Blackfoot River Land Exchange Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the chairman for bringing this piece of legislation to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2040, the Blackfoot River Land Exchange Act of 2014. This important bill provides a needed fix to a longstanding problem regarding the northern boundary of the Fort Hall Reservation of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Idaho. When I grew up in Blackfoot, which was on the northern side of the Fort Hall Reservation, the Blackfoot River was the designation of the northern boundary of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation and the southern part of the city of Blackfoot. As I was growing up, I can remember in the early days it used to ice up because it was a meandering, small river, and it would ice up, flood, and cause havoc.

Since its designation, however, in 1960, the Corps of Engineers flood control project changed the flow of the river, leaving some tribal land located north of the river and some non-Indian land located south of the river. For years, the tribes and affected landowners have collaborated to find a solution to this problem that works for all concerned. S. 2040 is that solution. The bill is a simple land exchange that would make both the tribes and the affected landowners whole.

S. 2040 is the result of cooperation and give-and-take. The bill passed the Senate in September with unanimous consent, and the House version of the bill was passed unanimously by the committee this fall. I look forward to seeing it signed into law before the end of this year. It will solve a longstanding problem for the Fort Hall Indian Reservation and the city of Blackfoot.

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