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Blackfoot River Land Exchange Act of 2014

Floor Speech

Date: Dec. 1, 2014
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Indigenous Peoples Housing and Property

Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 2040 would resolve border changes to the Fort Hall Reservation after the realignment of the Blackfoot River by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1964. This bill settles boundary disputes for the tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation and directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer the Indian land to the Blackfoot River Flood Control District Number 7 for use or sale and requires that the non-Indian land be held in trust for the tribes.

The bill allows the local flood control district to compensate non-Indian landowners at fair market value. The disposition of the remaining lands, after the sale of the lands, is left to the discretion of the Flood Control District Number 7.

Mr. Speaker, I support passage of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.


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