Amending the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I understand there is 4 minutes left, and I might go a few minutes over.

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Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise in support of S. 140, as amended, the bill sponsored by the outstanding Senator from the great State of Kansas, Mr. Moran. This bill affirms Tribal sovereignty and upholds the unique government-to-government relationship the United States shares with the Indian nations.

As chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, I have long said there is far more common ground than division on Indian issues. Our committee has a strong tradition of working in a bipartisan manner to improve the lives of Indian people and to build stronger Native American communities.

With the support of Indian Country, we have successfully advanced important initiatives to support Tribal economic development, healthcare, public safety, and housing. Additionally, we have worked to support our many Native veterans. Native Americans proudly serve and defend our great country at some of the highest rates per capita of any ethnic group.

Of the 29 bills we have cleared through the Indian Affairs Committee this Congress, 18 have passed the Senate by unanimous consent and 4 have already been signed into law.

Jefferson Keel, lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw Nation and president of the National Congress of American Indians, recently stated in an op-ed piece to The Hill: ``Both political parties have seen the wisdom of supporting strong tribal governments and tribal sovereignty and have to realize that as the most local of governments, tribes know best how to solve local challenges.''

Tribal sovereignty is the inherent right of Indian Tribes to govern themselves on their own lands, and it is the cornerstone of our government-to-government, nation-to-nation relationship. Today marks a real opportunity for the Senate to affirm and celebrate Tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

The Senate will be considering S. 140, as amended, ``An Act to amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010.'' This bill combines both Republican and Democratic bills into three sections of S. 140. Each of these bills--S. 140, S. 249, and S. 63--all passed out of the Indian Affairs Committee with bipartisan support.

The first section of S. 140 would allow for a technical amendment so the White Mountain Apache Tribe can use all or a portion of already appropriated funds from a water rights settlement to complete their drinking water system in Arizona. This section was originally sponsored by Senators Flake and McCain as S. 140. The bill was voice-voted out of the Indian Affairs Committee and passed the Senate by unanimous consent.

Section 2 of S. 140 would amend the Indian Long-Term Leasing Act so that the Pueblos of Santa Clara and Ohkay Owingeh are authorized to lease their respective Indian trust and restricted lands for up to 99 years. This is identical language to S. 249, a bill that was introduced by Senators Udall and Heinrich of New Mexico. That bill was passed by the committee on February 8, 2017.

Section 3 of S. 140 would amend and clarify the National Labor Relations Act so that Indian Tribes, Tribal governments, and tribally owned and operated institutions and enterprises that are located on Indian lands would be provided parity under the law with respect to other governments. This would reverse the 2004 National Labor Relations Board decision that found Tribal governments to be private organizations. That NLRB decision overturned years of precedent.

Let's listen to Tribal leaders. In his prepared statement to the Committee on Indian Affairs regarding the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2015, then-Governor Paul Torres of the Pueblo of Isleta stated:

This bill is essential to restore the dignity and equality of Indian tribes as sovereigns, which the National Labor Relations Board is seeking to deny us. The Board treats every sovereign, all the way down to local governments and political subdivisions of the state, as exempt from the National Labor Relations Act except for one--Indian tribes. It does so even though Congress made clear, when the NLRA was enacted, that the Act does not apply to sovereign entities. The NLRA does not mention Indian tribes and for a long time the Board recognized that the Act does not apply to Tribes. Since 2004, it wants that power--but it did not ask Congress for it. Nor did it ask the Tribes for their views.

So this clearly goes beyond what should be allowed under the law. We have accomplished a lot in our committee, and it is because we have listened to Tribal leaders and their communities. This bill, S. 140, has the support of every Tribal leader across the country, the National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Gaming Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and many other organizations.

With that, Mr. President, I urge a ``yes'' vote on cloture and on passage of this bill.

Cloture Motion

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