Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5237 - Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act

(House)
(Udall (D) Arizona and three others)

The Administration supports the goals of H.R. 5237, but opposes enactment in its current form. We will work in the Senate to address the following issues:

—  If remains and funerary objects are not linked to or claimed by a contemporary tribe, the Federal government should maintain stewardship responsibilities over the remains.

—  Aboriginal occupation should not be the sole criteria for establishing affinity where no affinity to contemporary groups can be established.

—  Additional studies should be allowed where necessary to ensure a correct determination o-f affinity.

—  Because the time and costs for Federal agencies to inventory their collections could be substantial, Federal agencies should be given the same opportunities for extensions of time for inventorying items as would be provided to museums.

—  The broad categories of "sacred objects" and "objects of cultural patrimony" should be deleted from the operation of this bill.

—  The review committee established in this bill should be purely advisory in nature.

Additionally, conservative estimates suggest that full implementation of H.R. 5237 could cost as much as $20 million. Such costs are inappropriate given the current budget situation.