OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act--Veto Message From the President of the United States

Floor Speech

Date: Jan. 8, 2026
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman), the ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. General Leave

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Mr. WESTERMAN. 504.

Mr. Speaker, we are here today as President Trump has returned H.R. 504, the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act, to the House of Representatives without his approval.

H.R. 504, sponsored by Representative Gimenez, would amend the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act, or MRAA, to include the Osceola Camp, a Tribal village within the Everglades, as part of the Miccosukee Reserved Area. It also directs the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Tribe, to safeguard structures within the Osceola Camp from flooding events.

The Miccosukee Tribe is currently located in the Greater Everglades in southern Florida. Following Federal recognition of the Tribe in 1962, the Miccosukee's northernmost villages within what became Everglades National Park were managed under a special use permit until 1998, when Congress placed that permit framework with the MRAA, authorizing the Tribe's use of the area and noting it as Indian Country.

The original law did not include Osceola Camp. H.R. 504 would include the Osceola Camp in the Miccosukee Reserved Area and formalize a partnership between the Tribe and the Federal Government to address flooding risk in the area.

H.R. 504 passed the House Committee on Natural Resources in June 2025 and the House of Representatives in July 2025.

However, I respect the President's views on this legislation and his commitment to fiscal responsibility, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time. I am prepared to close, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I respect the administration's views on this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question.

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