I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6141 

To make technical amendments to Public Law 93–531 relating to lands 

of the Navajo Nation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 3, 2021 

Mr. O’HALLERAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To make technical amendments to Public Law 93–531 relating to lands of the Navajo Nation, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. RELOCATION REQUIREMENTS AND STUDY ON 

4 IMPACTS OF RELOCATION AND DEVELOP5 MENT FREEZES. 

6 Section 13 of the Navajo-Hopi Settlement Act of 

7 1974 (Public Law 93–531) is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) RELOCATION REQUIREMENTS.—Relocation 

10 under this Act shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) take into account the adverse social, eco2 nomic, cultural, and other impacts of relocation on 

3 persons involved in such relocation and be developed 

4 to avoid or minimize, to the extent possible, such im5 pacts; 

6 ‘‘(2) assure that housing and related commu7 nity facilities and services, such as water, sewers, 

8 roads, schools, and health facilities, for relocatees 

9 shall be available at their relocation sites; and 

10 ‘‘(3) comply with the relocation plan that was 

11 submitted to Congress under this Act and took ef12 fect on July 7, 1986. 

13 ‘‘(d) STUDY.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

14 conduct a comprehensive study to address the negative so15 cial, economic, cultural, and other impacts related to the 

16 Navajo-Hopi Indian Relocation and Federal development 

17 freezes (commonly known as the Bennett Freeze). In con18 ducting the study, the Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) not later than 6 months after the date of 

20 the enactment of this subsection, consult with the 

21 Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and impacted mem22 bers of the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe, including 

23 descendants of relocatees; 

24 ‘‘(2) review prior plans and update such plans 

25 with a multi-agency approach to ensure the United 


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1 States obligations to ‘assure that housing and re2 lated community facilities and services, such as 

3 water, sewers, roads, schools, and health facilities, 

4 for such household shall be available at their reloca5 tion sites’ are fulfilled, including an estimated cost 

6 and time frame; 

7 ‘‘(3) identify impacts to surrounding commu8 nities and towns; 

9 ‘‘(4) address the impacts of development freezes 

10 in the former Bennett Freeze area; and 

11 ‘‘(5) identify costs to remediate impacted areas. 

12 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 

14 shall submit to Congress a report on the study required 

15 under subsection (d). 

16 ‘‘(f) PLAN.—On the basis of the report submitted to 

17 the Congress under subsection (d), the Commissioner on 

18 Navajo and Hopi Relocation shall develop and implement 

19 a plan to provide— 

20 ‘‘(1) job training for individuals and their de21 scendants involved in the relocations carried out 

22 under this Act, as well as individuals and their de23 scendants subject to development freezes; 


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1 ‘‘(2) economic assistance to households relo2 cated under this Act and households subject to de3 velopment freezes; and 

4 ‘‘(3) water, roads, sewers, community facilities, 

5 and health facilities to serve the needs of such 

6 households. 

7 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION.—The Commissioner on Navajo 

8 and Hopi Relocation shall identify and coordinate existing 

9 programs in other Federal departments and agencies to 

10 assist in implementing the plan developed under sub11 section (f).’’. 

12 SEC. 2. RELINQUISHMENT OF ACCOMMODATION AGREE13 MENT AND ELIGIBILITY FOR RELOCATION 

14 BENEFITS. 

15 The Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act of 

16 1996 (Public Law 104–301) is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 13. RELINQUISHMENT OF ACCOMMODATION AGREE19 MENTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro21 vision of this Act, the Settlement Agreement, or the Ac22 commodation Agreement, any Navajo head of household, 

23 or the successor thereto if such person is no longer the 

24 head of household, who has entered into an Accommoda25 tion Agreement shall have the following rights: 


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1 ‘‘(1) To relinquish the Accommodation Agree2 ment, if the head of household or successor thereto, 

3 notifies the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relo4 cation of that relinquishment not more than five 

5 years after the effective date of this section. 

6 ‘‘(2) After a relinquishment under paragraph 

7 (1), to receive the full relocation benefits to which 

8 the Navajo head of household would otherwise have 

9 been entitled had the head of household not signed 

10 the Accommodation Agreement, including relocation 

11 housing, counseling, and other services. In the event 

12 that the Navajo head of household is no longer the 

13 head of household, the successor thereto shall be en14 titled to receive the full relocation benefits. 

15 ‘‘(b) TIMING.—A relinquishment under subsection 

16 (a) shall not go into effect until the Office of Navajo and 

17 Hopi Indian Relocation provides the full relocation bene18 fits to the Navajo head of household, or successor there19 to.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF LAND SELECTION AUTHORITY TO 

21 THE NAVAJO NATION. 

22 Section 11(c) of Public Law 93–531 is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘, for a period of three years 

24 after July 8, 1980,’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘, at the end of such period’’ 

2 and all that follows through ‘‘Provided further, 

3 That’’. 

4 SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF BENEFICIARIES OF LAND SELEC5 TIONS. 

6 Section 11 of Public Law 93–531 is further amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in subsection (h), by inserting ‘‘and for 

9 Navajo families and Navajo communities that meet 

10 the beneficiary requirements of section 32(d) of this 

11 subchapter (section 32 of Public Law 93–531, as 

12 added by section 7 of Public Law 100–666; 102 

13 Stat. 3932 (1988))’’ after ‘‘solely for the benefit of 

14 Navajo families residing on Hopi-Partitioned lands 

15 as of December 22, 1974’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the 

17 following: ‘‘At the request of the Navajo Tribe, and 

18 where the consent of the owner of the subsurface in19 terest is obtained, the Secretary shall acquire fee 

20 title to both surface and subsurface.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. SELECTION OF LANDS TO CORRECT SURVEYING 

22 ERROR. 

23 Section 11 of the Public Law 93–531 is further 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(j) The Navajo Tribe may select an additional 757 

2 acres of the land to compensate the Navajo Tribe for a 

3 surveying error. Any lands selected under this sub4 section— 

5 ‘‘(1) shall be subject to the same restrictions as 

6 lands originally selected under this section; 

7 ‘‘(2) shall be at no cost to the Navajo Tribe; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(3) may be placed into restricted fee status at 

10 the direction of the Navajo Tribe if the lands have 

11 not already been placed into trust status.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF OFFICE OF NAVAJO AND HOPI IN13 DIAN RELOCATION AUTHORITY. 

14 Section 12 of Public Law 93–531 is amended by add15 ing at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(g) BENNETT FREEZE REHABILITATION PRO17 GRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner is au19 thorized to carry out a rehabilitation program to re20 dress the effects of Federal development restrictions 

21 (commonly referred to as the ‘Bennett Freeze’) in 

22 the western portion of the Navajo Reservation. This 

23 program shall include, at a minimum, housing con24 struction and renovation, infrastructure improve25 ments, and economic development initiatives. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap2 propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry 

3 out the program described in this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(h) REQUEST BY TRIBE; AUTHORIZED PRO5 GRAMS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) SELF-DETERMINATION CONTRACTS.— 

7 Upon the request of the Navajo Tribe or the Hopi 

8 Tribe by tribal resolution, the Commissioner shall 

9 enter into a self-determination contract or contracts 

10 with the requesting Indian tribe to plan, conduct, 

11 and administer programs, functions, services, or ac12 tivities (or a portion thereof), including construction 

13 programs administered by the Commissioner that 

14 pertain directly to the requesting Indian tribe. Pro15 grams, functions, services, or activities contracted 

16 under this subsection shall include administrative 

17 functions of the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian 

18 Relocation that support the delivery of services to 

19 Indians, including those administrative activities 

20 supportive of, but not included as part of, the service 

21 delivery programs described in this subsection that 

22 are otherwise contractable. Such administrative 

23 functions shall be contractable without regard to the 

24 organizational level within the Office of Navajo and 


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1 Hopi Indian Relocation that carries out such func2 tions. 

3 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Commissioner shall 

4 issue regulations implementing paragraph (1) that, 

5 to the maximum extent feasible— 

6 ‘‘(A) are consistent with the requirements 

7 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 

8 Assistance Act (Public Law 93–638); and 

9 ‘‘(B) reflect the independent agency status 

10 of the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relo11 cation.’’. 

12 SEC. 7. NAVAJO REHABILITATION TRUST FUND. 

13 Section 32 of Public Law 93–531 is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘net income’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘income’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘located in New Mexico’’; 

18 (2) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(d) Funds in the Navajo Rehabilitation Trust Fund, 

21 including any interest or investment accruing thereon, 

22 shall be available to the Navajo Tribe, with the approval 

23 of the Secretary, solely for the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) Purposes that will contribute to the con25 tinuing rehabilitation and improvement of the ecoVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Dec 14, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6141.IH H6141

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1 nomic, educational, and social condition of families, 

2 and Navajo communities, that have been affected 

3 by— 

4 ‘‘(A) the decision in the Healing case, or 

5 related proceedings; 

6 ‘‘(B) the provision of this Act; or 

7 ‘‘(C) the establishment by the Secretary of 

8 the Interior of grazing district number 6 as 

9 land for the exclusive use of the Hopi Tribe. 

10 ‘‘(2) At the discretion of the Navajo Tribe, 

11 for— 

12 ‘‘(A) development or rehabilitation of the 

13 Former Bennett Freeze area; or 

14 ‘‘(B) development in the Navajo Sov15 ereignty Empowerment Zones established pur16 suant to this Act.’’; 

17 (3) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘and the 

18 United States has been reimbursed’’ through ‘‘of 

19 this section.’’ and inserting a period; and 

20 (4) in subsection (g)— 

21 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

22 ‘‘1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995’’ and 

23 all that follows through the final period and in24 serting ‘‘2022 through 2026’’; and 

25 (B) by striking the second sentence. 


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1 SEC. 8. FORMER BENNETT FREEZE AREA REHABILITATION 

2 TRUST FUND. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established in 

4 the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be 

5 known as the ‘‘Former Bennett Freeze Area Rehabilita6 tion Trust Fund’’ which shall consist of the funds appro7 priated pursuant to subsection (e) and any interest or in8 vestment income accrued on such funds. 

9 (b) SECRETARY AS TRUSTEE; INVESTMENT OF

10 FUNDS.—The Secretary of the Interior shall— 

11 (1) be the trustee of the Former Bennett 

12 Freeze Area Rehabilitation Trust Fund; 

13 (2) be responsible for investment of the 

14 amounts in such trust fund; and 

15 (3) upon receipt and approval of a plan for the 

16 use of those amounts consistent with subsection (c), 

17 transfer those amounts to the Navajo Nation, or its 

18 designee, as trustee. 

19 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS; PURPOSES.—Amounts 

20 in the Former Bennett Freeze Area Rehabilitation Trust 

21 Fund, including any interest or investment accruing there22 on, shall be available to the Navajo Nation solely for pur23 poses that will contribute to the continuing rehabilitation 

24 and improvement of the economic, housing, infrastructure, 

25 health, educational, and social condition of families and 


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1 Navajo communities that have been affected by the former 

2 Bennett Freeze. 

3 (d) TERMINATION OF TRUST FUND.—The Former 

4 Bennett Freeze Area Rehabilitation Trust Fund shall ter5 minate when, upon petition by the Navajo Nation, the Sec6 retary of the Interior determines that the goals of the 

7 Trust Fund have been met. All amounts in the Former 

8 Bennett Freeze Area Rehabilitation Trust Fund on such 

9 date shall be transferred to the Treasury. 

10 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

11 hereby authorized to be appropriated for the Former Ben12 nett Freeze Area Rehabilitation Trust Fund such sums 

13 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

14 2035. 

15 SEC. 9. NAVAJO NATION SOVEREIGNTY EMPOWERMENT 

16 DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

17 (a) NAVAJO SOVEREIGNTY EMPOWERMENT

18 ZONES.—The Navajo Nation may designate not more 

19 than 150,000 acres in one or more of the following, which 

20 shall be designated as Navajo Sovereignty Empowerment 

21 Zones: 

22 (1) Lands selected by the Navajo Nation pursu23 ant to section 11 of Public Law 93–531. 

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1 tion of 1882 and bounded on the north and south 

2 by westerly extensions, to the reservation line, of the 

3 northern and southern boundaries of said Executive 

4 Order Reservation (formerly known as the ‘‘Bennett 

5 Freeze’’ area). 

6 (3) Lands partitioned to the Navajo Nation 

7 pursuant to sections 3 and 4 of Public Law 93–531. 

8 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAWS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to approval by the 

10 appropriate regulatory bodies under Navajo law, 

11 such as the Navajo Nation Environmental Protec12 tion Agency, the Navajo Nation Historic Preserva13 tion Department, and the Navajo Nation Depart14 ment of Fish and Wildlife, within the Navajo Sov15 ereignty Empowerment Zones, the Navajo Nation 

16 may choose to waive any or all of the laws in para17 graph (2) with regard to renewable energy develop18 ment, housing development, public and community 

19 facilities, infrastructure development (including 

20 water and wastewater development, roads, trans21 mission lines, gas lines, and rights-of-way), and re22 lated economic development. 

23 (2) LAW ELIGIBLE FOR WAIVER.—The laws re24 ferred to in paragraph (1) are the following: 


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1 (A) The Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 

2 et seq.). 

3 (B) The National Environmental Policy 

4 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

5 (C) The Endangered Species Act of 1973 

6 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

7 (D) The Federal Land Policy and Manage8 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

9 (E) The National Wildlife Refuge System 

10 Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd 

11 et seq.). 

12 (F) The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 

13 U.S.C. 742a et seq.). 

14 (G) The Fish and Wildlife Coordination 

15 Act (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.). 

16 (H) Subchapter II of chapter 5, and chap17 ter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly 

18 known as the ‘‘Administrative Procedure Act’’). 

19 (I) The provisions of title 54, United 

20 States Code, derived from the Act of August 

21 25, 1916 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 

22 Park Service Organic Act’’), Public Law 86– 

23 523, and Public Law 91–383. 


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1 (J) Sections 401(7), 403, and 404 of the 

2 National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 

3 (Public Law 95–625). 

4 (K) The Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 

5 1990 (Public Law 101–628). 

6 (L) Division A of subtitle III of title 54, 

7 United States Code. 

8 (3) GRAND CANYON EXCEPTION.—Subsection 

9 (a) shall not apply to projects within the rim of the 

10 natural formation commonly referred to as the 

11 Grand Canyon. 

12 (c) TRANSFER OF SAVINGS TO THE NAVAJO NA13 TION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal agencies responsible 

15 for implementation of the laws listed in subsection 

16 (b)(2) shall— 

17 (A) consult in good faith with the Navajo 

18 Nation regarding and to determine the cost 

19 that the Federal agency would have otherwise 

20 expended on implementation of the laws or reg21 ulations described in subsection (b) in the Nav22 ajo Empowerment Zones, and this amount shall 

23 not be less than the agency would have other24 wise provided for the operation of programs or 

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1 zational level within the agency at which the 

2 program, function, service, or activity or portion 

3 thereof (including supportive administrative 

4 functions and indirect costs that are provided in 

5 support of the operation of the program, func6 tion, service or activity or portion thereof) is 

7 operated; and 

8 (B) not later the 90 days after the begin9 ning of each applicable fiscal year, transfer to 

10 the Navajo Nation the amount of funds identi11 fied under subparagraph (A). 

12 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—The Navajo Nation shall 

13 use all funds that it receives under this subsection 

14 to implement Tribal law in the Navajo Sovereignty 

15 Empowerment Zones. 

16 (3) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—Federal agency 

17 decisions made pursuant to subparagraph (A) of 

18 paragraph (1) shall be final agency action for the 

19 purposes of appeal to the appropriate Federal dis20 trict court pursuant to chapter 7 of title 5, United 

21 States Code. 

22 (d) CIVIL JURISDICTION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

24 provision of law, all individuals and entities oper25 ating in a Navajo Sovereignty Empowerment Zone 


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1 shall be subject to the full civil and regulatory juris2 diction of the Navajo Nation. 

3 (2) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—Any judgment 

4 issued by the Navajo Nation consistent with this sec5 tion shall be accorded full faith and credit by the 

6 court of another State, Indian Tribe, or territory 

7 and by Federal district courts. 

8 (e) TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY.—Nothing in this section 

9 supersedes, replaces, negates, or diminishes— 

10 (1) the laws and regulations of the Navajo Na11 tion, which shall remain in full force and effect with12 in the Navajo Sovereignty Empowerment Zones; or 

13 (2) the treaties or other agreements between 

14 the United States and the Navajo Nation. 

15 (f) NAVAJO-HOPI DISPUTE SETTLEMENT ACT.— 

16 Nothing in this section waives the provisions of the Nav17 ajo-Hopi Dispute Settlement Act of 1996. 

18 (g) FUNDING AND GRANTS.—Nothing in this section 

19 negates or diminishes the eligibility of the Navajo Nation 

20 to receive or continue to receive funding and grants under 

21 the Navajo-Hopi Dispute Settlement Act of 1996 or any 

22 other laws of the United States. 


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1 SEC. 10. TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO THE NAVAJO REHABILI2 TATION TRUST FUND. 

3 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, not less than $19,000,000 of the unobli5 gated balances of the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian 

6 Relocation shall be transferred by that Office to the Nav7 ajo Rehabilitation Trust Fund. Funds transferred under 

8 this section shall not be subject to the reimbursement obli9 gations of section 32(e) of Public Law 93–531. 

Æ 


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