Native American Burial Sites and Cultural Resources Protection Act
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Oct 2, 2023
Native American Burial Sites and Cultural Resources Protection Act
This bill directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to establish a pilot program to protect Native American burial sites, village sites, and cultural resources identified or discovered at covered civil works projects in the watershed of the Sacramento River and its tributaries, including the American, Bear, Yuba, and Feather Rivers, in California.
In carrying out this pilot program, USACE must identify, and cooperate with appropriate government property owners to set aside, areas that may be used for the reburial of Native American human remains and funerary objects that
have been identified or discovered at the site of a covered civil works project that is being constructed, reconstructed, or repaired, or operated and maintained, using federal funds;
have been rightfully claimed by any affected Indian tribe; and
can be reburied in a manner secure from future disturbances.
Source last updated: Nov 18, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze H.R.5865 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine H.R.5865 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine H.R.5865 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine H.R.5865 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.