I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5134
To require the prompt review by the Secretary of the Interior of the long-
standing petitions for Federal recognition of certain Indian tribes, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 23, 2004
Mr. POMBO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Resources 
A BILL 
To require the prompt review by the Secretary of the Interior 
of the long-standing petitions for Federal recognition 
of certain Indian tribes, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. PROMPT CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PETI-
TIONS REQUESTING FEDERAL RECOGNITION 
AS AN INDIAN TRIBE. 
(a) TIME PERIOD FOR PROPOSED FINDING.—Not 
later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, or a designee of 
the Secretary, shall publish a proposed finding with re-
spect to the petition for Federal recognition of each eligi-
ble tribe consistent with part 83 of title 25, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations. 
(b) TIME PERIOD FOR FINAL DETERMINATION.—
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, or a designee 
of the Secretary, shall publish a final determination with 
respect to the petition for Federal recognition of each eli-
gible tribe. 
(c) NOTIFICATION; OPT OUT.—Not later than 30 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of the Interior, or a designee of the Secretary, shall 
notify, in writing, all eligible tribes of their inclusion in 
the expedited procedure for proposed findings and final 
determinations under this Act. If, not later than 60 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, a petitioner 
notifies the Secretary of the Interior, or a designee of the 
Secretary, in writing, that the tribe elects to opt out of 
the expedited procedure, the tribe shall not be considered 
an eligible tribe for the purposes of this Act. 
(d) NUMBER OF MEMBERS NOT A FACTOR.—The 
number of persons listed on the membership roll contained 
in a petition for Federal recognition of an eligible tribe 
shall not be taken into account in considering the petition, 
except that the Secretary of the Interior, or a designee
of the Secretary, may review the eligibility of individual 
members or groups listed in a petition in accordance with 
the provisions of part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Reg-
ulations. 
(e) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO COMPLY.—If the Sec-
retary of the Interior, or a designee of the Secretary, fails 
to publish a proposed finding required by subsection (a) 
or a final determination required by subsection (b) by the 
end of the time period required for the proposed finding 
or final determination by such subsections, the relevant 
eligible tribe may—
(1) treat such failure as final agency action re-
fusing to recognize the tribe as an Indian tribe; and 
(2) seek in United States district court a deter-
mination of whether the petitioner should be recog-
nized as an Indian tribe in accordance with the cri-
teria specified in section 83.7 of title 25, Code of 
Federal Regulations. 
(f) REVIEW OF ADVERSE DECISION.—If the final de-
termination required by subsection (b) refuses to recognize 
the tribe as an Indian tribe, the tribe may seek, during 
the one-year period beginning on the date on which the 
final determination is published, a review of the deter-
mination in a United States district court notwithstanding 
the availability of other administrative remedies.
(g) CONSIDERATION OF OTHER PETITIONS.—Until 
the Secretary of the Interior, or a designee of the Sec-
retary, has published a proposed finding with respect to 
the petition of each eligible tribe as required under sub-
section (a), no other petition for recognition as an Indian 
tribe may be processed except those listed as having a sta-
tus of ‘‘Active’’ or ‘‘In Post-Final Decision Appeal Proc-
ess’’ by the Department of the Interior on July 1, 2004. 
(h) NO CHANGE IN CRITERIA.—Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed to change the criteria established by 
the Department of the Interior to determine whether or 
not a petitioner meets the requirements to be a federally 
recognized tribe. 
(i) ELIGIBLE TRIBE.—For the purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘eligible tribe’’ means a tribe that—
(1) has made an initial application for recogni-
tion as an Indian tribe to the Department of the In-
terior before October 17, 1988; and 
(2) is listed as having a status of ‘‘Ready, Wait-
ing for Active Consideration’’ by the Department of 
the Interior on July 1, 2004.
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