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The identification of communities in most need of grant support is coordinated with the annual ``Intended Use Plans'' already required of States by the State revolving fund.
[Page: S2121] GPO's PDF
States can also administer grants through the same agencies that currently administer State revolving fund loans.
Third, the drinking water treatment needs of Indian tribes and Alaskan native villages are addressed through a $22.5 million EPA-administered grants program modeled after the one established for States.
This money will be targeted, in the form of grants, to those small communities determined to be in most need of drinking water system improvements.
Finally, the act ensures that small, disadvantaged communities receiving grants have access to technical assistance through non-profit organizations.
These organizations have established relationships with small communities, as well as a solid track record in helping these communities to solve their drinking water problems.
These organizations will be able to assist small communities to plan, implement, and maintain the drinking water projects funded through grants.
Nevada's small communities are facing a drinking water infrastructure crisis.
These communities, and other small communities nationwide, confront increasing demand for clean, reliable, and affordable drinking water .
But it is simply too costly for small communities, alone, to address this water infrastructure crisis.
They need a financial helping hand from the Federal Government.
The bill I and Senator ENSIGN are introducing today will provide this much-needed Federal helping hand.
I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation and work with us to see that it is swiftly enacted.
By Mr. CAMPBELL (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, and Mr. BINGAMAN):
S. 504. A bill for administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to certain Indian groups, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by Senators INOUYE and BINGAMAN in introducing the Indian Tribal Federal Recognition Administrative Procedures Act of 2001. From the first days of the republic, the Congress has acted to recognize the unique legal and political relationship the United States has with the Indian tribes. Reforming the process of Federal recognition is the purpose of the legislation I am introducing today.
Federal recognition is critical to tribal groups because it triggers eligibility for services and benefits provided by the United States because of their status as members of federally recognized Indian tribes.
I want to be clear, I am not advocating for the approval of every petition for recognition, and I am not proposing that the petitions receive a limited or cursory review. I am concerned with the viability of the current recognition process and am interested in seeing fairness, promptness, and finality brought into that process while providing basic assurances to already-recognized tribes regarding their inherent rights.
Federal recognition may be accomplished in two ways: through the enactment of federal legislation; or through the administrative process that occurs, or more accurately does not occur, within the Branch of Acknowledgement and Research, BAR.
Over the years, the length of time the Bureau has taken to process certain petitions and the process for which applications for recognition are considered has increased. At a hearing on similar legislation in 2000, one group testified that its petition has been pending since 1970!
The process in the Department of the Interior is time consuming and costly, although it has improved from its original state . It has frequently been hindered by a lack of staff and resources which are needed to fairly and promptly review all petitions.
The cases on active consideration, including those with proposed findings, have been in the process for anywhere from 2 to 9 years.
As with any decision-making body, fairness and timeliness are the keys to maintaining a credible system which holds the confidence of affected parties. I believe that it is in the interests of all parties to have a clear deadline for the completion of the recognition process.
In 1978, the Department of the Interior promulgated regulations to establish criteria and procedures for the recognition of Indian tribes by the Secretary of Interior.
Since that time tribal groups have filed 250 letters of intent and petitions for review and consideration. Of those, 51 have been resolved, 34 by the BAR.
The remainder are in various stages of consideration by the Department either ready for active status or are already placed on active status.
In the last twenty years, the Committee on Indian Affairs has held several oversight hearings on the Federal recognition process. At those hearings the record clearly showed that the process does not work. At a Committee on Indian Affairs hearing in 1995, the Bureau testified that at the current rate of review and consideration, it would take several decades to eliminate the entire backlog of tribal petitions. The record from numerous previous hearings reveals a clear need for the Congress to address the problems affecting the recognition process.
The bill I am introducing today will go a long way toward resolving the problems which have plagued both the Department of the Interior and
tribal petitioners over the years.
This bill, the Indian Tribal Federal Recognition Administrative Procedures Act of 2001, provides the required clarification and changes that will help tribal petitioners and the United States in providing fair and orderly administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to eligible Indian groups. The principal purpose is to remove the Federal acknowledgment process from the BAR and transfer the responsibility for the process to a temporary and independent Commission on Indian Tribal Recognition.
This bill provides that the Commission will be an independent agency, composed of three members appointed by the President, and authorized to hold hearings, take testimony, and reach final determinations on petitions for recognition.
The bill provides strict but realistic time-lines to guide the Commission in the review and decision-making process. Under the existing process, some petitioners have waited ten years or more for even a cursory review of their petition.
This bill will allow for a cost-effective process for the BIA and the petitioners, it will provide definite time-lines for the administrative recognition process, and sunsets the Commission in 12 years.
To ensure fairness, the bill provides for appeals of adverse decisions to the federal district court here in the District of Columbia.
To ensure that the views and comments of all affected parties are considered, the bills directs the Commission to consider evidence and materials submitted by states, local communities, and State attorneys general.
To ensure promptness, the bill authorizes adequate funding for the costs of processing petitions through the Commission.
The bill also provides finality for both the petitioners and the Department by requiring all interested tribal groups to file their petitions with 8 years after the date of enactment and requiring the Commission to complete to work within 12 years from enactment.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD, and urge my colleagues to join me in enacting this much-needed reform legislation.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
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 ``Indian Tribal Federal Recognition Administrative Procedures Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1) To remove the Federal acknowledgment process from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and transfer the responsibility for the process to an independent Commission on Indian Tribal Recognition.
(2) To establish a Commission on Indian Tribal Recognition to review and act upon documented petitions submitted by Indian groups that apply for Federal recognition.
[Page: S2122] GPO's PDF
(3) To establish an administrative procedure under which petitions for Federal recognition filed by Indian groups will be considered.
(4) To provide clear and consistent standards of administrative review of documented petitions for Federal acknowledgment.
(5) To clarify evidentiary standards and expedite the administrative review process by providing adequate resources to process documented petitions.
(6) To ensure that when the Federal Government extends acknowledgment to an Indian tribe, the Federal Government does so with a consistent legal, factual, and historical basis.
(7) To extend to Indian groups that are determined to be Indian tribes the protection, services, and benefits available from the Federal Government pursuant to the Federal trust responsibility with respect to Indian tribes.
(8) To extend to Indian groups that are determined to be Indian tribes the immunities and privileges available to other federally acknowledged Indian tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes with a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.--The term ``acknowledgment'' means a determination by the Commission on Indian Tribal Recognition that an Indian group constitutes an Indian tribe with a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
(2) AUTONOMOUS.--
(A) IN GENERAL.--The term ``autonomous'' means the exercise of political influence or authority independent of the control of any other Indian governing entity.
(B) CONTEXT OF TERM.--With respect to a petitioner, the term shall be understood in the context of the history, geography, culture, and social organization of the petitioner.
(3) BUREAU.--The term ``Bureau'' means the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department.
(4) COMMISSION.--The term ``Commission'' means the Commission on Indian Tribal Recognition established under section 4.
(5) COMMUNITY.--
(A) IN GENERAL.--The term ``community'' means any group of people, living within a reasonable territory, that is able to demonstrate that--
(i) consistent interactions and significant social relationships exist within the membership; and
(ii) the members of that group are differentiated from and identified as distinct from nonmembers.
(B) CONTEXT OF TERM.--The term shall be understood in the context of the history, culture, and social organization of the group, taking into account the geography of the region in which the group resides.
(6) CONTINUOUS OR CONTINUOUSLY.--With respect to a period of history of a group, the term ``continuous'' or ``continuously'' means extending from 1900 throughout the history of the group to the present substantially without interruption.
(7) DEPARTMENT.--The term ``Department'' means the Department of the Interior.
(8) DOCUMENTED PETITION.--The term ``documented petition'' means the detailed, factual exposition and arguments, including all documentary evidence, necessary to demonstrate that those arguments specifically address the mandatory criteria established in section 5.
(9) HISTORICALLY, HISTORICAL, HISTORY.--The terms ``historically'', ``historical'', and ``history'' refer to the period dating from 1900.
(10) INDIAN GROUP.--The term ``Indian group'' means any Indian band, pueblo, village, or community that is not acknowledged to be an Indian tribe.
(11) INTERESTED PARTIES.--The term ``interested parties'' means any person, organization, or other entity who can establish a legal, factual, or property interest in an acknowledgement determination and who requests an opportunity to submit comments or evidence or to be kept informed of Federal actions regarding a specific petitioner. The term includes the government and attorney general of the State in which a petitioner is located, and may include, but is not limited to, local governmental units, and any recognized Indian tribes and unrecognized Indian groups that might be affected by an acknowledgement determination.
(12) LETTER OF INTENT.--The term ``letter of intent'' means an undocumented letter or resolution that--
(A) is dated and signed by the governing body of an Indian group;
(B) is submitted to the Commission; and
(C) indicates the intent of the Indian group to submit a documented petition for Federal acknowledgment.
(13) PETITIONER.--The term ``petitioner'' means any group that submits a letter of intent to the Commission requesting acknowledgment.
(14) POLITICAL INFLUENCE OR AUTHORITY.--
(A) IN GENERAL.--The term ``political influence or authority'' means a tribal council, leadership, internal process, or other mechanism that a group has used as a means of--
(i) influencing or controlling the behavior of its members in a significant manner;
(ii) making decisions for the group which substantially affect its members; or
(iii) representing the group in dealing with nonmembers in matters of consequence to the group.
(B) CONTEXT OF TERM.--The term shall be understood in the context of the history, culture, and social organization of the group.
(15) RESTORATION.--The term ``restoration'' means the reextension of acknowledgment to any previously acknowledged tribe with respect to which the acknowledged status may have been abrogated or diminished by reason of administrative action by the Executive Branch or legislation enacted by Congress expressly terminating that status.
(16) SECRETARY.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior.
(17) TREATY.--The term ``treaty'' means any treaty--
(A) negotiated and ratified by the United States on or before March 3, 1871, with, or on behalf of, any Indian group or tribe;
(B) made by any government with, or on behalf of, any Indian group or tribe, from which the Federal Government or the colonial government which was the predecessor to the United States Government subsequently acquired territory by purchase, conquest, annexation, or cession; or
(C) negotiated by the United States with, or on behalf of, any Indian group in California, whether or not the treaty was subsequently ratified.
(18) TRIBAL ROLL.--The term ``tribal roll'' means a list exclusively of those individuals who--
(A)(i) have been determined by the tribe to meet the membership requirements of the tribe, as set forth in the governing document of the tribe; or
(ii) in the absence of a governing document that sets forth those requirements, have been recognized as members by the governing body of the tribe; and
(B) have affirmatively demonstrated consent to being listed as members of the tribe.
SEC. 4. COMMISSION ON INDIAN TRIBAL RECOGNITION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.--There is established the Commission on Indian Tribal Recognition. The Commission shall be an independent establishment, as defined in section 104 of title 5, United States Code.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--
(A) MEMBERS.--The Commission shall consist of 3 members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(B) INDIVIDUALS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR MEMBERSHIP.--In making appointments to the Commission, the President shall give careful consideration to--
(i) recommendations received from Indian groups and Indian tribes; and
(ii) individuals who have a background or who have demonstrated expertise and experience in Indian law or policy, anthropology, genealogy, or Native American history.
(C) BACKGROUND INFORMATION.--No individual shall be eligible for any appointment to, or continue service on the Commission, who--
(i) has been convicted of a felony; or
(ii) has any financial interest in, or management responsibility for, any Indian group.
(2) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.--Not more than 2 members of the Commission may be members of the same political party.
(3) TERMS.--Each member of the Commission shall be appointed for a term of 6 years.
(4) VACANCIES.--Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect the powers of the Commission, but shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the predecessor of the member was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term. A member may serve after the expiration of the term of that member until a successor has taken office.
(5) COMPENSATION.--
(A) IN GENERAL.--Each member of the Commission shall receive compensation at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code, for each day, including traveltime, that the member is engaged in the actual performance of duties authorized by the Commission.
(B) TRAVEL.--All members of the Commission shall be reimbursed for travel and per diem in lieu of subsistence expenses during the performance of duties of the Commission while away from their homes or regular places of business, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
(6) FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.--Each member of the Commission shall serve on the Commission as a full-time employee of the Federal Government. No member of the Commission may, while serving on the Commission, be otherwise employed as an officer or employee of the Federal Government. Service by a member who is an employee of the Federal Government at the time of nomination as a member shall be without interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege.
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