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ADMINISTRATION OF INDIAN LIVESTOCK LOANS

AUGUST 12. 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. MORRIS, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 5097]

The Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5097) for the administration of Indian livestock loans, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

EXPLANATION OF THE BILL

The purpose of this bill is merely to give some color of congressional sanction to the previously operated pool of cattle on a loan basis to Indians in order that over a period of years many Indians or Indian tribes may develop a herd of cattle of their own and thereby become more self-supporting.

In the drought year of 1933-35 the Indian Service acquired so-called drought relief cattle and operated a revolving cattle pool on a loan basis. Loans of cattle were made on condition that suitable range was available and that heifers would be returned over a period of years. In some cases, return of animals has been made; and, more recently, cash in lieu of the animals has been accepted. In some cases, the animals have become acclimated to one particular range, and the Indians do not want the animals shipped away to another reservation.

This loan pool operation has operated remarkably well and has been very beneficial to the Indians. It has been possible to continue the operation without the use of any cash and without regard to the fluctuations in the cattle market.

When loaned cattle are repaid in kind, the Indian Bureau can then lend the repaid livestock to another borrower and get him started in business for himself. If the original borrower prefers to keep all the new stock and build up its herd, he sometimes offers to pay for the

original stock in cash, and if accepted, the funds go into the Federal Treasury.

If the Bureau desires to use the increment from one reservation to get another livestock owner started on a distant reservation, the actual stock must be transported and there is, at present, no provision for funds to transport or ship the animals from one reservation to the other. Hence, the benefit of permission to sell stock and allow the funds to remain in a revolving fund to be used in the purchase of stock at or near the new location would eliminate the problem of shipping and transportation. Such a procedure is not possible, however, due to the return of funds to the Treasury and is at present a loss to the loan fund.

By and large, the lands which are reserved for the Indians are mainly good for grazing only; therefore, this program is an extremely important one. In view of the above information, the Committee are of the opinion that the livestock-lending program should be made more flexible, more workable, and hence, more valuable to the Indians. No appropriation of funds is involved.

Quoting Mr. Marshall a member of the committee:

Back in 1934 a serious drought condition hit a large portion of the western and midwestern area, and a sum of $800,000 was made available by the Department of Agriculture out of emergency funds for the purchase of cattle. A relocation and slaughtering program was set up. In some localities, top-price cattle brought as much as $20 a head. People were in such financial straits that they almost gave cattle away.

The cattle were sorted out, and best replacement or breeding stock, particularly the younger stock, went to the Indian Bureau for placement on Indian reservations rather than slaughtering these fine cattle. The Indian Bureau has maintained this livestock in a pool whereby a better return to all parties may be secured.

At the present time, there are some 42,000 head of stock in the pool, and some 156,000 cattle have been distributed throughout the period the pool has been in operation.

Hon. SAM RAYBURN,

THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR,
Washington, June 3, 1949.

Speaker of the House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: Enclosed is a draft of a proposed bill which has for its purpose the making of improvements in the livestock-loan program of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

I request that this proposed bill be referred to the appropriate committee for consideration, and I recommend that it be enacted.

Pursuant to the authority vested in the President by the Emergency Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1935, funds were allocated to the Secretary of Agriculture by Executive order dated June 23, 1934, for the purchase and transportation of seed, feed, and livestock, and for the sale, gift, or other disposition of the same. Because of extreme drought in certain areas, a livestock-purchase program was instituted to save the livestock and afford relief to the stricken growers. animals purchased were used for relief purposes.

The

By arrangements between this Department and the Department of Agriculture, some of the livestock purchased were shipped by the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation to various Indian reservations, where they were slaughtered and used for relief purposes. In other areas, where Indians had sufficient feed and unused range to sustain livestock. the better-quality animals purchased under the relief program were turned over to the Indian service for the purpose of establishing foundation herds for Indians.

Arrangements were also effected whereby $800,000 was allotted by the Department of Agriculture to the Indian service to be used cattle from stricken breeders in the drought areas. the establishment of foundation herds for Indians.

for the purchase of purebred These cattle also were used for The cattle used in establishing

the foundation herds would have gone to slaughter had not these arrangements been made This would have meant a big loss of high-quality cattle to the American livestock industry.

These foundation herds were not given outright to the Indians. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs required each Indian receiving cattle to repay an animal of like age and quality within a specified time. As repayments have been received, they have been used to establish foundation herds for other Indians The original pool of cattle has been supplemented at various times with additional cattle purchased with other relief and rehabilitation funds. To June 30, 1947, over 16,000 individual Indians had participated in the program. There are now approximately 42,000 cattle in the pool Since the program was started, a total of 156.000 cattle has been loaned.

Many Indians indebted to the United States under this program prefer to make payments in cash rather than in kind. If cash settlements are accepted. the moneys must be deposited in the Treasury and are not available for the purchase of cattle for relending to other Indians. This would tend to defeat the purposes for which the livestock pool was established, by decreasing the number of cattle in the pool, and by denying other Indians the opportunity to become established in the livestock business Often Indians wish to pay in cash, because their cattle are acclimated to their reservation, or are of particular blood lines Sometimes cattle repaid are to be ient to Indians of another reservation hundreds of miles distant. The animals will not be acciimated to the area to which they are transferred, and may be of different blood lines or breeds than are desired in that area Expense is involved in moving the cattle from one reservation to another, which could be avoided if the Indians, when they desire, were allowed to pay their debts in cash. The moneys received could then be used to purchase acclimated cattle in the vicinity of the reservation to which the cattle otherwise would be transferred. In short, the program would be more effective if the Commissioner had authority to sell the cattle repaid by Indians of one reservation. and use the funds for purchase of other cattle to be loaned to Indians on another reservation

This program coupled with the revolving credit program established by the act of June 18, 1934, has been largely responsible for the increase in the Indian beef-cattle population from 229,000 head in 1934 to 360.000 head at the close of 1947.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised me that there is no objection to the presentation of this proposed legislation to the Congress.

Sincerely yours.

J. A. KRUG, Secretary of the Interior.

A BILL For the administration of Indian livestock loans and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all acceptances of cash settlements at prevailing market prices for livestock lent by the United States to any individual Indian, or to any tribe, association, corporation, or other group of Indians, and all sales and relending of livestock repaid in kind to the United States on account of such loans are hereby authorized and ratified.

SEC. 2. Any monevs hereafter received in settlement of such debts or from the sale of livestock so repaid to the United States shall be deposited in the revolving fund established pursuant to the Acts of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984), and June 26, 1936 (49 Stat. 1967), as amended and supplemented.

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INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BILL, 1950

AUGUST 12, 1949.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. THOMAS of Texas, from the committee of conference, submitted the following

CONFERENCE REPORT

To accompany H. R. 4177)

The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 4177) making appropriations for the Executive Office and sundry independent executive bureau, boards, commissions, corporations, agencies, and offices, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1950, and for other purposes, having met, after full and free conference, have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows:

That the Senate recede from its amendments numbered 3, 9, 33, 43, 45, 53 and 87.

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendments of the Senate numbered 1, 5, 6, 8, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 31, 34, 35, 38, 39, 40, 48, 49, 50, 55, 57, 59, 62, 64, 65, 68, 69. 70, 71, 73, 75, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96 and 97, and agree to the same.

Amendment numbered 2:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 2, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

In lieu of the sum proposed by said amendment insert $3,300,000; and the Senate agree to the same.

Amendment numbered 4:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 4, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

In lieu of the number inserted by said amendment insert two; and the Senate agree to the same.

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