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S. 3859

U.S. Senate•In Senate Committee

Summary

S. 3859, the A bill to amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 with respect to future membership in the Catawba Indian Nation, was introduced in the Senate on Feb 12, 2026 by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) with 2 co-sponsors. It was referred to Indian Affairs, and last saw action on Feb 12, 2026: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

Record

Text

S. 3859 has 2 co-sponsors.

sb3859/introduced-in-senate.txt
103 S3859 IS: To amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 with respect to future membership in the Catawba Indian Nation.
 U.S. Senate
 2026-02-12
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 II  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  S. 3859  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   February 12, 2026   Mr. Graham  (for himself and  Mr. Scott of South Carolina ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Indian Affairs    A BILL
To amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 with respect to future membership in the Catawba Indian Nation.
1.
Future membership of the Catawba Indian Nation
Section 7(d) of the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 ( Public Law 103–116 ; 107 Stat. 1125) is amended by striking  ; however, in no event may an individual be enrolled as a tribal member unless the individual is a lineal descendant of a person on the final base membership roll and has continued to maintain political relations with the Tribe .

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2026-02-12
  2. Passed Senate
  3. Passed House
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in Senate Feb 12, 2026

sb3859/introduced-in-senate.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in Senate (02/12/2026)

This bill revises tribal membership requirements for the Catawba Indian Nation (a tribe in South Carolina).

The Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 explicitly restricted the tribe’s future membership to lineal descendants of people on the final base membership roll who maintained continuous political relations with the tribe. This bill removes these membership criteria and allows the tribe to determine its membership. (The tribe uses three base membership rolls and anyone who wants to be enrolled must prove lineal descent from someone listed on one of these base membership rolls.)

Sponsors

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) sponsors S. 3859, and 2 members have co-sponsored it, 1 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

S. 3859 went before 1 committee: Indian Affairs.

Indian Affairs
Indian Affairs
Referred To · Feb 12, 2026 · 49 Bills

Actions

S. 3859 has taken 2 actions since Feb 12, 2026.

ChamberAction
Feb 12, 2026
Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.Indian Affairs Committee
Feb 12, 2026
—
Introduced in Senate

Votes

S. 3859 has not gone to a roll call.

1 bill is related to S. 3859.

Titles

S. 3859 goes by 2 titles.

  • A bill to amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 with respect to future membership in the Catawba Indian Nation. — Official Title as Introduced
  • A bill to amend the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 with respect to future membership in the Catawba Indian Nation. — Display Title

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files S. 3859 under Native Americans, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; S. 3859’s is Native Americans.

s3859/policy-areas.txt
Native AmericansAgriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com