Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2088, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act, as amended.

I thank Chairman Grijalva and Chairwoman Leger Fernandez for their cooperation on this bill.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a relatively small Tribe located in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. The Tribe's reservation covers over 50,000 acres in a region known as the Qualla Boundary.

After the completion of the Tellico Dam in Loudon County, Tennessee, in 1979, the Tribe explained to the Tennessee Valley Authority that there were areas of historic significance impacted by the dam.

H.R. 2088 would place Tennessee Valley Authority land and permanent easements into trust along the shores of the Little Tennessee River and Tellico Reservoir in Monroe County, Tennessee, for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The parcels to be placed in trust under the bill would primarily be used for memorializing and interpreting the history of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Gaming pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act would be prohibited, and TVA will be able to continue carrying out river control and development to power the Tennessee Valley region.

Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I recognize the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann) for his continued work on this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann).

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I again thank the gentleman from Tennessee for his work on this legislation. I thank the chairman and the chairwoman for their work on this package of bills.

Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I once again thank Ranking Member Westerman for his support of this package of bipartisan bills that we have brought to the floor today.

It is historic that we begin this month with this commitment to these bills and to getting them passed in a bipartisan manner.

I thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann) for his work and for the bipartisan support we have today on this floor for cultural preservation of Tribal sites.

The idea that we are committed to safeguard--that is such a beautiful word he used--the stories and places of sacred importance to Tribes because we know that too often they are overrun with other interests, that they take over, and they lose those sacred sites.

I am so grateful to all of you for the support of this legislation and the other pieces of legislation that we have brought forward today, which we emphasize, and we dedicate ourselves to a new era where we are working to protect sacred sites, where we are making sure that the healthcare of Indian Tribes is maintained and improved in our urban areas.

It is a very good day on the floor.

I urge all my colleagues to support this bill and all eight bills we have brought forward today.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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