Why It Matters

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will consider five pieces of legislation on Wednesday, August 5 that would transfer federal land to tribes and modify how the Indian Health Service handles emergency care notifications.

Land Transfers and Mineral Rights

Three of the five bills focus on transferring federal lands to tribal nations. S.239, sponsored by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), would require relinquishment of the federal coal lease tied to Signal Peak Energy's Bull Mountains Mine near Roundup, Montana, while conveying approximately 4,530 acres of mineral estate and 940 acres of surface estate managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Musselshell County to the Hope Family Trust. Environmental groups raised concerns that the measure would effectively benefit the Bull Mountains coal mine as well as the Crow Tribe.

S.1514 would administratively transfer approximately 72 acres of specified lands in Washington from the U.S. Forest Service to the Department of the Interior, which must then take the land into trust for the benefit of the Quinault Indian Nation. The land transferred under S.1514 includes old growth forest.

The committee will also consider S.3219, which addresses federal land transfer to Indian Pueblos in New Mexico, and H.R.2400, affecting Pit River Tribe land in California.

Healthcare Notification Requirements

S.1055, reintroduced by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), both members of the Indian Affairs Committee, would extend the reporting deadline for emergency tribal care. The current Indian Health Service rule requires patients to notify the IHS within 72 hours of beginning emergency treatment at a non-IHS facility, a requirement codified at 42 CFR Part 136. S.1055 does not apply to elderly or disabled individuals, who already have a 30-day notification window. The committee also previously hosted a hearing on tribal health bills in February at which S.1055 was considered.

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