Federal land in Washington transferred to Quinault Indian Nation trust
S. 1514 — Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act · Filed by Maria Cantwell (D-WA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Apr 29, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill transfers approximately 72 acres of federal forest land in Washington State to the Department of the Interior to be held in trust for the Quinault Indian Nation, making it part of their reservation. The land will be administered under standard federal Indian trust law, existing easements and rights-of-way remain valid, gaming is prohibited, and the federal government must disclose but not clean up any hazardous materials on the property.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a straightforward transfer of federal land to tribal trust status. It is a narrow, targeted action serving tribal sovereignty and property rights, not a broad policy or appropriation.
What the text implies
- Hazardous-materials disclosure without remediation obligation may leave the tribe responsible for cleanup costs if contamination is discovered post-transfer, creating a potential long-term financial burden.
- The prohibition on gaming limits the tribe's economic development options on this parcel, potentially reducing future revenue streams compared to other tribal lands.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The Quinault Indian Nation gains a tangible land asset and expanded reservation territory, strengthening tribal sovereignty and economic self-determination. The public retains existing easements and rights-of-way, and gaming is prohibited, limiting potential negative externalities; the hazardous-materials disclosure requirement protects public health.
Who stands to gain
- Quinault Indian Nation (land asset, reservation expansion)
Named in the bill
Quinault Indian Nation, U.S. Forest Service, Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior, Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Treaty of Olympia (1855–1856)
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Apr 29, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Apr 29, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Indian Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs”
- Jun 3, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held”
- Aug 5, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably”
- Sep 30, 2026 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate with amendments by Unanimous Consent”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $148,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 3 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Maria Cantwell, the sponsor, reported $-9,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Quinault Indian Nation — $148,000 on 3 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,284 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 16,222 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.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 17, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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