Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRANK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2389) to take certain land in the State of Washington into trust for the benefit of the Quinault Indian Nation, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2389

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act''. SEC. 2. LAND TAKEN INTO TRUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE QUINAULT INDIAN NATION.

(a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights, the approximately 72 acres of land located in the State of Washington and generally depicted as ``Allotment 1157'' on the map entitled ``Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act'' and dated February 2, 2024, shall be administratively transferred from the Forest Service to the Department of the Interior and taken into trust for the benefit of the Quinault Indian Nation.

(b) Land Part of Reservation; Administration.--The land taken into trust under subsection (a) shall be--

(1) part of the Quinault Indian Reservation; and

(2) administered by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the laws and regulations generally applicable to property held in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe.

(c) Gaming Prohibited.--The land taken into trust under subsection (a) shall not be eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).

(d) No Impact on Treaty Rights.--Nothing in this Act affects treaty rights under the Treaty between the United States and the Qui-nai-elt and Quil-leh-ute Indians, done at the Qui-nai-elt River July 1, 1855, and Olympia January 25, 1856 (12 Stat. 971) (commonly known as the ``Treaty of Olympia'').

(e) Hazardous Materials.--For purposes of the taking of land into trust under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior--

(1) shall meet disclosure requirements for hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants under section 120(h) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)); and

(2) shall not otherwise be required to remediate or abate those hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.

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Mr. CRANK. 2389, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2389, the Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act, sponsored by Congresswoman Randall.

H.R. 2389 would place approximately 72 acres of U.S. Forest Service land, known as Allotment 1157, into trust for the Quinault Indian Nation.

The Quinault Nation is located on the western coast of Washington State in the southwestern corner of the Olympic Peninsula.

In the treaty of Olympia, or the Quinault Treaty, the Quinault Indian Tribe ceded their lands and, in return, received tracts that became the Quinault Indian Reservation. The treaty was dismissed after the passage of the General Allotment Act, and the Tribe's lands were separated into 2,340 80-acre allotments to individual Tribe members.

One of these individual Tribal member allotments was Allotment 1157, which was sold by the Indian allottee to a logging company for $60,000 in the 1960s. The logging company faced legal challenges by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the early 1990s. In 1996, the Trust for Public Lands purchased Allotment 1157 and sold it to the U.S. Forest Service for $3 million. The Forest Service currently manages the land.

The Quinault Indian Nation has attempted to reacquire ownership of the land that sits on their reservation for the benefit of their Tribe. The Tribe has the support of local stakeholders and the Federal Government and plans to use the land for heritage and cultural purposes. Gaming on these lands pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act would be prohibited.

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Mr. CRANK. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2389 takes approximately 72 acres of U.S. Forest Service land into trust for the Quinault Indian Nation and adds the 72 acres to the contiguous land of the Quinault Indian Nation.

This legislation supports Tribal sovereignty, and it has the support of the Tribal leaders and local stakeholders.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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