Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed six Natural Resources Committee bills under suspension. Committee Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:

"These bills are the kind of legislation committees are designed to facilitate: practical, bipartisan, commonsense wins for folks back home. From expanding trail access to aiding Native American tribes, these bills might not get national attention but they have a huge impact to communities in these members' districts. I hope to see them move quickly through the Senate."

Background

The six bills that passed:

H.R. 810, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), directs the Department of the Interior to conduct a study on feasibility of designating as a national historic trail the Chief Standing Bear Trail extending 550 miles from Niobrara, Neb., to Ponca City, Okla., which follows the route taken by Chief Standing Bear and the Ponca people during federal Indian removal, and 550 miles from Ponca City through Omaha to Niobrara, Neb., which follows the return route taken by Chief Standing Bear and the Ponca people.

H.R. 49, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), redesignates the Pulse Memorial located at 1912 South Orange Avenue in Orlando, Fla., as the "National Pulse Memorial."
 
H.R. 297, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), directs the Forest Service to conduct a study to (1) determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing a unit of the National Forest System in the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, and Kauai in the state of Hawaii; and (2) identify available land within the study area that could be included in such a unit.
 
H.R. 478, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.), directs the Department of the Interior to take the approximately 55.3 acres of land of the Blackwater Trading Post in Pinal County, Ariz., into trust for the benefit of the Gila River Indian Community, if the community conveys to Interior all of its interest in the land. The land will be made part of the community's reservation.
  
H.R. 1688, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), reauthorizes through FY2027 and otherwise revises certain programs related to the prevention, investigation, treatment, and prosecution of family violence, child abuse and child neglect involving Indian children and families.
 
H.R. 2208, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), allows the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta tribes to conduct gaming activities on their land in Texas if certain conditions are met.