Johnson’s Tribal Homeownership Bill Passes U.S. House

Washington, D.C. - Today, the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act, led by U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and U.S. Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) passed the House with a 384-40 vote. Johnson's bill advocates for homeownership and streamlines the approval process for mortgages on tribal trust land.

The Senate passedthe Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Actin December 2025 and the bill passedthe House Natural Resources Committee in January 2026. The bill now heads to President Trump's desk for his signature.

"Government bureaucracy shouldn't prevent an individual from achieving the American Dream of homeownership," said Johnson. "Now that our bill has passed the House and Senate, I'm hopeful President Trump will sign it into law soon to make homeownership more accessible on tribal trust land."

"This legislation will positively impact our Native families pursuing homeownership," said Sharon Vogel, Chair of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition and Executive Director of the Cheyenne River Housing Authority. "H.R. 2130 will help to eliminate barriers that have historically hindered our homeownership efforts. It also allows us to leverage private sector partnerships that require government processes to keep pace with mortgage industry timelines. We are grateful to Representative Johnson and Senator Thune for their leadership and commitment on this issue and for working with the Coalition to improve housing conditions for our families in South Dakota."

Click herefor Johnson's floor remarks.

Currently, in order to be finalized, mortgages involving property on tribal trust land must be reviewed and approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The BIA Mortgage Handbook establishes timelines for BIA offices to process and approve these mortgages. However, these timelines are not always adhered to.

The Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act would:

• Seek to cut through BIA red tape and provide timely processing of mortgages.
• Create statutory timelines in which the BIA would be required to process and approve mortgages involving property located on tribal trust land.
• Require the BIA to notify lenders upon receipt of such documentation and perform a preliminary review of such documents no later than 10 days after receipt and approve or disapprove of such documents within 20 or 30 days, depending on the type of application.
• Require the BIA to notify the lender once the proposed residential leasehold mortgage, business leasehold mortgage, or right-of-way document has been received.
• Enhance the ability of certain federal agencies to operate their tribal housing programs and improve communication between the BIA and tribes, tribal members, and lenders through the establishment of a realty ombudsman within the BIA who can communicate with relevant parties.

Click herefor bill text.