I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 504, the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act.
The subject of this bill is a specific area in the Everglades National Park known as the "Osceola Camp." In 1998, the Congress passed the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act, which authorized the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida (Tribe) to permanently occupy a certain area within Everglades National Park. The reserved area did not include the Osceola Camp. Nonetheless, the Tribe has a residential community in that area, including infrastructure for wastewater treatment and water supply, and is experiencing periodic flooding. H.R. 504 would require the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Tribe, to take appropriate actions to safeguard structures within the Osceola Camp from flooding events.
The Osceola Camp was constructed in 1935, without authorization, in a low area that was raised with fill material. It served as a family residence and gift shop initially, and then later a site for air-boat rides. None of the current structures in the Osceola Camp are over 50 years old, nor do they meet the other criteria to be considered for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
The previous administration developed a plan to protect and replace unauthorized infrastructure at the Osceola Camp, which could cost up to $14 million. But despite seeking funding and special treatment from the Federal Government, the Miccosukee Tribe has actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected.
My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding projects for special interests, especially those that are unaligned with my Administration's policy of removing violent criminal illegal aliens from the country. Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the Nation. This principle carries especially heavy weight here; it is not the Federal Government's responsibility to pay to fix problems in an area that the Tribe has never been authorized to occupy.
For these reasons, I cannot support the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act. Therefore, it is my duty to return H.R. 504 to the House of Representatives without my approval.
