,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #agc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #ag1 #bjai,mr4 ,sanders 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,heinrich1 and ,mr4 ,booker7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to repeal section #cjjc of 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 that-- 7#a7 section #cjjc of the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ecip7 authorizes the approximately #b1dbb acres of ,forest ,service land in the ,tonto ,national ,forest in southeastern ,arizona commonly known as ,oak ,flat 7referred to in this section as ,oak ,flat71 which is sacred to ,indian ,tribes in the region and listed in the ,national ,register of ,historic ,places1 to be transferred to ,resolution ,copper ,mining1 ,,llc1 a ,delaware limited liability company 7referred to in this section as ,resolution ,copper72 7#b7 ,resolution ,copper plans to hold ,oak ,flat privately for a mining project that will-- 7,a7 result in the physical destruction of ,tribal sacred areas and deprive ,american ,indians from practicing their religious ceremonies and other traditional practices2 7,b7 create significant negative environmental impacts by destroying ,oak ,flat and depleting and contaminating precious water resources2 and 7,c7 require significant quantities of water1 which will-- 7i7 likely affect the local hydrology1 including the underlying aquifer2 and 7ii7 result in polluted water that will seep into drinking water supplies2 7#c7 7,a7 once ,resolution ,copper owns ,oak ,flat1 ,resolution ,copper plans to use the highly destructive block cave mining method to remove #a cubic mile of ore that 7as of the date of enactment of this ,act7 is located #g1jjj feet beneath the surface of the earth without replacing any of the earth removed1 because that is the cheapest form of mining2 and 7,b7 ,resolution ,copper admits that the surface of ,oak ,flat will subside and ultimately collapse1 destroying forever the ,tribal sacred areas described in paragraph 7#b77;,a72 7#d7 the ,tonto ,national ,forest in which ,oak ,flat is located was established in #aije from the ancestral homelands of ,american ,indians1 who were forcibly removed at gunpoint from ,oak ,flat and other areas of the ,forest by the ,army during the #ahhjs and held as prisoners of war until the early #aijjs2 7#e7 7,a7 section #cjjc of the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ecip7-- 7i7 was included in that ,act without proper legislative process1 in a manner that circumvented the will of the majority of ,members of ,congress2 and 7ii7 was originally introduced in the ,house of ,representatives as ,h4,r4 #fhg and in the ,senate as ,s4 #cci during the #aacth ,congress2 7,b7 ,h4,r4 #fhg was-- 7i7 brought to the floor of the ,house of ,representatives for consideration twice2 and 7ii7 pulled from consideration each time2 7,c7 ,s4 #cci was never considered-- 7i7 by the ,senate2 or 7ii7 for mark-up by the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources of the ,senate2 7,d7 section #cjjc of the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ecip7 was included in that ,act without majority support from either the ,house of ,representatives or the ,senate2 and 7,e7 a proposed amendment to remove that section was not allowed to be considered before passage of the bill2 7#f7 7,a7 ,indian ,tribes have-- 7i7 ceded or had taken from the ,tribes millions of acres of land to help build the ,united ,states2 and 7ii7 suffered under ,federal assimilationist policies that sought to destroy ,tribal cultures2 7,b7 despite those policies1 ,american ,indians continue to practice their religions as they have done for thousands of years2 7,c7 ,american ,indian places of worship1 or sacred areas1 are often land-based1 including mountains1 streams1 and trees2 and 7,d7 as a result of previous ,federal land policies that resulted in the significant loss of land of ,indian ,tribes1 many sacred areas of the ,tribes are currently located on ,federal land2 7#g7 7,a7 the ,united ,states has a trust responsibility acknowledged by ,congress to protect ,tribal sacred areas on ,federal land1 including pursuant to laws requiring meaningful consultation with affected ,indian ,tribes before making decisions that will impact ,american ,indians2 but 7,b7 in contradiction to those laws1 section #cjjc of the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ecip7 requires the mandatory conveyance of a ,tribal sacred area located on ,federal land1 regardless of the outcome of consultation with affected ,indian ,tribes2 7#h7 section #cjjc of the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ecip7-- 7,a7 was strongly opposed by ,indian ,tribes throughout the ,united ,states because that section establishes a dangerous legislative precedent for the lack of protection of ,tribal sacred areas located on ,federal land by mandating the conveyance of ,federal land with significant religious1 cultural1 historic1 and anthropological significance for ,indian ,tribes to a private company that will destroy the land2 7,b7 circumvents standard environmental review procedures that ensure that the public interest is protected1 including the interests of ,indian ,tribes2 and 7,c7 requires a mandatory conveyance of ,oak ,flat1 regardless of the findings resulting from the environmental review process2 and 7#i7 the inclusion in the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae of section #cjjc of that ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ecip7 establishes a negative precedent for-- 7,a7 the legislative process2 and 7,b7 ,federal ,indian policy4 #c4 ,repeal of southeast ,arizona land exchange and conservation provision ,section #cjjc of the ,carl ,levin and ,howard ,p4 ,buck ,mc,keon ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjae 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ecip7 is repealed4