Two tribes can lease land for up to 99 years.
H.R. 681 — To amend the Act of August 9, 1955 (commonly known as the "Long-Term Leasing Act"), to authorize leases of up to 99 years for land held in trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and for other purposes. · Filed by William Keating (D-MA) · Introduced Jan 23, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
The bill changes a 1955 law about leasing land. It lets the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe lease their land for up to 99 years. It lets the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) lease their land for up to 99 years. Other tribes already had this power.
Who it affects
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) are affected. These tribes can now make money by leasing their land. They do not have to sell it.
One thing to notice
The bill gives these two tribes the same leasing power other tribes already have.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Jan 23, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 23, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Indian Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
- Sep 9, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
- Nov 20, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Nov 20, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent”
- Mar 3, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2358)”
- Mar 3, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (535 characters) on Aug 20, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,342 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-18.
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