WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), announced that the Senate has passed S. 140, a bill to amend the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2010 to clarify the use of amounts in the WMAT Settlement Fund; and S. 249, a bill to provide that the pueblo of Santa Clara may lease for 99 years certain restricted land, and for other purposes.
S. 140 was sponsored by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ); S. 249 was sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM). The SCIA advanced both bills during its first business meeting of the 115th Congress on February 8, 2017. They will now go to the House of Representatives.
“These bills strengthen the White Mountain Apache Tribe and the Pueblo of Santa Clara’s control over tribal water and land resources, respectively,” Hoeven said. “The swift action on these measures demonstrates our commitment to quickly move good legislation with tribal support. I urge the House to take up this legislation expeditiously.”
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