U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Tacoma, has asked the House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples to approve her bill granting expanded leasing authority to the Chehalis Tribe.
“My bill is simple. It will amend the long-term leasing act to give the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation leasing authority for up to 99 years. This will allow the tribe greater access to economic opportunity and strengthen their sovereignty,” she told the subcommittee last week….
“With a number of enterprises, the Chehalis are a strong community, but a 1955 law stands in the way of expanding economic development.”
According to Strickland, the long-term leasing act of 1955 provides tribes with the authority to enter into lease agreement terms of up to 25 years with an additional renewal of 25 years subject to the Interior Secretary’s approval. Since the law’s enactment, however, the act has been amended by Congress to give nearly 60 tribes extended leasing authority.