(E) A proposed amendment to remove that sec-
tion was not allowed to be considered before passage 
of the bill. 
(6)(A) Indian Tribes have— 
(i) ceded or had taken from the Tribes mil-
lions of acres of land to help build the United 
States; and 
(ii) suffered under Federal assimilationist 
policies that sought to destroy Tribal cultures. 
(B) Despite those policies, American Indians 
continue to practice their religions as they have done 
for thousands of years. 
(C) American Indian places of worship, or sa-
cred areas, are often land-based, including moun-
tains, streams, and trees. 
(D) As a result of previous Federal land poli-
cies that resulted in the significant loss of land of 
Indian Tribes, many sacred areas of the Tribes are 
currently located on Federal land. 
(7)(A) The United States has a trust responsi-
bility acknowledged by Congress to protect Tribal 
sacred areas on Federal land, including pursuant to 
laws requiring meaningful consultation with affected 
Indian Tribes before making decisions that will im-
pact American Indians; but 
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(B) in contradiction to those laws, section 3003 
of the Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2015 (16 U.S.C. 539p) requires the mandatory con-
veyance of a Tribal sacred area located on Federal 
land, regardless of the outcome of consultation with 
affected Indian Tribes. 
(8) Section 3003 of the Carl Levin and Howard 
P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (16 U.S.C. 539p)— 
(A) was strongly opposed by Indian Tribes 
throughout the United States because that sec-
tion establishes a dangerous legislative prece-
dent for the lack of protection of Tribal sacred 
areas located on Federal land by mandating the 
conveyance of Federal land with significant reli-
gious, cultural, historic, and anthropological 
significance for Indian Tribes to a private com-
pany that will destroy the land; 
(B) circumvents standard environmental 
review procedures that ensure that the public 
interest is protected, including the interests of 
Indian Tribes; and 
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(C) requires a mandatory conveyance of 
Oak Flat, regardless of the findings resulting 
from the environmental review process. 
(9) The inclusion in the Carl Levin and Howard 
P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2015 of section 3003 of that Act 
(16 U.S.C. 539p) establishes a negative precedent 
for— 
(A) the legislative process; and 
(B) Federal Indian policy. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In the Act: 
(1) OAK FLAT.—The term ‘‘Oak Flat’’ means 
the approximately 2,422 acres of Forest System 
land in the Tonto National Forest in southeastern 
Arizona commonly known as ‘‘Oak Flat’’ and gen-
erally depicted as ‘‘Oak Flat Withdrawal Area’’ on 
the map titled ‘‘Save Oak Flat Act of 2021’’ and 
dated March 15, 2021. 
(2) RESOLUTION COPPER.—The term ‘‘Resolu-
tion Copper’’ means Resolution Copper Mining, 
LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. 
SEC. 4. REPEAL AND WITHDRAWAL. 
(a) REPEAL.—Section 3003 of the Carl Levin and 
Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon National Defense Authoriza-
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tion Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (16 U.S.C. 539p) is re-
pealed. 
(b) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid rights in exist-
ence on the date of the enactment of this Act, Oak Flat 
is withdrawn from all forms of— 
(1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the 
public land laws; 
(2) location, entry, and patent under the mining 
laws; and 
(3) disposition under all laws pertaining to min-
eral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. 
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Union Calendar No. 427 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1884 
[Report No. 117–592] 
A BILL 
To repeal section 3003 of the Carl Levin and How-
ard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon National Defense Au-
thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, and for 
other purposes. 
DECEMBER 7, 2022 
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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