
I think we will see this over and over again in the bills we are hearing today and that we will hear into the future with regards to taking land into trust. It benefits not just the Tribe and the local economy, but those who live around the Tribe. In this instance, because of the port, it will benefit the entire Nation. Therefore, we are grateful for the work that they have done in terms of pursuing this land-into-trust application.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. HAGEMAN. Mr. Speaker, this legislation would take approximately 17 acres of fee land in Pierce County, Washington, into trust for the benefit of the Puyallup Tribe to support the development of a 21st century shipping and transportation facility.
I thank the sponsors of this legislation for their work on behalf of their constituents. I support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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