Carcieri Fix a Disaster in the Making

I think our elected officials have lost their minds, truly. Read below to see how Congress wants to give away states power. It seems like it's really a subversive from of treason.

The "Carcieri fix" is a proposal fueled by special interests that sets-up an on-going and increasingly conflicted paradigm between native american tribes, private property owners, municipalities and special interests.

The pragmatic reality is that federal trust title removes lands from local government jurisdiction and the property tax rolls. Therefore, tax bases shrink and conflicts due to competing jurisdiction issues are raised causing additional burden to taxpayers. Also, the bill (below) intends to let all federally recognized tribes take advantage of the provisions to take private property into federal trust title. These land-into-trust provisions were originally intended to apply only to tribes who lost lands under the General Allotment Act of 1887(GAA). S. 1703 allows tribes to benefit from the advantages of the land-into-trust program that were never intended to be part of this program.

This amendment needs to be rejected on it's lack of merit, and future negative fiscal and societal consequences. Let's find an equitable/sustainable way to balance Native American, municipal, state and taxpayers' rights.
Summary:

9/24/2009--Introduced. Amends the Act commonly known as the Indian Reorganization Act to apply the Act to all federally recognized Indian tribes, regardless of when any tribe became recognized. (This effectively overrules the Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which held that the Secretary of the Interior could not take land into trust for a specified tribe because that tribe had not been under federal jurisdiction when the Act was enacted.)

Text of Legislation:

S 1703 IS

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1703

To amend the Act of June 18, 1934, to reaffirm the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for Indian tribes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

September 24, 2009

Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Mr. TESTER, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. BINGAMAN, and Mr. FRANKEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

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A BILL

To amend the Act of June 18, 1934, to reaffirm the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for Indian tribes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION.

(a) In General- Section 19 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘Indian Reorganization Act’) (25 U.S.C. 479), is amended--

(1) in the first sentence--

(A) by striking ‘The term’ and inserting ‘Effective beginning on June 18, 1934, the term’; and

(B) by striking ‘any recognized Indian tribe now under Federal jurisdiction’ and inserting ‘any federally recognized Indian tribe’; and

(2) by striking the third sentence and inserting the following: ‘In this section, the term ‘Indian tribe’ means any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe.’.

(b) Effective Date- The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘Indian Reorganization Act’) (25 U.S.C. 479), on the date of enactment of that Act.

Full Text of Legislation