119-hres460

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 460 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 460

 Commemorating and celebrating the extraordinary contributions of the 
 late Honorable Raul Grijalva, honoring his legacy of service, 
 dedication, and unwavering advocacy for the people of Arizona and 
 indigenous communities across the country.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 3, 2025

 Ms. Davids of Kansas submitted the following resolution; which was 
 referred to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Commemorating and celebrating the extraordinary contributions of the 
 late Honorable Raul Grijalva, honoring his legacy of service, 
 dedication, and unwavering advocacy for the people of Arizona and 
 indigenous communities across the country.

Whereas the Honorable Raul Grijalva dedicated his life to public service and 
 demonstrated steadfast commitment to upholding Tribal sovereignty, 
 protecting sacred lands, and improving the well-being of Tribal 
 communities through his time in Congress;
Whereas he served as a distinguished Member of the House of Representatives for 
 over 22 years, representing Arizona's 7th Congressional District with 
 unwavering commitment and integrity;
Whereas, throughout his tenure, Congressman Grijalva championed policies that 
 promoted equitable education, economic opportunity, environmental 
 justice, and health care access for underserved communities;
Whereas, as Chair and ranking minority member of the House Natural Resources 
 Committee, he was a steadfast advocate for environmental protection, 
 public lands, and indigenous rights, working tirelessly to ensure 
 responsible stewardship of America's natural resources;
Whereas he used his leadership role on the Committee to center and uplift 
 indigenous voices and ensure that Federal policies respected and 
 advanced Tribal sovereignty and self-determination across the 
 Committee's work;
Whereas Representative Grijalva used his oversight authority to hold Federal 
 agencies accountable for failures to uphold the Federal trust 
 responsibility, highlighting inadequate Tribal consultation practices 
 and demanding reforms at agencies such as the Department of the Interior 
 and the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
Whereas Representative Grijalva stood with Tribal leaders and fought to protect 
 sacred sites, including through his leadership on the Save Oak Flat Act, 
 which strived to protect Oak Flat, or Chi'chil Bi5dagoteel, a sacred 
 site for the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other Tribal communities in 
 Arizona from a destructive mining project;
Whereas Representative Grijalva steadfastly championed the protection of other 
 sacred sites--including Bears Ears and Chaco Canyon--standing in 
 solidarity with Tribal nations to safeguard lands of profound cultural 
 and spiritual value;
Whereas Representative Grijalva demonstrated unwavering support for the Standing 
 Rock Sioux Tribe during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests by traveling 
 to North Dakota to meet with Tribal leaders and water protectors, 
 advocating for the protection of sacred sites and clean water, and 
 calling for the suspension of pipeline construction;
Whereas Representative Grijalva was a foremost proponent of protecting the Grand 
 Canyon, and worked tirelessly with Tribes to protect it, including 
 introducing the Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2008, to 
 prohibit new uranium mining across 1 million acres of public lands in 
 watersheds surrounding Grand Canyon National Park, and in 2012 President 
 Obama announced a moratorium on mining in the 1 million acres, later 
 introducing the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, the Grand Canyon 
 Protection Act, and finally the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni Grand Canyon 
 National Monument Act, and in 2023 President Biden announced designation 
 of the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni Ancestral Footprints of the Grand 
 Canyon National Monument to permanently protect and preserves the rich 
 cultural, ecological, scientific, historic, and scenic value of the 
 greater Grand Canyon landscape;
Whereas Representative Grijalva championed landmark legislation such as the 
 Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act, Tribal Cultural Areas 
 Protection Act, the Tribal Heritage and American Bison, Grizzly Bear, 
 and Wolf Restoration and Coexistence Act, which aimed to elevate Tribal 
 stewardship of public lands and safeguard sacred sites, the Native Child 
 Protection Act, addressing critical protections for Native children and 
 families, and legislation to extend Federal employee health benefits to 
 employees of urban Indian health organizations and Tribal colleges and 
 universities;
Whereas Representative Grijalva was a leader for Tribal education on the House 
 Committee on Education and Workforce working to strengthen educational 
 opportunities for Native students, including his leadership to support 
 Native Head Start, Tribal language preservation, and the Udall 
 Foundation;
Whereas Representative Grijalva consistently advocated for addressing the crisis 
 of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, leading resolutions 
 to designate National Days of Awareness and bringing national attention 
 to this critical issue;
Whereas Representative Grijalva introduced legislation to resolve Tribal water 
 rights settlements, aiming to provide safe and clean water to Tribal 
 nations and communities, addressing long-standing issues of water access 
 in Indian Country;
Whereas Representative Grijalva worked to address the mental health crisis by 
 introducing the Native American Suicide Prevention Act, bipartisan 
 legislation that was signed into law to help address the 
 disproportionately high rates of suicide in Native communities by 
 ensuring Tribal involvement in the development of prevention strategies;
Whereas Representative Grijalva helped convene the first full committee hearings 
 to examine Tribal land dispossession by the United States Government and 
 their impacts;
Whereas Representative Grijalva secured inclusion of Tribal nations in the 
 Violence Against Women Act

    (VAWA) reauthorization to protect women, 
 children, and elders;
Whereas Representative Grijalva consistently advocated for the inclusion of 
 Native communities in Federal climate resilience initiatives and 
 infrastructure investments, recognizing that they are on the frontlines 
 of climate change and environmental degradation;
Whereas Representative Grijalva developed relationships with many Tribal nations 
 and was considered a closely trusted friend and congressional partner; 
 and
Whereas Representative Grijalva's unwavering commitment to environmental justice 
 and climate action was deeply rooted in his respect for indigenous 
 leadership and knowledge: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That--

    (1) the House of Representatives commemorates and 
 celebrates the extraordinary contributions of Raul M. Grijalva, 
 honoring his legacy of service, dedication, and unwavering 
 advocacy for the people of Arizona and indigenous communities 
 across the country; and

    (2) this resolution serves as a testament to his work for 
 the people of Arizona's 7th Congressional district and lifetime 
 of dedication to issues impacting Indian Country.
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