Rep. Dusty Johnson
Legislation led by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) to streamline the mortgage approval process on tribal trust land passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 4, sending the bill to President Donald Trump for his signature.
The Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act, S. 723/H.R. 2130, was also sponsored by U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) in the Senate, where the bill was passed in December 2025.
“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,” Rep. Johnson said.
Under current law, mortgages involving property on tribal trust land must be reviewed and approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) before they can be finalized. The BIA Mortgage Handbook establishes timelines for processing and approving those mortgages, but those timelines are not always followed, Rep. Johnson’s office explained.
The bill would create statutory deadlines requiring the BIA to acknowledge receipt of mortgage documents within 10 days and approve or disapprove them within 20 to 30 days, depending on the type of application, according to a bill summary. It would also establish a realty ombudsman within the BIA to improve communication among the agency, tribes, tribal members and lenders, and would enhance the ability of certain federal agencies to operate tribal housing programs.
“Government bureaucracy shouldn’t prevent an individual from achieving the American Dream of homeownership,” Rep. Johnson said.
Sharon Vogel, chair of the South Dakota Native Homeownership Coalition and the Cheyenne River Housing Authority, supports the bill.
“This legislation will positively impact our Native families pursuing homeownership,” she said.