-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce Shingle Springs Band Miwok Indians Land Transfer Act of 2025. This bill would place approximately 80 acres of land currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management into trust for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians and place into trust 185 acres of fee land already owned by the Tribe.

The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians is a federally recognized Tribe located near Placerville, CA. The Tribe's current land base is limited, just 160 acres, and their reservation access was significantly disrupted decades ago when Highway 50 was constructed across their only entrance. While the Tribe has since invested in an off-ramp to restore access, their existing land remains insufficient to meet the needs of their citizens, particularly related to housing.

Today, more than 180 Tribal families are on a housing waitlist. To address this crisis, the Tribe purchased 118 acres of nearby land with the goal of building housing for their citizens, which this bill would place into trust.

The land owned by BLM cannot be placed into trust without an act of Congress, making this bill essential to meeting the Tribe's goals of housing, fire risk management, and responsible land stewardship.

This legislation is a commonsense step forward that will empower the Tribe to build much needed housing and better manage its ancestral lands. I want to thank Senator Schiff for cosponsoring this legislation, and I also want to thank Republican Congressman Tom McClintock, who also represents this land, for introducing companion legislation in the House.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source