SCHATZ, MURKOWSKI: SIX INDIAN AFFAIRS BILLS FOR NATIVE LANDS, IHS VETERINARY SERVICES, BUFFALO RESTORATION, PASS U.S. SENATE

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), vice chairman of the Committee, released the following statements on Senate passage of the following six bills, which head to the House for further consideration:

• S.2783, Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act;
• S.2908, Indian Buffalo Management Act;
• S.3857, Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act;
• S.4000, A bill to reaffirm the applicability of the Indian Reorganization Act to the Lytton Rancheria of California, and for other purposes;
• S.4365, Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act; and
• S.4370, Tribal Forest Protection Act Amendments Act of 2024.

On passing the bills, Chairman Schatz said, "We have already had the most constructive and productive period for Native people in Congressional history. We have invested more in water, transportation, broadband, energy, culture, and economic development. We have passed an extraordinary number of bipartisan bills. But we are not done. We have about a week left and we have a number of bipartisan bills that have to get across the finish line."

"I applaud the U.S. Senate for passing by voice vote two bipartisan bills I introduced. S.4365, the Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act, is vital to combatting rabies and other zoonotic diseases in Native communities across the nation. The Tribal Forest Protection Act Amendments Act, S. 4370, provides straightforward, meaningful improvements to the original TFPA, promoting greater Indigenous stewardship of Federal and Indian forest and rangelands," said Vice Chair Murkowski. "I am also pleased that the Indian Buffalo Management Act, a bill long championed by my late friend and colleague, Congressman Don Young, and strongly supported by Old Harbor and Stevens Village in Alaska, also passed the Senate today. This bill strengthens a small program operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that is rebuilding buffalo populations in Native communities."

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