49–006 

1See Senate Report 95–445 at 2. 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 114–271 

ALBUQUERQUE INDIAN SCHOOL LAND TRANSFER ACT 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1880] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1880) to require the Secretary of the Interior to take into 

trust 4 parcels of Federal land for the benefit of certain Indian 

Pueblos in the State of New Mexico, having considered the same, 

report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that 

the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 1880 is to require the Secretary of the Interior to take into trust four parcels of Federal land for the benefit 

of certain Indian Pueblos in the State of New Mexico. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Beginning in the late 19th century, many American Indian children found themselves thrust into boarding schools during the federal ‘‘allotment and assimilation’’ policy period which lasted from 

1871 to 1928. In 1881, the Federal Government established the Albuquerque Indian School in New Mexico. The subsequent century 

saw several shifts in Federal Indian policy, up to the present policy 

period of self-determination and self-governance. As the nation and 

tribes moved into a new era, so, too, did the former Indian school. 

In 1969, the Bureau of Indian Affairs conveyed 11 acres of the 

former school to the 19 Pueblos by quitclaim deed.1 The 19 Pueblos 

are the New Mexico Indian Pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, 

Jemez, Laguna, Nambe, Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan), Picuris, 


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2Senate Hearing 113–419 at 57. 

3The AIPC is composed of the Governors of the 19 Pueblos, which serves to administer social 

service programs for the benefit of the 19 Pueblos. Until 2013, AIPC was an IRS 501(c)(3) organization. 4 25 CFR Part 151. 

Pojoaque, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, Sandia, Santa Ana, Santa 

Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos, Tesuque, Zia, and Zuni. 

Since 1969, the United States has engaged in the process of converting in piecemeal fashion the Albuquerque Indian School Reserve. H.R. 1880 is needed to transfer 11 acres of federal land at 

this site into trust for the benefit of the 19 Pueblos to expand economic development for the 19 Pueblos and the Albuquerque community. 

By 1976, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center had been completed 

on 11 acres of the former school site by the 19 Pueblos.2 In 1978, 

these 11 acres were placed into trust under legislation sponsored 

by members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation, Senator 

Pete Domenici and Congressman Manuel Lujan in the 95th Congress (S. 1509, Public Law 95–232). In 1981, the All Indian Pueblo 

Council 3 (AIPC) petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs to transfer 

44 acres of the former Indian School site into trust. In 1984, the 

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs approved the land into trust 

application for the 19 Pueblos. 

In 2003, the AIPC again petitioned the Interior Department to 

place into trust approximately 8.5 acres of the former Indian School 

site, but the Interior Department was unable to proceed. Its landin-trust regulations 4 had been revised in 1995 in a manner that 

did not contemplate the placement of land into trust for the benefit 

of multiple tribes collectively. In 2008, the Albuquerque Indian 

School Act was enacted to place the lands in trust for the benefit 

of the Pueblos collectively (S. 1193, Public Law 110–453). 

As noted above, the 95th and 110th Congresses enacted legislation like H.R. 1880 for the same purpose and intent at the former 

Albuquerque Indian School site. More recently, both Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham and Senator Tom Udall introduced 

legislation nearly identical to H.R. 1880 in the 113th Congress 

(H.R. 5625 and S. 2465). The Senate bill did receive a hearing and 

was reported favorably out of Committee (Senate Report 113–267) 

but saw no further action before the end of the l13th Congress. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

The short title of the bill is the ‘‘Albuquerque Indian School Land 

Transfer Act’’. 

Section 2. Definitions 

As defined, the ‘‘19 Pueblos’’ means the New Mexico Indian Pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, Nambe, Ohkay 

Owingeh (San Juan), Picuris, Pojoaque, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, 

Sandia, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos, Tesuque, 

Zia, and Zuni. The map reference for the lands to be taken into 

trust is dated August 12, 2011. Secretary is defined as Secretary 

of the Interior. 


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Section 3. Land taken into trust for benefit of 19 Pueblos 

Subsection (a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to place into 

trust all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the 

Federal land described for the 19 Pueblos. 

Subsection (b) describes the land depicted on U.S. Department of 

the Interior, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian 

Affairs map to include an abandoned Indian School Road, 0.83 

acres; Southern part of Tract D, 6.18 acres; Tract 1, 0.41 acres; and 

Western part Tract B, 3.69 acres. 

Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to conduct a survey and correct any clerical, typographical, or surveying errors in the map. 

Under subsection (d), the lands taken into trust by the Secretary 

under this Act are only to be used for the educational, health, cultural, business, and economic development of the 19 Pueblos. 

Subsection (e) provides that the land shall remain subject to any 

private or municipal encumbrance, right-of-way, restriction, easement of record, or utility service agreement in effect on the date 

of enactment of this Act. 

Subsection (f) grandfathers Bureau of Indian Affairs rights to use 

the lands for facilities and purposes in existence on the date of enactment of this Act. The Bureau will not incur any rental fee. 

Section 4. Effect of other laws 

Section 4 makes clear that the lands taken in trust shall be subject to other Federal laws relating to trust lands, except that gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is prohibited on such 

lands. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1880 was introduced on April 16, 2015, by Congresswoman 

Michelle Lujan Grisham (D–NM). The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 

Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs. The 

Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill on July 22, 2015. On September 9, 2015, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider 

the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. 

No amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent on 

September 10, 2015. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides 

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under secVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Oct 01, 2015 Jkt 049006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR271.XXX HR271

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tion 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 1880—Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act 

H.R. 1880 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to place 

four parcels of federal land (totaling about 11 acres) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, into trust for the benefit of 19 Indian Pueblos in New Mexico. Under the bill, those Pueblos would be authorized to use the land for educational, health, cultural, business, or 

economic purposes. The bill would prohibit gaming activities on the 

affected properties. Additionally, the bill would allow the Bureau of 

Indian Affairs (BIA) to continue to use the facilities on that land 

as they were used prior to enactment. 

CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no 

significant effect on the federal budget. Discretionary spending for 

the administrative costs of the transfer would be negligible. 

Based on information provided by BIA, the affected parcels of 

federal land currently generate no receipts and are not expected to 

do so over the 2016–2025 period. Therefore, CBO estimates that 

transferring the lands into trust for the Pueblos would not affect 

offsetting receipts, which are certain collections that are treated as 

reductions in direct spending. Because enacting H.R. 1880 would 

not affect direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do 

not apply. 

H.R. 1880 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

On May 26, 2015, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 986, 

the Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May 13, 

2015. The two bills are similar, and the estimated budgetary effects 

are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von Gnechten. 

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required by 

clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 

this bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or 

tax expenditures. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 

implementing the legislation would have ‘‘no significant effect’’ on 

the federal budget. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to require the Secretary of the Interior to take into 

trust four parcels of Federal land for the benefit of certain Indian 

Pueblos in the State of New Mexico. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 


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9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that this 

bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any specific 

rule-making proceedings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law. 

Æ 


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