[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2225-H2226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1400
YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO AND ALABAMA-COUSHATTA TRIBES OF TEXAS EQUAL AND
FAIR OPPORTUNITY ACT
Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2208) to restore an opportunity for tribal economic
development on terms that are equal and fair, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2208
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 ``Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and
Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity
Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.
The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian
Tribes of Texas Restoration Act (Public Law 100-89; 101 Stat.
666) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 301. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
``Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude or
limit the applicability of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
(25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Soto) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
General Leave
Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 2208, introduced by Representative Veronica
Escobar from Texas, amends the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and
Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act of 1987 to clarify
that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act applies to both the Pueblo and
the Tribe.
The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas was federally terminated in
1954. This wrong was followed in 1968 by termination of the Ysleta del
Sur Pueblo, also known as the Tigua Tribe. Congress rightfully restored
both the Pueblo and the Tribe by enacting the aforementioned
Restoration Act of 1987.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was enacted just one year later, in
1988. The framework that it created should have applied to both the
Pueblo and the Tribe, just as it did to every other Tribe.
However, since the Restoration Act was passed at a time when Indian
gaming was just emerging and Federal regulations had not yet been
implemented, it contains a section regarding gaming.
We know from the Congressional Record that the intent of this section
of the Restoration Act was to clarify Indian gaming policy at the time,
not to completely prohibit gaming on these lands in perpetuity.
But that is what is occurring. The language in the Restoration Act
has been used by the State of Texas to repeatedly stymie the Pueblo's
and the Tribe's ability to engage in class II gaming, much to the
detriment of the economic health and well-being of both the Pueblo and
the Tribe.
Additionally, the only other federally recognized Tribe in Texas, the
Kickapoo Traditional Tribe, is allowed to operate a class II gaming
facility, as they were restored by Congress in 1983, without any type
of gaming restrictions.
H.R. 2208 remedies this inequality by clarifying that the Pueblo and
the Tribe, like the Kickapoo, have the same rights and responsibilities
under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act as virtually every other
federally recognized Tribe in the United States.
This legislation confers no new or special rights to the Pueblo or
the Tribe, nor does it in any way limit the existing rights of the
State of Texas. This is simply a matter of parity and fairness, and I
urge adoption of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2208, sponsored by my colleague from Texas (Ms.
Escobar), would amend the act of Congress that restored the Federal
recognition of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of
Texas.
The amendment would override a gaming limitation imposed by Congress
on the Tribes, thereby authorizing the Tribes to operate casinos
regulated not under Texas law, as Federal law currently provides, but
under the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.
The question of whether Texas law or the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
applies to the two Tribes is no longer under serious dispute. Federal
courts have settled the question, and the result of the litigation is
that the two Tribes may not conduct gaming under the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act, unless Congress enacts a measure to allow them to do
so.
The bill enjoys significant local support in the communities around
the reservations of the two Tribes, and the members who represent the
Tribes strongly support enactment of the measure.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Escobar).
Ms. ESCOBAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on my colleagues to
support H.R. 2208, the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta
Tribes of Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Act.
On March 26 of this year, I introduced this important bipartisan bill
with my colleague, Representative Tony Gonzales from the Texas 23rd
Congressional District, to ensure that Native American Tribes are
covered by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Specifically, this bipartisan bill aims to correct a problem of
exclusion that has been affecting only two Tribes in the entire United
States--the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and the Alabama-Coushatta Indian
Tribes of Texas--since 1987, when Congress passed the Restoration Act
and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The passage of these 1987 laws inadvertently created uncertainty
about which law these Tribes were covered under and what gaming
activities they were allowed to offer on their reservations.
Passed in this Chamber during the 116th Congress, this bill offers a
commonsense solution that will ensure that the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo
and Alabama-Coushatta Tribes are covered by the Indiana Gaming
Regulatory Act, which would provide these Native American communities
with a critical economic lifeline and an opportunity to recover from
the harmful inequity that they have faced.
Simply put, this bill would provide fairness for these two Tribes,
like the only other federally recognized Tribe in our State, the
Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas.
I urge my colleagues to join me in protecting our Native American
Tribes' sovereignty and ensuring that they have the ability to engage
in the same way other Tribes are able to.
The coronavirus pandemic has impacted everyone, but the economic and
health crisis has been devastating to our Tribes, and this bill offers
an opportunity for them to safely rebuild their economies. The reason
our Tribes have suffered so disproportionately is because of long-term
disinvestment and generational lack of adequate access to healthcare
and economic assistance.
Communities around the country are eager to repair their economies
following the impact of COVID-19, and our Tribes are no different. But
they need the clarity this bill would provide so that they can better
control their economic future.
The parity this bill would create for these Tribes would also create
long overdue opportunities for them to succeed by supporting job
creation and their ability to generate revenue that would fund new
housing, educational programs, and medical facilities for their people
and the surrounding communities, among so many other things.
Now, more than ever, more must be done to protect other Native
American Tribes, their families, businesses, and their economic
prosperity.
[[Page H2226]]
By passing this bill, Congress would finally grant the Ysleta del Sur
Pueblo and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes the rights, opportunities, and
stability they have long been denied.
Therefore, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this important piece of
legislation, and I am grateful to the leaders in the committee for
their support.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the dean of the House.
Mr. YOUNG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member, chairman, and the
sponsor for this legislation.
It is a strange thing. If you hang around here long enough, you keep
seeing the other end of your tail. We introduced these bills, and there
was never any intention to exclude these two Tribes, never.
When Mo Udall and I started the gaming law, everybody thought we were
nuts. It has worked. But never were these two Tribes to be excluded. In
fact, this legislation rectifies that problem.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to be a sponsor of the legislation, who
worked with you to try to get this done. This will be justice served to
all.
Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, I am prepared to
close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I support this bipartisan
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank both Representative Escobar and Representative
Gonzales for their leadership to right this wrong, this injustice.
I thank the dean of the House, Representative Young, for his very
informative history lesson on the legislation. I also thank Ranking
Member Westerman for his bipartisan support.
Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support the legislation, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cuellar). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2208.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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