H.R. 681: To amend the Act of August 9, 1955 (commonly known as the “Long-Term Leasing Act”), to authorize leases of up to 99 years for land in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation and land held in trust for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and for other purposes

For these two Massachusetts tribes, the ceiling on a land lease is 25 years. H.R. 681 would raise it to 99.

The federal Long-Term Leasing Act generally caps leases on tribal trust land at 25 years, sometimes with a single renewal. But the law also carries a long roster of named tribes and reservations cleared to go all the way to 99. This bill adds two more names to that roster: the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation and land held in trust for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

The length is the whole point, and it comes down to financing. Lenders, developers, and business tenants want long terms before they commit serious money. A 25-year lease can be hard to bankroll; a 99-year one can make the numbers work. Supporters argue these two tribes should have the same leasing tool other tribes already use.

The bill does not sell tribal land or transfer ownership. It changes the maximum lease length and nothing else. There is no new spending in the text, no grant program, no appropriation.

The real effect would show up later, if the tribes use the longer authority to negotiate leases that draw private investment into housing, community facilities, renewable energy, or commercial projects on land they already hold.