SCIA Passes the Interior Improvement Act

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), praised the committee's passage S. 1879, the Interior Improvement Act.

The act dramatically improves the Department of the Interior's trust land acquisition process for Indian tribes. In addition to codifying and streamlining portions of that process, this bill restores the secretary of the Interior's authority to take land into trust for all federally recognized tribes and reaffirms the status of Indian lands already taken into trust. Barrasso introduced S. 1879 in July of 2015.

"The committee passed a bill today to reform Washington's process for taking land into trust for Indian tribes," said Chairman Barrasso. "It will encourage cooperation at the local level and more transparency from Washington. It is time we give sovereign tribes the ability to use their land for the betterment of their people. I will work to see this bill pass the full Senate soon."

Background

On Feb. 24, 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States decided in Carcieri v. Salazar that the secretary of the Interior lacked the authority to take land into trust for tribes that were not "under federal jurisdiction" at the time the Indian Reorganization Act became law on June 18, 1934.

Since the Carcieri decision was issued, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has explored solutions to address longstanding issues resulting from that decision and affecting the trust land acquisition process.

In the 114th Congress, on March 25, 2015, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a roundtable discussion titled, "The Carcieri v. Salazar Supreme Court Decision and Exploring a Way Forward." On July 8, 2015, the committee also held an oversight hearing titled, "A Path Forward: Trust Modernization and Reform for Indian Lands."

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