Lumbee Fairness Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROUZER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 1101, the Lumbee Fairness Act, to give the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina the full Federal recognition they have been unfairly denied for decades.

The Lumbee Tribe, comprised of 55,000 members, is the largest American Indian Tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth largest in the Nation. Throughout recorded history, the Lumbee have called southeastern North Carolina home, spanning Robeson, Scotland, Hoke, and Cumberland Counties.

Despite their long history and cohesive culture, the Lumbee Tribe has never had access to the same resources exercised by every other federally recognized Tribe. During the termination era, when Congress ended the Federal relationship with 60 Tribes, the Lumbee Act of 1956 recognized the Tribe's existence yet denied them the Federal rights and protections afforded to other federally recognized Tribes. This includes access to benefits from the Indian Health Service and support from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Sometimes, it is quite helpful to go back to see what the statute actually says. Public Law 571 specifically reads: ``Nothing in this act shall make such Indians eligible for any services performed by the United States for Indians because of their status as Indians, and none of the statutes of the United States which affect Indians because of their status as Indians shall be applicable to the Lumbee Indians.'' It is a bit wordy but very clear and very to the point.

Beginning in 1978, the Federal Government began rectifying the damage done during the termination era, establishing processes in which Tribes could regain Federal recognition and privileges.

The Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act established three ways in which an Indian group may become federally recognized: By act of Congress, by the administrative procedures established by the Department of the Interior, and by decision of a United States court.

Since then, Congress has stepped in and recognized 23 Tribes through legislation, reestablishing their relationship with the Federal Government.

Unfortunately, given the language of the Lumbee Act of 1956, only an act of Congress can establish the Federal rights and privileges of the Lumbee Tribe.

Some point to the administrative process as the path forward for the Lumbee Tribe, but the language of the 1956 act, which I just read, has acted as the law of the land, barring the Tribe from gaining their due privileges.

The fundamental point is this: Congress wrote a law that terminated the Federal relationship with the Tribe, and Congress is the only entity that can restore that recognition. The administrative process has quite honestly proved to be a dead-end street simply because of that statute.

The Lumbee's leadership and members work tirelessly every year to mobilize support to move the legislation that is before us today. The bill has been introduced in Congress more than 30 times with broad bipartisan support in the House and Senate.

Through more than a dozen congressional hearings, documentation has consistently affirmed the Lumbee Tribe as a distinct, self-governing Indian community. In each of the last 11 Congresses, legislation has been introduced to grant the Lumbee Tribe the full recognition they deserve.

In the last two Congresses, the House passed this legislation under suspension, and beyond Congress, the Lumbee Fairness Act has the support of 236 Tribes across the country who have repeatedly cited the unfair treatment of the Tribe under the 1956 Lumbee Act.

All of this is to say, Mr. Speaker, this needs to be done. I thank the House leadership, particularly Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, for bringing this bill forward for consideration today.

I thank Chairman Westerman and his committee for their diligent work on all issues, particularly this one. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Today, the House can take a great step forward to right the wrong of the unfair and unjust treatment of the Lumbee Tribe once and for all. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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