[House Report 106-830]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-830
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AMENDING THE YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO AND ALABAMA AND COUSHATTA INDIAN
TRIBES OF TEXAS RESTORATION ACT
_______
September 7, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1460]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 1460) to amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and
Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to decrease
the requisite blood quantum required for membership in the
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1460 is to amend the Ysleta del Sur
Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas
Restoration Act to decrease the requisite blood quantum
required for membership in the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe.
Background and Need for Legislation
H.R. 1460 would amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama
and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act (Public
Law 100-89, 25 U.S.C. 1300g et seq.) to decrease the requisite
blood quantum required for membership in the Ysleta del Sur
Pueblo tribe, also known as the Tigua Indian Tribe. That 1987
Act, which restored recognition to the Tribe, requires that
this Tribe's members have a blood quantum of at least one-
eighth to qualify for tribal membership.
All federally-recognized Indian tribes have the power to
determine their own membership criteria, including their own
blood quantum requirements. However, this power can be, and at
this Tribe's insistence, has been superseded by Congress. H.R.
1460 would amend the Tribe's blood quantum requirement from
one-eighth to one-sixteenth at the request of the Tribe.
There are currently 1,252 members of the Tribe. However, if
the current blood quantum requirements remain in effect, the
membership of Tribe would be reduced significantly within three
generations. To date, 27 individuals have been removed from the
Tribe's rolls because their blood quantum has been determined
to be below the requisite minimum now mandated by law. Upon
enactment of H.R. 1460 those individuals would be eligible to
petition for re-enrollment in the Tribe.
Committee Action
H.R. 1460 was introduced on April 15, 1999, by Congressman
Silvestre Reyes (D-TX). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Resources. On July 26, 2000, the Full Resources Committee
met to mark up the bill. No amendments were offered and the
bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
Committee Oversight Findings And Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of Rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on
Government Reform on this bill.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 15, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1460, a bill to
amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta
Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to decrease the
requisite blood quantum required for membership in the Ysleta
del Sur Pueblo tribe.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Lanette J.
Keith, and Eric Rollins.
Sincerely,
Arlene Holen
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 1460--A bill to amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and
Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to decrease
the requisite blood quantum required for membership in the
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe
H.R. 1460 would decrease the level of blood required for
membership in the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe. Currently,
individuals must have a blood quantum level of at least one-
eighth to qualify for tribal membership. This bill would change
that level to one-sixteenth for the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo
tribe.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1460 would cost the
federal government $5 million over the 2001-2005 period,
assuming that the tribes receives health services and benefits
at a level similar to currently recognized tribes and that the
necessary funds are appropriated. Enacting H.R. 1460 would not
affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures would not apply. H.R. 1460 contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on
state, local, or tribal governments.
Although the bill does not specifically authorize the
appropriation of funds, it would increase the number of people
eligible to join the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe, and thus
become eligible for health service benefits available to
members of federally recognized Indian tribes. The Indian
Health Service (IHS) could seek additionally funds to provide
benefits to new tribal members.
Based on information from IHS, CBO estimates that the
average annual cost of health service and benefits provided
tribal members is about $1,500 per individual. Based on
information from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO estimates
that enacting H.R. 1460 would increase the population of the
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo tribe by about 550 members in 2001.
Therefore, CBO estimates that H.R. 1460 would cost the federal
government about $1 million each year.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Lanette J.
Keith, and Eric Rollins. This estimate was approved by Peter H.
Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 108 OF THE YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO AND ALABAMA AND COUSHATTA
INDIAN TRIBES OF TEXAS RESTORATION ACT
SEC. 108. TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP.
(a) In General.--The membership of the tribe shall consist
of--
(1) the individuals listed on the Tribal Membership
Roll approved by the tribe's Resolution No. TC-5-84
approved December 18, 1984, and approved by the Texas
Indian Commission's Resolution No. TIC-85-005 adopted
on January 16, 1985; and
(2) a descendant of an individual listed on that Roll
if the descendant--
(i) has [\1/8\] \1/16\ degree or more of
Tigua-Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Indian blood, and
(ii) is enrolled by the tribe.
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