The publication is reproduced in full below:
OLD PASCUA COMMUNITY LAND ACQUISITION ACT
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4881) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to take into trust for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona certain land in Pima County, Arizona, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4881
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 ``Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Compact-designated area.--The term ``Compact Designated Area'' means the area south of West Grant Road, east of Interstate 10, north of West Calle Adelanto, and west of North 15th Avenue in the City of Tucson, Arizona, as provided specifically in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe--State of Arizona Amended and Restated Gaming Compact signed in 2021.
(2) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, a federally recognized Indian tribe.
(3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe''--
(A) means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians; and
(B) does not include any Alaska Native regional or village corporation.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 3. LAND TO BE HELD IN TRUST.
Upon the request of the Tribe, the Secretary shall accept and take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe, subject to all valid existing rights, any land within the Compact-Designated Area that is owned by Tribe.
SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF CURRENT LAW.
Gaming conducted by the Tribe in the Compact-Designated Area shall be subject to--
(1) the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.); and
(2) sections 1166 through 1168 of title 18, United States Code.
SEC. 5. REAFFIRMATION OF STATUS AND ACTIONS.
(a) Administration.--Land placed into trust pursuant to this Act shall--
(1) be a part of the Pascua Yaqui Reservation and administered in accordance with the laws and regulations generally applicable to land held in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe; and
(2) be deemed to have been acquired and taken into trust on September 18, 1978.
(b) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall--
(1) enlarge, impair, or otherwise affect any right or claim of the Tribe to any land or interest in land in existence before the date of the enactment of this Act;
(2) affect any water right of the Tribe in existence before the date of the enactment of this Act;
(3) terminate or limit any access in any way to any right-of-way or right-of-use issued, granted, or permitted before the date of the enactment of this Act; or
(4) alter or diminish the right of the Tribe to seek to have additional land taken into trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New Mexico.
General Leave
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. 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 gentlewoman from New Mexico?
There was no objection.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 4881, the Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition Act, introduced by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), the Natural Resources Committee Chair, will direct the Secretary of the Interior to take approximately 30 acres of land into trust for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is located in southern Arizona, near the city of Tucson, and has approximately 22,000 enrolled Tribal members, with a 2,216-acre reservation.
Before the Federal recognition of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Yaqui leaders, local leaders, and others worked together to establish a home for Tribal citizens. In 1921 these efforts led to the formal Pascua Village in Tucson, Arizona.
Before the formal Federal recognition and the establishment of a reservation in 1978, former Congressman Mo Udall of Arizona introduced a bill to establish 202 acres of land southwest of Tucson to the Pascua Yaqui Association.
While many families relocated to this new land base, many other families remained in the Pascua Village, known as Old Pascua. With the growing city of Tucson and the geographic distance from the formal reservation, the Tribe has worked to ensure the Tribal members living within the Pascua Village have remained cared for, including working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to designate Old Pascua as near-
reservation lands.
Earlier this year, the Tribe entered into a State-negotiated compact with the State of Arizona to provide gaming activities in the Old Pascua community. The Secretary of the Interior approved the compact in May 2021.
Further, the Tribe signed an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Tucson to transfer a parcel of land within Tucson into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
This bill ensures the Old Pascua community remains intact with the Tribe's homelands, and the bill will allow the Tribe to conduct gaming activities, expand economic development opportunities, and engage in cultural practices on their historic land.
I am pleased to cosponsor H.R. 4881, which is a bipartisan bill, with support from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the city of Tucson, the State of Arizona, and the Arizona delegation. I support the Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition Act, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the bill.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe owns several parcels of land that it would like to use for gaming. This bill allows them to do that.
In May of 2021, the Governor of Arizona and 21 Tribes amended the Arizona Tribal State Gaming Compact to build a third gaming facility in the compact-designated area in Tucson.
The compact-designated area is known as the Old Pascua community, an area with deep historic ties to the Tribe. The compact requires land to be taken into trust by an act of Congress to open the gaming facility. H.R. 4881 does this by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to place any land owned by the Tribe within the compact-designated area into trust for gaming purposes.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), the chair of the Natural Resources Committee.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico
(Ms. Leger Fernandez) for the time and to Ranking Member Westerman.
I am proud to represent the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in Arizona's Third District. We both call southern Arizona our home. The Yaqui people are an integral and historic part of the fiber of southern Arizona, reflecting our history, our cultures, and our people.
H.R. 4881, the Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition Act, will take a 30-acre parcel of land into trust for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the area known locally and to the Tribe as Old Pascua community.
As the gentlewoman from New Mexico outlined in her comments, as well as the ranking member, this was the initial focal point for the Yaqui people as they fled persecution. While some families relocated to this new land base, many families remained in the Pascua Village community, known as Old Pascua.
At the time in 1921, it was an isolated area outside the community and outside of Tucson, but things have grown out around them. I think the Yaqui community in Tucson, Arizona, considers Old Pascua not only the formally recognized area for the community but also a sacred site for the Tribe.
Before receiving Federal recognition and a formal reservation south of Tucson, many Pascua Yaqui families called Old Pascua in Tucson their home.
Today many families still call Old Pascua home, yet they continue to fear losing their Yaqui knowledge, culture, history, and traditions due to the encroachment of the growing city of Tucson. Other areas of concern for Yaqui families include the lack of ownership for sacred, cultural, traditional, and religious grounds.
The Tribe has worked tirelessly to ensure that they take care of their Tribal citizens. Earlier this year, as Mr. Westerman outlined, the State of Arizona and the Tribe negotiated a State compact. This compact included gaming activities in the Old Pascua community to promote the Tribe's governmental operations, cultural and religious activities, job creation, increased Tribal housing, social and community services, healthcare, and educational facilities.
The Tribe has worked tirelessly with the State of Arizona, the city of Tucson, and the county of Pima to address their concerns, and have entered into an intergovernmental agreement supporting the legislation and the land transfer.
Since this agreement, the State has negotiated a compact that reflects that agreement and approved it, and the Department of the Interior has approved it.
H.R. 4881 is a bipartisan bill that will raise the Tribal standard of living, improve system coordination and integration of service delivery, and promote the ongoing transmission of Yaqui knowledge, culture, history, and traditions for future generations.
This bill is a bipartisan bill. It merits the support of all Members, and I would add that it is for the people in southern Arizona an extension of a reality and a confirmation of something that already exists.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
{time} 1715
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, this bill, once again, demonstrates that there is strong bipartisan support for our Native American tribes and indigenous communities. I thank Ranking Member Westerman as well as Ranking Member Don Young on the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States.
The other thing this bill does, as has been highlighted by Chairman Grijalva, is it comes out of collaboration and conversation with everybody on the ground, the local communities, the States, the county, the Tribe. The people of southern Arizona are asking us to take action, and that is what we must do today.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4881.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion are postponed.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 191
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