Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 146) to take certain Federal lands in Tennessee into trust for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and for other purposes, as amended.

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Mr. Speaker, the Band Eastern of Cherokee Indians is a relatively small Tribe located in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina and is headquartered in Cherokee, North Carolina. The Tribe's reservation covers over 51,000 acres in a region known as the Qualla Boundary.

After the completion of the Tellico Dam in Loudon County, Tennessee, in 1979, the Tribe continued in active communication with the Tennessee Valley Authority on any areas impacted that the Tribe believed was of historical significance to them.

H.R. 146 would place approximately 96 acres of Tennessee Valley Authority land in Monroe County, Tennessee, along the shores of the Little Tennessee River and Tellico Reservoir into trust for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Gaming pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act would be prohibited. Most of the parcels to be placed in trust under this bill will be used for memorializing and interpreting the history of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the remaining parcels will be used for recreational trails.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close.

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I ask for adoption of the measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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