,i #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bhaa ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #ag1 #bjae ,mr4 ,grijalva 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cole1 ,mr4 ,mullin1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,ms4 ,mc,collum1 ,mrs4 ,torres1 ,mr4 ,murphy of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,hastings1 ,mr4 ,ben ,ray ,lujn of ,new ,mexico1 ,mr4 ,ruiz1 ,mr4 ,polis1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 ,mr4 ,becerra1 ,mr4 ,gallego1 and ,ms4 ,moore7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to repeal section #cjjc of the the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,save ,oak ,flat ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds as follows3 7#a7 ,section #cjjc of the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae 7,public ,law #aac-bia7 authorizes approximately #bdbb acres of ,forest ,service land known as ,oak ,flat in the ,tonto ,national ,forest in ,southeastern ,arizona that is sacred to ,indian tribes in the region1 including the ,san ,carlos ,apache ,tribe and the ,yavapai-,apache ,nation1 to be transferred to a mining company called ,resolution ,copper4 ,that company plans to hold the ,forest land privately for a mining project that will result in the physical destruction of tribal sacred areas and deprive ,american ,indians from practicing their religions1 ceremonies1 and other traditional practices4 ,the mining project will also create significant negative environmental impacts by destroying the area and depleting and contaminating precious water resources4 7#b7 ,once ,resolution ,copper owns the ,oak ,flat area1 it plans to use the highly destructive block cave mining method to remove one cubic mile of ore that is now #g1jjj feet beneath the surface of the earth without replacing any of the earth removed because that is the cheapest form of mining4 ,resolution ,copper admits that the surface will subside and ultimately collapse1 destroying forever this place of worship4 7#c7 ,the ,tonto ,national ,forest in which ,oak ,flat is located was established in #aije from the ancestral homelands of the ,tonto ,apache and other ,american ,indians who were forcibly removed at gunpoint from the ,oak ,flat area and other areas of the ,tonto ,national ,forest by the ,united ,states ,army in the #ahhjs and imprisoned in other areas1 including what is now the ,san ,carlos ,apache ,reservation1 located approximately #ae miles from ,oak ,flat1 where ,apaches were held as prisoners of war until the early #aijjs4 7#d7 ,section #cjjc was included in the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae without proper legislative process and circumvented the will of the majority of ,members of the ,house of ,representatives4 ,section #cjjc was originally introduced in the ,house of ,representatives as ,h4,r4 #fhg and in the ,senate as ,s4 #cci in the #aacth ,congress4 ,h4,r4 #fhg was brought to the floor of the ,house of ,representatives for consideration twice and was pulled from consideration both times4 ,s4 #cci was never considered by the ,senate or even considered for mark up by the ,senate ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources4 ,section #cjjc was then included in the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae without majority support from either the ,house or ,senate and an amendment to remove section #cjjc was not allowed to be considered4 7#e7 ,american ,indian tribes have ceded or have had taken from them millions of acres of land to help build the ,united ,states and have suffered under ,federal assimilationist policies that sought to destroy tribal cultures4 ,despite these policies1 ,american ,indians continue to practice their religions as they have done for thousands of years4 ,american ,indian places of worship1 or sacred areas1 are often land based1 including mountains1 streams1 and trees4 ,as a result of previous ,federal land policies that resulted in the significant loss of lands of ,american ,indian tribes1 many sacred areas of tribes are now located on ,federal lands4 7#f7 ,the ,united ,states has a trust responsibility acknowledged by ,congress to protect tribal sacred areas on ,federal lands4 ,these laws require meaningful consultations with affected ,indian tribes before making decisions that will impact ,american ,indians4 ,in contradiction to these laws1 section #cjjc requires the mandatory conveyance of a tribal sacred area located on ,federal lands regardless of the outcome of consultation with affected ,indian tribes4 7#g7 ,section #cjjc was strongly opposed by ,indian tribes nationwide because it sets dangerous legislative precedent for the lack of protection of tribal sacred areas located on ,federal lands by mandating the conveyance of ,federal lands with significant religious1 cultural1 historic1 and anthropological significance for ,indian tribes to a private company that will destroy the land4 7#h7 ,section #cjjc circumvents standard environmental review procedures that ensure that the public interest is protected1 including the interests of ,indian tribes4 ,section #cjjc requires a mandatory conveyance of the ,oak ,flat area regardless of the findings resulting from the environmental review process4 ,the mining project will require significant amounts of water that will likely affect the local hydrology1 including the underlying aquifer1 and will result in polluted water that will seep into drinking water supplies4 7#i7 ,the inclusion of section #cjjc in the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae sets negative precedent for legislative process and for ,federal ,indian policy4 #c4 ,repeal of the ,southeast ,arizona ,land ,exchange and ,conservation ,section #cjjc of the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae 7,public ,law #aac-bia7 is repealed4