datamatters24/research-document-archive huggingface dataset:
I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1104
To repeal the Federal acknowledgment of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 3, 2005
Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut (for herself, Mr. SHAYS, and Mr. SIMMONS) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Re-
sources 
A BILL 
To repeal the Federal acknowledgment of the Schaghticoke 
Tribal Nation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Schaghticoke Acknowl-
edgment Repeal Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. REPEAL OF THE FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF 
THE SCHAGHTICOKE TRIBAL NATION. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Bureau of Indian Affairs should ac-
knowledge petitioning groups as Indian tribes within
the meaning of Federal law only when petitioning 
groups fully, faithfully, and objectively satisfy each 
of the 7 mandatory acknowledgment criteria under 
section 83.7 of title 25, Code of Federal Regula-
tions. 
(2) The Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a Pro-
posed Finding, a preliminary decision, dated Decem-
ber 2, 2002, and published in the Federal Register 
on December 11, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 76184), that 
declined to acknowledge the Schaghticoke Tribal Na-
tion as an Indian tribe within the meaning of Fed-
eral law because the tribe did not satisfy each of the 
7 mandatory criteria under section 83.7 of title 25, 
Code of Federal Regulations, more particularly: 
(A) The Proposed Finding concluded that 
the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation did not satisfy 
criterion 83.7(b), the demonstration of a contin-
uous community from the first sustained histor-
ical contact to the present, because there was 
‘‘insufficient evidence’’ to demonstrate that a 
community existed for 36 years from 1940 to 
1967 and from 1996 to the present. 
(B) The Proposed Finding concluded that 
the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation did not satisfy 
criterion 83.7(c), the demonstration of contin-
House Calendar No. 32
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 82
[Report No. 103–69]
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Authorizing the use of the Capitol grounds for the
Greater Washington Soap Box Derby.
APRIL 29, 1993
Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
In the Senate of the United States,
December 15, 2005.
Resolved, That the Senate agrees to the preamble to the
concurrent resolution from the House of Representatives (H.
Con. Res. 218) entitled ‘‘Concurrent resolution recognizing
the centennial of sustained immigration from the Philippines
to the United States and acknowledging the contributions of
our Filipino-American community to our country over the last
century.’’; be it further
Resolved, That the aforesaid concurrent resolution from
the House of Representatives do pass with the following
AMENDMENT:
Ω1æPage 4, line 8, strike out ørequests that the President
issue a proclamation calling on¿ and insert: urges
Attest:
Secretary.
(d) SELECTION OF CONTRACTOR.—The Secretary shall 
carry out the process for selection of the contractor for the 
demonstration project so that the contractor to perform the 
contract is selected, and the contract is awarded, not later 
than three months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. The contractor shall be an entity or organization that 
has significant experience in the administrative processing 
of health care charges and claims. 
(e) FUNCTIONS OF CONTRACTOR.—The Secretary shall 
provide in the contract for the following functions of the 
contractor with respect to each facility at which the dem-
onstration project is conducted: 
(1) Detailed specification of existing business 
processes that the contractor determines are relevant 
to the capability of the facility to recover or collect in-
debtedness from third-party payors under section 
1729 of title 38, United States Code. 
(2) Reengineering of the business processes iden-
tified under paragraph (1), including provision for 
standardized application of such reengineered proc-
esses throughout the facility. 
(3) Establish and implement a plan to transi-
tion from the business processes identified under 
paragraph (1) to the reengineered and standardized 
businesses established pursuant to paragraph (2).
prepared for the Principal Deputy Assist-
ant Secretary-Indian Affairs that ‘‘evidence 
of political influence and authority [within 
the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation] is absent 
or insufficient for two substantial historical 
periods.’’
(C) An arbitrary reevaluation and erro-
neous interpretation of the State’s relationship 
with the Schaghticoke, where the Bureau of In-
dian Affairs overturned longstanding judicial 
precedent and interpretation that it repeatedly 
relied upon in prior acknowledgment decisions 
involving New England Indian groups, as evi-
denced by the following: 
(i) The Final Determination acknowl-
edged that in using the State’s relationship 
with the group as evidence to satisfy the 
political community and authority criteria, 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs was reversing 
its holding in the Proposed Finding, which 
stated that ‘‘a continuous state relation-
ship with a reservation did not provide ad-
ditional evidence during those periods 
when there was an absence of specific evi-
dence of the exercise of political influence
I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1805 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the deduc-
tion for State and local sales tax, the deduction for qualified tuition 
and related expenses, and the deduction for mortgage interest premiums, 
and to modify to the homebuyer credit. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 31, 2009 
Mr. WAMP introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make 
permanent the deduction for State and local sales tax, 
the deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses, 
and the deduction for mortgage interest premiums, and 
to modify to the homebuyer credit. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Working 
Families Tax Relief Act of 2009’’. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
22:33 Apr 01, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1805.IH
H1805
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with BILLS
within the group within the meaning of the 
acknowledgment regulations.’’. 
(ii) To reach the positive result in the 
Final Determination, the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs erroneously equated the fact that 
the State of Connecticut had set aside 
tracts of land where individuals claiming 
descent from a tribe that existed in colo-
nial times could live, including providing 
funds and an overseer for these individ-
uals, with the act of recognizing a sov-
ereign entity that has existed as a distinct 
political community as it is understood 
under Federal law. 
(iii) The Bureau of Indian Affairs 
used this faulty analysis to fill gaps where, 
by the agency’s admission, ‘‘insufficient’’ 
or ‘‘little or no direct’’ evidence existed to 
demonstrate continuous community and 
political authority. 
(iv) The use of the State’s relation-
ship with the Schaghticoke group as evi-
dence of continuous political authority spe-
cifically subverts the intent of the regula-
tions, since the Bureau of Indian Affairs
previously considered and rejected the use 
of such arrangements as evidence because 
it merely emphasized Indian ancestry, not 
the existence of tribal political authority. 
(v) In the Final Determination ac-
knowledging the Mohegan tribe in Con-
necticut, the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
properly interpreted State recognition, de-
claring that ‘‘State recognition is one form 
of evidence that a group meets criterion 
(a), but it is not grounds for automatically 
considering a group to be entitled to Fed-
eral recognition.’’. In addition, the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs adhered to this precedent 
and interpretation of a State relationship 
in its proposed findings and final deter-
minations concerning the Narrangansett 
tribe in Rhode Island, the Gay Head 
Wampanoag tribe in Massachusetts, and 
the Historic Eastern Pequot and the Gold-
en Hill Paugussett tribes in Connecticut. 
(vi) Without the Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs’ use of this erroneous interpretation 
of the State’s relationship with the 
Schaghticoke group to substitute for ‘‘in-
sufficient’’ or absent evidence necessary to 
satisfy the continuous community and po-
litical authority criteria, the Schaghticoke 
Tribal Nation would not have satisfied 
these mandatory criteria and would have 
been denied acknowledgment. 
(D) Unprecedented and inaccurate meth-
ods to calculate tribal marriage rates, without 
which the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation would 
not have reached the 50 percent intra-marriage 
rate threshold and consequently would not have 
satisfied the criteria for political authority for a 
74 year period from 1801 to 1875, as evidenced 
by the following: 
(i) Under section 83.7(c)(3) of title 
25, Code of Federal Regulations, (com-
monly known as the so-called ‘‘carry-over’’ 
provision), in the absence of direct evi-
dence, a petitioner can satisfy the political 
authority criterion for a particular period 
if it demonstrates one of that ‘‘at least 50 
percent of the marriages in the group are 
between members of the group,’’ a thresh-
old that demonstrates community for a 
particular 
period 
under 
section
(4) Establishment of a comprehensive database 
containing third-party payor information for vet-
erans receiving health care and services at the facil-
ity. 
(f) VHA PROJECT MANAGER.—As part of the dem-
onstration project, the Secretary shall ensure that a Vet-
erans Health Administration employee is designated to be 
the full-time project manager for the project and that such 
employee’s duty station is at one of the facilities at which 
the project is conducted, with provision for visits as needed 
to the other facility at which the project is conducted. 
(g) EMPLOYEE PROTECTION.—The Secretary shall ad-
minister the demonstration project so that during the period 
of the conduct of the demonstration project there is no re-
duction in active full-time equivalent employees of the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs at the facilities at which the 
project is conducted that is attributable to the conduct of 
the demonstration project. 
(h) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—
(1) PERIODIC PROGRESS REPORTS ON PROJECT 
IMPLEMENTATION.—
(A) REPORTS
REQUIRED.—The Secretary 
shall submit to Congress progress reports on the 
implementation of the demonstration project.
83.7(b)(2)(ii) of title 25, Code of Federal 
Regulations. 
(ii) Because the Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs admits in the Final Determination 
that ‘‘there remains little direct evidence 
concerning political authority or influence 
among the Schaghticoke for this time pe-
riod [1801 to 1875],’’ the agency invoked 
the carry-over provision to demonstrate po-
litical authority for this period because it 
calculated that more than 50 percent of 
the marriages in the group were between 
members of the group. 
(iii) In a filing before the Interior 
Board of Indian Appeals, dated December 
2, 2004, the Office of the Solicitor, Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, admitted that the Final 
Determination used a methodology in cal-
culating and analyzing marriage rates that 
‘‘is not consistent with prior precedent in 
calculating 
rates 
of 
marriages 
under 
83.7(b)(2)(ii) and provides no explanation 
for the inconsistency.’’. 
(iv) The Office of the Solicitor states 
that ‘‘previous acknowledgment decisions
interpret 83.7(b)(2)(ii) to require that 50 
percent of the marriages are between mem-
bers of the group. In contrast, the Sum-
mary on [Schaghticoke Tribal Nation] in-
advertently relied on the number of mem-
bers of the group who married other mem-
bers, which results in a higher count.’’. 
(v) The Office of the Solicitor also 
concludes that mathematical errors were 
made in tabulating marriage rates in the 
Final Determination that when corrected 
reduces the rate below 50 percent, regard-
less whether ‘‘marriages’’ as is customary, 
or ‘‘members of the group who marry other 
members,’’ which is unprecedented, is 
counted. 
(vi) Since the Schaghticoke Tribal 
Nation marriage rates do not meet the 50 
percent threshold, the carry-over provision 
is rendered inoperative. 
(vii) Without the carry-over provision 
to substitute for insufficient evidence to 
demonstrate political authority for the time 
period from 1801 to 1875, the political au-
thority criterion is not satisfied, and the
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1807 
AN ACT 
To provide distance learning to potential and existing 
entrepreneurs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 21
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Providing for an adjournment or recess of the two
Houses.
109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 21
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That when the House adjourns on the legisla-
tive day of Wednesday, January 26, 2005, on a motion
offered pursuant to this concurrent resolution by its Ma-
jority Leader or his designee, it stand adjourned until 2
•HCON 21 EH
p.m. on Tuesday, February 1, 2005, or until the time of
any reassembly pursuant to section 2 of this concurrent
resolution, whichever occurs first; and that when the Sen-
ate recesses or adjourns on Wednesday, January 26, 2005,
or Thursday, January 27, 2005, on a motion offered pur-
suant to this concurrent resolution by its Majority Leader
or his designee, it stand recessed or adjourned until noon
on Monday, January 31, 2005, or at such other time on
that day as may be specified by its Majority Leader or
his designee in the motion to recess or adjourn, or until
the time of any reassembly pursuant to section 2 of this
concurrent resolution, whichever occurs first.
SEC. 2. The Speaker of the House and the Majority
Leader of the Senate, or their respective designees, acting
jointly after consultation with the Minority Leader of the
House and the Minority Leader of the Senate, shall notify
the Members of the House and the Senate, respectively,
to reassemble at such place and time as they may des-
ignate whenever, in their opinion, the public interest shall
warrant it.
Passed the House of Representatives January 25,
2005.
Attest:
Clerk.
Bureau of Indian Affairs should have de-
clined Federal acknowledgment in the 
Final Determination. 
(viii) The Office of the Solicitor fur-
ther advises that during the Interior Board 
of Indian Appeals request for reconsider-
ation currently under way, the Final De-
termination ‘‘should not be affirmed on 
these grounds absent explanation or new 
evidence.’’. 
(E) A fraudulent membership list for the 
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, without which the 
Schaghticoke group could not be acknowl-
edged—a result the Office of Federal Acknowl-
edgment within the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
calls ‘‘undesirable’’ in internal briefing papers, 
as evidenced by the following: 
(i) The Schaghticoke group has expe-
rienced intense factional conflict for many 
years, with the resulting split in the early 
1990s between the Schaghticoke Tribal 
Nation and the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe 
into two distinct groups with district com-
munities and political processes.
(ii) The January 12, 2004, briefing 
paper prepared by Office of Federal Ac-
knowledgment staff for the Principal Dep-
uty Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs 
states the ‘‘Schaghticoke Tribal Nation 
membership list did not include a substan-
tial portion of the actual social and polit-
ical community.’’. 
(iii) The briefing paper concludes that 
‘‘the activities of these individuals were an 
essential part of the evidence for the [Pro-
posed 
Findings] 
conclusion 
that 
the 
[Schaghticoke Tribal Nation] met criterion 
83.7(b) [community] and 83.7(c) [political 
authority] from 1967 to 1996 and their 
absence was one of the reasons the [Pro-
posed Finding] concluded these criteria 
were not met from 1996 to the present. 
After 1996, these individuals either de-
clined to reenroll as the leadership required 
of all members, or subsequently relin-
quished membership, because of strong po-
litical 
difference 
with 
the 
current 
[Schaghticoke Tribal Nation] administra-
tion’’.
(iv) In response to concerns raised in 
the Proposed Finding, the Schaghticoke 
Tribal Nation unsuccessfully attempted to 
purge the Kilson descendents from the 
membership list and to persuade promi-
nent Schaghticokes, including Schaghticoke 
Indian Tribe members, the Coggswells and 
Irving Harris, to rejoin. 
(v) On September 27, 2003, the day 
before the end of the Schaghticoke Tribal 
Nation’s comment period prior to the 
issuance of the Final Determination, 15 
Schaghticoke Indian Tribe members ap-
plied for and were granted membership in 
the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation. Nine of 
those 15 signed a letter on September 29, 
2003, however, stating that they were not 
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation members, had 
no intention of becoming members, and 
that ‘‘[their] signatures were obtained by 
fraud’’. 
(vi) In the briefing paper, Office of 
Federal Acknowledgment staff expresses 
disappointment that these irregularities 
could undermine the Schaghticoke Tribal
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 678
AN ACT
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins
in commemoration of Thomas Alva Edison and the 125th
anniversary of Edison’s invention of the light bulb, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
H. Con. Res. 21 
Agreed to January 26, 2005
One Hundred Ninth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE FIRST SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the fourth day of January, two thousand and five 
Concurrent Resolution 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concur-
ring), That when the House adjourns on the legislative day of 
Wednesday, January 26, 2005, on a motion offered pursuant to 
this concurrent resolution by its Majority Leader or his designee, 
it stand adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, February 1, 2005, 
or until the time of any reassembly pursuant to section 2 of this 
concurrent resolution, whichever occurs first; and that when the 
Senate recesses or adjourns on Wednesday, January 26, 2005, or 
Thursday, January 27, 2005, on a motion offered pursuant to this 
concurrent resolution by its Majority Leader or his designee, it 
stand recessed or adjourned until noon on Monday, January 31, 
2005, or at such other time on that day as may be specified by 
its Majority Leader or his designee in the motion to recess or 
adjourn, or until the time of any reassembly pursuant to section 
2 of this concurrent resolution, whichever occurs first. 
SEC. 2. The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader 
of the Senate, or their respective designees, acting jointly after 
consultation with the Minority Leader of the House and the 
Minority Leader of the Senate, shall notify the Members of the 
House and the Senate, respectively, to reassemble at such place 
and time as they may designate whenever, in their opinion, the 
public interest shall warrant it. 
Attest: 
Clerk of the House of Representatives. 
Attest: 
Secretary of the Senate.
III 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 21
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JANUARY 26, 2005
Received 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Providing for an adjournment or recess of the two Houses.
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That when the House adjourns on the legisla-
tive day of Wednesday, January 26, 2005, on a motion 
offered pursuant to this concurrent resolution by its Ma-
jority Leader or his designee, it stand adjourned until 2
HCON 21 RDS 
p.m. on Tuesday, February 1, 2005, or until the time of 
any reassembly pursuant to section 2 of this concurrent 
resolution, whichever occurs first; and that when the Sen-
ate recesses or adjourns on Wednesday, January 26, 2005, 
or Thursday, January 27, 2005, on a motion offered pur-
suant to this concurrent resolution by its Majority Leader 
or his designee, it stand recessed or adjourned until noon 
on Monday, January 31, 2005, or at such other time on 
that day as may be specified by its Majority Leader or 
his designee in the motion to recess or adjourn, or until 
the time of any reassembly pursuant to section 2 of this 
concurrent resolution, whichever occurs first. 
SEC. 2. The Speaker of the House and the Majority 
Leader of the Senate, or their respective designees, acting 
jointly after consultation with the Minority Leader of the 
House and the Minority Leader of the Senate, shall notify 
the Members of the House and the Senate, respectively, 
to reassemble at such place and time as they may des-
ignate whenever, in their opinion, the public interest shall 
warrant it.
Passed the House of Representatives January 25, 
2005. 
Attest: 
JEFF TRANDAHL, 
Clerk.
(d) REPEAL OF THE FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
OF THE SCHAGHTICOKE TRIBAL NATION.—
(1) The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation is not an 
Indian tribe within the meaning of Federal law and 
does not maintain a government-to-government rela-
tionship with the United States. 
(2) The Final Determination acknowledging the 
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation as an Indian tribe with-
in the meaning of Federal law, maintaining a gov-
ernment-to-government relationship with the United 
States, is repealed. 
(3) The outcome of the Request for Reconsider-
ation shall have no effect on this Act.
Æ
(B) TIME FOR PROGRESS REPORTS.— Such 
reports shall be submitted as expeditiously as 
feasible after the end of—
(i) the 60-day period and the 90-day 
period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act; and 
(ii) the 60-day period, the 90-day pe-
riod, and the 180-day period beginning on 
the date of the award of the contract under 
subsection (d). 
(C) MATTER TO BE INCLUDED.—Each re-
port under this paragraph shall set out the 
progress to date of the demonstration project, in-
cluding—
(i) before the contractor has been se-
lected, progress toward selection of the con-
tractor (identified by the steps in the acqui-
sition process that have been accomplished 
and that remain to be accomplished); and 
(ii) after the contractor has been se-
lected—
(I) the contractor’s progress in 
initiating and carrying out the dem-
onstration project in accordance with 
the requirements of this section; and
(II) a copy of each contract under 
the demonstration project and any 
change order or modification to any 
such contract. 
(2) INTERIM
REPORTS
ON
PROJECT
OPER-
ATION.—After the completion of the first 12 months, 
and after the completion of the first 18 months, of the 
demonstration project, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress an interim report on the operation of the 
demonstration project to that date. Each such report 
shall include the following: 
(A) The assessment of the Secretary as to 
whether the rate of recovery or collection of in-
debtedness owed the United States from third-
party payors has improved by reason of the 
project. 
(B) The assessment of the Secretary as to 
the performance of the contractor. 
(3) FINAL REPORT.—
(A) REQUIREMENT.—After the conclusion of 
the demonstration project, the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress a final report on the project. 
(B) CONTENT.—The Secretary shall include 
in that report—