Legislative Hearing on: H.R. 2130 (Rep. Johnson of SD), “Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025” H.R. 2388 (Rep. Randall), “Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act” H.R. 2815 (Rep. Begich), “Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2025” H.R. 3073 (Rep. Maloy), “Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act”
House Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs
2025-05-21
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Source: Congress.gov
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Transcript
Under Committee Rule 4F, any oral opening statements at hearings are limited to the chairman and the ranking minority member. I therefore ask unanimous consent that all other members' opening statements be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted in accordance with Committee Rule 3O. Without objection, so ordered. I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Utah, Ms. Molloy, the gentleman from Alaska, Mr. Begich, and the gentleman from South Dakota, Mr. Johnson, be allowed to sit and participate in today's hearing. Without objection, so ordered. I will now recognize myself for an opening statement. Today, our subcommittee is meeting to discuss four bills. The first is H.R. 2130, the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025, sponsored by Congressman Dusty Johnson. This bill would require the Bureau of Indian Affairs to process and complete all residential and business mortgage packages on Indian Trust land in a timely matter. MANNER. THIS BILL WOULD ONLY IMPACT LAND HELD IN TRUST BECAUSE GENERALLY ADDITIONAL APPROVALS ARE NEEDED FROM THE BIA WHEN A MORTGAGE ON TRUST LAND IS SOUGHT. UNLIKE RIGHT-OF-WAY AND LEASEHOLD MORTGAGES, CURRENTLY THERE ARE NO STATUTORY TIMEFRAMES FOR THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF TRUST LAND MORTGAGES. HR 2130 WOULD ESTABLISH PRIVATE INDUSTRY ALIGNED STANDARDS FOR THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF TRUST LAND MORTGAGES. current privacy private industry standard for processing a mortgage package is within one month and it is critical that the bia moves to replicate that time frame in the current bia mortgage handbook there are no outline binding timelines for each step in the mortgage process we've heard story after story from tribal advocates that these timelines are arbitrary and often ignored hr 2130 will ensure time frames are established and follow to help promote home ownership opportunities on trust lands and in tribal communities. Our second bill is H.R.
2388, the Lower Elway-Kulalam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act, sponsored by Congresswoman Randall. This bill would place approximately 1,100 acres of National Park Service land into trust for the Lower Elway-Kulalam Tribe. The Lower Elway-Kulalam Tribe is located within the Olympic Peninsula in Northwest Washington. The third bill is H.R. 2815, the Cape Fox Land Entitlement Finalization Act of 2025, sponsored by Congressman Begich. This bill would finalize the Cape Fox Village Corporation, or CFC's, Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or ANCSA, land conveyance. ANCSA was enacted to settle the Aboriginal land claims of Alaska Natives. Through ANCSA, Alaska Native Village corporations were established to receive land under settlement. Under ANCSA, CFC could select 23,040 acres of land in the vicinity of Saxman and Ketchikan. The Bureau of Land Management has identified 184.57 acres of land within the core township of CFC in an effort to finalize CFC's ANCSA entitlement. CFC has identified 180 acres of alternative land that lie between land parcels previously conveyed to them. These acres hold economic value as they will play a role in developing the Mahoney Lake Power Project. And the final bill in today's hearing is H.R. 3073, the Shivitz Band of Paiute's Jurisdictional Clarity Act sponsored by Congresswoman Malloy. This bill would ensure that the Utah State Court has jurisdiction over civil cases involving the Chivitz Band that occur on the tribe's trust land. Additionally, this bill would allow congressional precedent by amending the Long-Term Leasing Act to allow the Chivitz Band to lease their land for a term of up to 99 years.
Since the tribe's recognition was restored, the Chivitz Band has worked to promote economic development on their lands. However, a 2022 10th Circuit Court of Appeals case, known as the Lawrence case, has stunted that growth. In Lawrence, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Utah state courts lack the jurisdiction to hear cases involving on-reservation conduct. This means that if an issue were to arise between the tribe and an outside investor, there is no guarantee that a state court could intervene. For the Chivowitz Band, this ruling has led to economic uncertainty for the tribe, as well as to any potential investors. This bill would address that uncertainty by assuring that the Utah state courts do hold jurisdiction over civil cases involving the tribe. I thank our witnesses for being with us today, and I look forward to today's conversation. The chair now recognizes the ranking minority member for any statement. Ms. Randall. Oops. Thank you so much, Chairman Hurd. And thank you to our witnesses for being here today. And a special thank you to Chairwoman Charles for making the trek all the way from the Lower Olla Column Tribe on the Olympic Peninsula. Chairwoman Charles has been a champion when it comes to preserving the tribe's language, culture, and exercise of the tribe's treaty reserved hunting and fishing rights. I look forward to hearing more from you about HR 2388, which I was proud to reintroduce this year. That legislation, as Chairman Hurd mentioned, would take approximately 1,082 acres of land managed by the National Park Service into trust for the benefit of the Lower Elwha Column Tribe in Washington.
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