Washington, DC – Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10) and U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced their bill to expand economic development and protect treaty rights for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation was passed by Congress and will head to President Biden for his signature. This bill will allow the Chehalis Tribe to lease its tribal trust lands for up to 99 years.
“Strengthening the Chehalis Tribe’s sovereignty through this critical legislation will create more jobs and increase economic growth for our region,” said Strickland. “Amending a law that was passed in the 1950s to support the economic development of today is the right thing to do. I look forward to President Biden signing this bill into law.”
“The I-5 corridor is a major freight route critical to the West Coast supply chain,” said Sen. Cantwell. “This bill, which allows the Chehalis Tribe to lease their Trust lands for up to 99 years, will help the Tribe grow regional economic opportunity by attracting businesses to the Chehalis region.”
“The Chehalis Tribe is working to spur economic activity in our region, and I’m proud to have successfully partnered with Congresswoman Strickland and our Washington congressional colleagues to remove this barrier so that they can do business,” said Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler. “It’s an honor to advance this bill into law that puts the Chehalis and other Tribes on level-footing with the rest of the community when it comes to providing long-term certainty for economic development projects.”
“A big part of my job is making the federal government work better for folks in our region,” said Congressman Derek Kilmer. “That includes amending a nearly 70-year-old law to help the Chehalis Tribe grow its economy. Our bill will help the Tribe lease out land for nearly a century at a time – that’s a big deal because it means creating more jobs on the Chehalis Reservation, attracting new businesses, and laying the foundation for long-term growth and opportunity.”
“The Chehalis Tribe has long worked to diversify the economy on the Chehalis Reservation and the surrounding community,” said Chairman Dustin Klatush, Chehalis Tribe. “This bill will authorize the Chehalis Tribe to enter leases with terms of up to 99 years with partners that are seeking warehouse space along the I-5 corridor between Portland and Seattle. This bill becoming law will benefit southwest Washington state while supporting the rebuilding of America’s supply chain after the pandemic.”
The bill, S. 3773, would make a technical amendment to the Long-Term Leasing Act of 1955, which allows the Secretary of the Interior to approve leases to tribal trust lands to third parties for a maximum of up to 50 years. Amending this provision would extend that lease period to 99 years for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation. Congress has already granted similar authority to 59 other Tribes across the nation through comparable bills in recognition that modern commercial realities require that Tribes have flexibility to enter leases with terms longer than 50 years to attract outside investment to their tribal trust lands.
The Chehalis Tribe is currently fielding multiple development proposals to serve Interstate 5 supply chain needs, but they cannot act on these proposals because the prospective lessees require lease terms that are longer than 50 years due to current market demands. Allowing the Tribe to enter into longer leases on their lands held in trust will increase economic development opportunities and create more jobs for tribal members and surrounding communities.
Rep. Strickland and Sen. Cantwell, alongside Sen. Murray (WA,) Rep. Kilmer (WA-06,) and Rep. Herrera Beutler (WA-03), introduced the legislation in the House and Senate in March 2022. A hearing was held on the Senate bill, S. 3773, on March 23, 2022, and it moved out of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May, 18th, 2022. The House version had a hearing on H.R. 6964 on September 14, 2022, and the House Committee on Natural Resources moved the bill out of Committee on December 8, 2022. Senator Cantwell went to the Senate floor to pass the bill on December 21, 2022. The bill then moved to the House of Representatives for consideration, where the legislation passed on December 22, 2022.
U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and is the only African-American woman who serves on the House Armed Services Committee. She is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, is one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress, and is the first African-American elected to represent the Pacific Northwest at the federal level.
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