[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 20 (Monday, February 5, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H406-H407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WINNEBAGO LAND TRANSFER ACT OF 2023
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1240) to transfer administrative jurisdiction of certain
Federal lands from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, to take such lands into trust for the Winnebago Tribe of
Nebraska, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1240
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 ``Winnebago Land Transfer Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. LAND TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.
(a) In General.--Subject to all valid existing rights, all
right, title, and interest (including improvements and
appurtenances) of the United States in and to the Federal
lands described in subsection (b), those Federal lands--
(1) are declared to be part of the Winnebago Reservation
created by the Treaty between the United States and the
Winnebago Tribe in 1865; and
(2) shall be held in trust by the United States for the
benefit of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska subject to the
same terms and conditions as those lands described in the
Treaty with the Winnebago Tribe, 1865 (14 Stat. 671).
(b) Federal Lands Described.--The Federal lands described
in this subsection are the following:
(1) That portion of Tract No. 119, the description of which
is filed in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Iowa (Western Division), Civil Case No. 70-C-
3015-W, executed May 11, 1973, said tract being situated in
Section 8 and the accretion land thereto, the Southwest
Quarter of Section 9, the West Half of Section 16, the East
Half of Section 17, Township 86 North, Range 47 West of the
Fifth Principal Meridian, Woodbury County, Iowa, lying
Easterly of the Nebraska/Iowa State Line and Southerly of the
Easterly extension of the North line of the Winnebago
Reservation.
(2) Tract No. 210, as described in Schedule ``A'' of the
``Declaration of Taking, Legal Description of Tract 210 and
Judgment on Stipulation and Order of Distribution'', filed in
the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Iowa (Western Division), Civil Case No. 70-C-3015-W.
(3) Tract No. 113, as described in the ``Judgment on
Declaration of Taking and Legal Description of Tract 113'',
filed in the United States District Court for the District of
Nebraska, Civ. No. 03498.
(c) Gaming Prohibition.--Class II and class III gaming
under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et
seq.) shall not be allowed at any time on the land taken into
trust under subsection (a).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs.
Dingell) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H.R. 1240, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1240, the Winnebago Land Transfer Act of 2023,
would replace approximately 1,600 acres of land into trust for the
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is one of the federally recognized
Tribes of the Ho-Chunk people. Their reservation encompasses 117,000
acres of land located in Thurston and Dixon Counties in Nebraska and
Woodbury County in Iowa.
The treaties of 1865 and 1874 between the Tribe and the U.S.
Government established the land that is now known as the Winnebago
Tribe's reservation.
In 1970, the Army Corps of Engineers condemned tracts of land on the
eastern boundary of the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska and Iowa
through eminent domain for the use of the Snyder-Winnebago Oxbow Lake
Recreation Complex project. The Tribe challenged this taking in Federal
Court. In Nebraska, the District Court ruled in favor of the Tribe, and
the parcels in the State were returned.
That was not the case in Iowa. A failure to properly preserve a right
of appeal meant that the Eighth Circuit Court could not return the land
to the Tribe through a court order, even though they won their case.
The land would have to be returned to the Tribe through an act of
Congress.
H.R. 1240 would right the wrong that occurred in 1970 by returning
the land and placing it into trust. An additional 60-acre tract that
was condemned by the Army Corps of Engineers would also be placed into
trust as it would be landlocked by the main parcels being placed into
trust.
The land is currently woodland and marsh and has recreational,
hunting, and fishing values. The Tribe testified they intend to manage
the land under their Winnebago Wildlife and Parks Department and plan
to make few, if any, changes to the conservation measures currently in
place. Under this legislation, the land would be ineligible for gaming
under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra) for his
work on the bill, I encourage adoption of the legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1240, the Winnebago Land
Transfer Act of 2023, introduced by my colleague from Iowa,
Representative Feenstra.
This bill would return two tracts of land acquired through eminent
domain by the Army Corps of Engineers back into the trust for the
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
In 1865, the Winnebago Tribe and the United States signed a treaty
promising the Tribe their reservation in Nebraska along the Missouri
River for the cession of their Dakota lands.
The United States violated this treaty in the 1970s when the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers acquired land from the reservation for flood
control by invoking eminent domain without congressional approval or
approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has since held that
the Army Corps of Engineers lacked the authority to exercise eminent
domain over trust lands. Despite the court's decision, the land has
never been returned to the Tribe and remains in the possession of the
Army Corps of Engineers.
H.R. 1240 seeks to rectify this wrong by returning and reintegrating
the land into the Winnebago Tribe's reservation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to right this wrong and vote
``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the bill's sponsor,
the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra).
Mr. FEENSTRA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Westerman for bringing
this important bill to the floor.
The Winnebago Reservation was established by two treaties in 1865 and
1874 and has been the home of the Winnebago Tribe ever since.
In 1975, more than 100 years later, the Army Corps of Engineers took
two
[[Page H407]]
small pieces of land within the Missouri River away from the Winnebago
Tribe. Since then, the Federal Government has ignored the land and has
not made any plans to develop it. The bill would make things right by
returning the land that was taken by the Army Corps of Engineers and
give it back to the Winnebago Tribe.
During this process, I have gotten to know many of the people of the
Winnebago Tribe. I have learned about the great work and the things
they do in agriculture, business, and community development.
It is wonderful to see several of them in our gallery today, and I
thank them for coming.
This is so important to them and for our land. From my conversations
with them, the Winnebago Tribe plans to use this land for conservation
that will be open to the public, and I am excited to see their plans
for how they will improve this land.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to lead this effort in the House, I encourage
my colleagues to support this important bill, and I thank the chairman
for yielding me time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I am
prepared to close, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I
strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, as has been stated, the Winnebago Tribe
has been working for more than 50 years to have these approximately
1,600 acres restored to their reservation. I am hopeful that in this
Congress we can finally get it done.
Mr. Speaker, I, again, want to thank Congressman Feenstra and the
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska for their hard work on this legislation. I
urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1240, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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