{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://defazio.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/defazio-secures-house-passage-of-western-oregon-tribal-lands-package", "DeFazio Secures House Passage of Western Oregon Tribal Lands Package", "2014-12-09", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Peter DeFazio", "D000191", "defazio.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC- \u00a0Today, the House passed legislation from Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee Peter DeFazio (D-OR), that would consolidate tribal lands and eliminate bureaucratic red tape for Western Oregon tribes. The DeFazio legislation, the Western Oregon Indian Tribal Lands Act (H.R. 5701), establishes land bases for the Coos and Cow Creek tribes and gives the Coquille Tribe the same forest management authority that all other tribes have across the nation. The legislation also streamlines federal rules to eliminate unnecessary delays that have unfairly burdened the Siletz and Grand Ronde tribes when dealing with the Department of the Interior.\n\u201cFor too long, federal policies have unfairly disadvantaged Indian tribes in Western Oregon. Chaotic federal policy has deprived Oregon tribes of their land bases, diminished a tribe\u2019s sovereignty over its forest, and created unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles for tribes dealing with federal agencies. This legislation is a long overdue, common sense bill that will go a long way in helping resolve some of the problems the Federal government and its haphazard policy shifts have created for the Western Oregon tribes. Passing this unique, Oregon specific tribal package is a big deal for Oregon Indian Country and I am hopeful that Senators Wyden and Merkley can quickly pass it in the Senate before the close of session,\u201d said DeFazio.\u00a0\n(Video of Rep. DeFazio\u2019s House floor speech here.)\nBACKGROUND\nH.R. 5701, the Western Oregon Indian Tribal Lands Act, is a long overdue, no-cost, common sense, bill that will go a long way to helping resolve some of the problems the Federal government and its haphazard policy shifts have created for the Western Oregon tribes. This package also enjoys bipartisan, bicameral support.\nThis legislation clarifies on-reservation land-into-trust procedures for the Grand Ronde and Siletz Tribes so the tribes don\u2019t have to face egregious delays in dealing with the Department of the Interior.\u00a0 The bill also makes good on decades-old promises to restore land bases for the Coos and Cow Creek Tribes, and it puts the Coquille Tribe\u2019s forest on equal footing with those of other Indian tribes nation-wide.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://defazio.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/defazio-secures-house-passage-of-western-oregon-tribal-lands-package"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8094750810414553, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}