LUMBEE FAIRNESS ACT

On 2024-12-17, Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC-9) delivered a floor speech titled "LUMBEE FAIRNESS ACT" in the House. The speech addressed taxes and also covered the environment. It referenced legislation including HR1101, HR2758, S3443.

LUMBEE FAIRNESS ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024) [Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024)] [House] [Pages H7268-H7272] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] LUMBEE FAIRNESS ACT Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1101) to amend the Lumbee Act of 1956, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1101 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 ``Lumbee Fairness Act''. SEC. 2. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254, chapter 375), is amended-- (1) by striking section 2; (2) in the first sentence of the first section, by striking ``That the Indians'' and inserting the following: ``SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF LUMBEE INDIANS. ``The Indians--''; (3) in the preamble-- (A) by inserting before the first undesignated clause the following: ``SEC. 1. FINDINGS. ``Congress finds that--''; (B) by designating the undesignated clauses as paragraphs (1) through (4), respectively, and indenting appropriately; (C) by striking ``Whereas'' each place it appears; (D) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of each of paragraphs (1) and (2) (as so designated); and (E) in paragraph (4) (as so designated), by striking ``: Now, therefore,'' and inserting a period; (4) by moving the enacting clause so as to appear before section 1 (as so designated); (5) by striking the last sentence of section 3 (as designated by paragraph (2)); (6) by inserting before section 3 (as designated by paragraph (2)) the following: ``SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. ``In this Act: ``(1) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior. ``(2) Tribe.--The term `Tribe' means the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina or the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina.''; and (7) by adding at the end the following: ``SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. ``(a) In General.--Federal recognition is extended to the Tribe (as designated as petitioner number 65 by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment). ``(b) Applicability of Laws.--All laws and regulations of the United States of general application to Indians and Indian tribes shall apply to the Tribe and its members. ``(c) Petition for Acknowledgment.--Notwithstanding section 3, any group of Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina, whose members are not enrolled in the Tribe (as determined under section 5(d)) may petition under part 83 of title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations for acknowledgment of tribal existence. ``SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL SERVICES. ``(a) In General.--The Tribe and its members shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided by the Federal Government to federally recognized Indian tribes. ``(b) Service Area.--For the purpose of the delivery of Federal services and benefits described in subsection (a), those members of the Tribe residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland counties in North Carolina shall be deemed to be residing on or near an Indian reservation. ``(c) Determination of Needs.--On verification by the Secretary of a tribal roll under subsection (d), the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall-- ``(1) develop, in consultation with the Tribe, a determination of needs to provide the services for which members of the Tribe are eligible; and ``(2) after the tribal roll is verified, each submit to Congress a written statement of those needs. ``(d) Tribal Roll.-- ``(1) In general.--For purpose of the delivery of Federal services and benefits described in subsection (a), the tribal roll in effect on the date of enactment of this section shall, subject to verification by the Secretary, define the service population of the Tribe. ``(2) Verification limitation and deadline.--The verification by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall-- ``(A) be limited to confirming documentary proof of compliance with the membership criteria set out in the constitution of the Tribe adopted on November 16, 2001; and ``(B) be completed not later than 2 years after the submission of a digitized roll with supporting documentary proof by the Tribe to the Secretary. ``SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION TO TAKE LAND INTO TRUST. ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary is hereby authorized to take land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe. ``(b) Treatment of Certain Land.--An application to take into trust land located within Robeson County, North Carolina, under this section shall be treated by the Secretary as an `on reservation' trust acquisition under part 151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation). ``SEC. 7. JURISDICTION OF STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. ``(a) In General.--With respect to land located within the State of North Carolina that is owned by, or held in trust by the United States for the benefit of, the Tribe, or any dependent Indian community of the Tribe, the State of North Carolina shall exercise jurisdiction over-- ``(1) all criminal offenses that are committed; and ``(2) all civil actions that arise. ``(b) Transfer of Jurisdiction.-- ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting with the Attorney General of the United States, any transfer by the State of North Carolina to the United States of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State of North Carolina described in subsection (a) over Indian country occupied by the Tribe pursuant to an agreement between the Tribe and the State of North Carolina. ``(2) Restriction.--A transfer of jurisdiction described in paragraph (1) may not take effect until 2 years after the effective date of the agreement described in that paragraph. ``(c) Effect.--Nothing in this section affects the application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1919).''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas. General Leave Mr. WESTERMAN. 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 H.R. 1101, the bill now under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas? There was no objection. Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, when we talk about Tribal recognition bills, it often comes with a lot of passion. There are people who support the bills and people who oppose the bills, and it is hard to get consensus on these Tribal recognition bills. As we consider this bill today, I just want to lay out the facts of what is at stake here in this particular Tribal recognition bill. H.R. 1101 would extend Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and remove a statutory bar that has impacted the Tribe since 1956. [[Page H7269]] According to the Tribe, this statutory bar has prevented them from being federally recognized through any administrative procedure. Under the legislation, the Lumbee Tribe would be eligible for services, benefits, and immunities available to other federally recognized Indian Tribes. In 1956, an act of Congress designated certain Indians as Lumbee Indians of North Carolina. It declared that they shall enjoy all rights as citizens of the State of North Carolina and the United States, but in 1989, the Department of the Interior solicitor issued an opinion stating that the 1956 act effectively denied the Lumbee Tribe eligibility to petition for recognition under the Federal acknowledgment process at the Department. In 2016, the Department of the Interior solicitor withdrew the 1989 opinion and replaced it with a new opinion, stating that the Lumbee Tribe may pursue Federal recognition under the current administrative procedures for federally recognizing a Tribe. This complex history has created legal confusion, and the Lumbee Tribe has chosen to seek Federal recognition through Congress rather than apply through the Federal acknowledgment process. H.R. 1101 would use Congress' plenary power over Indian affairs to federally recognize the Lumbee Tribe. Mr. Speaker, I thank the sponsor of this legislation, Representative Rouzer, for his work on this bill. I urge support, and I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Lumbee Fairness Act, which would extend Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. The State of North Carolina formally recognized the Lumbee Tribe in 1885, and the Tribe has been seeking Federal recognition from the United States for nearly 140 years. Mr. Speaker, that is a long time. Legislative efforts to provide Federal recognition to the Tribe over the years have been led by both Democratic and Republican sponsors and have historically passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Tribe has time and time and time and time again shown that they are a distinct, self-governing Indian community and that they are worthy of Federal recognition. It is long past time that Congress extended these rights to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Rouzer), the lead sponsor of the bill. Mr. ROUZER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 1101, the Lumbee Fairness Act, to give the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina the full Federal recognition they have been unfairly denied for decades. The Lumbee Tribe, comprised of 55,000 members, is the largest American Indian Tribe east 

Referenced legislation: HR1101, HR1101, HR2758, S3443