HEARTH Act Agreement Signing Ceremony at Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, January 4, 2016

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich joined members of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo and U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Roberts at a signing ceremony to formally approve new tribal leasing regulations that give the pueblo greater control of leasing on tribal lands. The agreement was made possible through the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership (HEARTH) Act, a bill sponsored by then-Representative Heinrich, and signed into law in 2012, which gives tribes the option of approving federal trust land leases for residential, business, renewable energy, and other purposes directly through tribal regulations, rather than waiting for approval from DOI's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).