Lumbee Fairness Act
Latest action · Nov 5, 2025 Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-275.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 16, 2025
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Lumbee Fairness Act
This bill extends federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and makes its members eligible for the services and benefits provided to members of federally recognized tribes.
Members of the tribe residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland Counties in North Carolina are deemed to be within the delivery area for such services.
The Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services must develop, in consultation with the tribe, a determination of needs to provide the services for which members of the tribe are eligible.
Interior may take land into trust for the benefit of the tribe.
Finally, North Carolina must exercise jurisdiction over all criminal offenses committed, and all civil actions that arise, on North Carolina lands owned by, or held in trust for, the Lumbee Tribe or any dependent Indian community of the tribe unless jurisdiction is transferred to the United States pursuant to an agreement between the tribe and the state.
Cosponsors 20
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 16, 2025 to Oct 7, 2025; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NC | Ted Budd | Original | Jan 16, 2025 |
| D-VA | Mark R. Warner | Jan 23, 2025 | |
| D-VA | Tim Kaine | Jan 23, 2025 | |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Jan 24, 2025 | |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Jan 28, 2025 | |
| R-WV | Shelley Moore Capito | Feb 3, 2025 | |
| R-SC | Lindsey Graham | Feb 5, 2025 | |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Feb 18, 2025 | |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Feb 18, 2025 | |
| R-OK | Markwayne Mullin | Feb 18, 2025 | |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Feb 18, 2025 | |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Mar 3, 2025 | |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Mar 5, 2025 | |
| D-DE | Lisa Blunt Rochester | Mar 25, 2025 | |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Apr 29, 2025 | |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | May 8, 2025 | |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | May 8, 2025 | |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Jun 30, 2025 | |
| D-MD | Angela D. Alsobrooks | Jul 30, 2025 | |
| D-NJ | Andy Kim | Oct 7, 2025 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Indian Affairs Committee | Referred Jan 16, 2025Hearings Nov 5, 2025 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 5, 2025Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-275.
- Jan 16, 2025Introduced in Senate
- Jan 16, 2025Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S7938 | Thom Tillis R-NC | Nov 6, 2025 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 119-275 | S. 107, THE LUMBEE FAIRNESS ACT72 pages | Indian Affairs Committee | Nov 5, 2025 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IF13036 | Bureau of Indian Affairs: Background and Annual FY2026 Appropriations | Resource | Jun 18, 2025 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 474 | Lumbee Fairness Act | Identical bill | Jan 16, 2025 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Lumbee Act of 1956.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Lumbee Fairness Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Native Americans.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 16, 2025Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
