# 119-s-643: A bill to amend the Grand Ronde Reservation Act to address the hunting, fishing, trapping, and animal gathering rights of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community, and for other purposes.

119-s-643, A bill to amend the Grand Ronde Reservation Act to address the hunting, fishing, trapping, and animal gathering rights of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community, and for other purposes., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR); status introduced (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-643
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-643
- Congress: 119
- Title: A bill to amend the Grand Ronde Reservation Act to address the hunting, fishing, trapping, and animal gathering rights of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community, and for other purposes.
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-20
- Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Native Americans
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Creates a government-to-government process for the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and Oregon to negotiate hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering rights.** It would keep the December 2, 1986 Grand Ronde Hunting and Fishing Agreement in effect until the tribe and Oregon mutually amend or replace it, and would let them return to the U.S. District Court for Oregon to seek modification or termination of the January 12, 1987 consent decree. - Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde: Would be able to negotiate successor agreements with Oregon to define take rights, but any successor agreement may not affect the tribe's other ancestral, treaty, statutory, equitable, or other applicable rights. - State of Oregon and other tribes: Any successor or amended agreement would derive solely from the authority of the State of Oregon and would not stop Oregon from entering separate agreements with other tribes about taking species within the agreement's geographic scope. - Courts and legal claims: Courts would review petitions to rescind or modify the 1987 consent decree on the merits without regard to res judicata or collateral estoppel, and new or amended agreements could not be used in civil or criminal actions to alter treaty or other tribal rights.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-02-20T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Tribal hunting and fishing rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, the existing Grand Ronde Hunting and Fishing Agreement would stay in effect until the Tribe and Oregon replace or change it. Any new or changed agreement would only be a government-to-government deal between the Tribe and Oregon and could be amended only if both agree. The bill would st…
- More court review for Consent Decree: mixed, low. If enacted, any lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Oregon seeking to rescind, overturn, modify, or get federal relief from the Consent Decree would be reviewed on the merits. The court would not be allowed to deny review using res judicata or collateral estoppel. This change would take effect o…

## Related bills

- 119-s-891: Bipartisan Health Care Act
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-5238: For Our Republic Act
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-643 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/643)

## Related
- [119-s-891: Bipartisan Health Care Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-891)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-5238: For Our Republic Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5238)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-643 (as of 2025-12-21).