Accepting the Request to Revoke the Charter of Incorporation of the Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, the past 4 years have been the most productive ever for the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Working on a bipartisan basis, we have secured the largest investment in Native communities in American history and enacted more than two dozen bills into law. The progress we have made is real, it is tangible, and it is meaningful. But there is still a lot of work to do to live up to our responsibilities to these communities, including in the final weeks of this Congress.

There are currently more than a dozen bills that have advanced out of our committee on a unanimous, bipartisan basis but have yet to receive full Senate consideration, and there is no good reason for them to languish for months or even years without action.

My bill, S. 385, makes technical corrections to the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act, which authorizes grants to Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations for recreational travel and tourism activities. This bill was reported out of committee more than a year and a half ago. There has been more than enough time to raise concerns and rectify any issues. It is time to get this done now.

S. 1322, the Unlocking Native Lands and Opportunities for Commerce and Key Economic Developments, or UNLOCKED, Act would enable Indian Tribes to lease their own land for up to 99 years for business and other purposes and to approve certain rights-of-way on their lands under existing law. Senator Murkowski and I introduced this legislation that will incentivize more businesses to invest in Indian Country. This commonsense legislation will support Tribes and their economic development needs.

Finally, S. 2868 was introduced by Senator Smith on behalf of the Lower Sioux Indian Community to revoke the Tribe's Indian Reorganization Act, Section 17 Charter of Incorporation. The Tribe testified in committee that the charter is actively hindering its economic development activities because it can't do things without the Interior Secretary's approval. The Tribe's charter has been in place since 1937. Only Congress has the power to revoke such charters and has acted to revoke such charters previously for a number of Tribes.

34, S. 385; Calendar No. 342, S. 1322; and Calendar No. 490, S. 2868.

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Mr. SCHATZ. I further ask that the committee-reported substitute amendment to S. 1322, be considered and agreed to; and that the bills, as amended, where amended, be considered read a third time, en bloc.

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Mr. SCHATZ. I know of no further debate on the bills, as amended, where amended, en bloc.

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Mr. SCHATZ. I ask that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, en bloc.

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Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, I took the floor today to pass several Indian Affairs bills that have been languishing for months and, some, for even years. I continue to intend to fight to pass several bipartisan bills, so it is good that we passed three of them. But there is a lot more work to do.

Senators Padilla, Lujan, Heinrich, Smith, and others all have bills that are ready for consideration today and can end up as Federal law by the end of this Congress. They would improve the lives of Tribes and their communities from water rights settlements to protecting children from abuse and neglect. All of these bills have to be considered.

I am told additional time will be needed to clear these bills over the Thanksgiving break, and so I will stand down for now. I just want to make it clear to everybody: We are going to spend a lot of time on the floor together. There will be no cheap holds. There will be no convenient holds. We will give people a chance to work out their problems. But we are going to do this on the floor live like a real legislature and we are going to get this done.

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