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The Administration opposes H.R. 2314 because it would provide special
privileges to the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma (KTO) and its members living
out of State. These privileges, which are not provided to any other Indian
tribes, include: the unjustified expansion of the KTO's service area for
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) service; special access to Indian Health
Services (IHS) facilities; and the imposition of a requirement on the
Secretary of the Interior to accept trust property to accommodate
out-of-State KTO members.
For the purpose of contracting for BIA services, including programs such as
law enforcement and natural resource protection, the bill would extend the
Tribe's service area, to encompass out-of-State residents living in Texas,
including Maverick County, Texas, which is approximately 700 miles from KTO
headquarters in Oklahoma. No other Indian tribe has been accorded such
Federal contracting benefits and no justification has been provided to
rationalize any such divergence from established practices and policies.
Deeming KTO members living anywhere in Texas or Oklahoma to be living on or
near the Oklahoma reservation could cause administrative difficulties for
IHS health facilities. There is no justification for this special
treatment, especially since KTO members living in Maverick County, Texas,
already have access to IHS contract health services provided by the
Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas. As a result, IHS would need to apply
one set of eligibility rules to KTO members and another set to all other
Indians.
Finally, the bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to accept 45
acres of land currently held in fee by the KTO in Maverick County, Texas,
to be held in trust for the Tribe. This provision is contrary to existing
policy, based in statute and regulation, which vests the Secretary with
discretion in such acquisitions.
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