WASHINGTON — For 136 years, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has been fighting for federal recognition from Congress.

This week, the tribe moved one step closer to getting just that.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Arkansas, introduced on the House floor a bill sponsored by Rep. David Rouzer, a Republican from North Carolina, that would recognize the tribe and provide its members federal services and benefits.

The House passed the bill 311-96, with only Reps. Virginia Foxx and Chuck Edwards in opposition from North Carolina, though not all House members from the state were present.

Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from Southern Pines, spoke in favor of the bill, and the tribe’s people.

“I rise in support of HR 1101, the Lumbee Fairness Act, which rights a historic wrong and provides long-overdue federal recognition for the Lumbee tribe,” Hudson said.

Hudson said his family goes back seven generations in Robeson County and he’s always heard the stories of the Lumbee tribe.

“The Lumbees have deep cultural roots and traditions in our state, and have made significant contributions since North Carolina fully recognized the tribe in 1885,” Hudson said. “And Congress recognized the Lumbee tribe in 1956, but they were discriminated against like no other tribe, and tragically denied the same protections and resources enjoyed by other federal tribes.”

In 1956, the Lumbee tribe was given federal recognition, but not the federal benefits that typically come with it. This left the tribe with conflicting opinions through the years on whether they could seek further recognition.

Rouzer told the House that the Lumbee tribe is comprised of 55,000 members in Robeson, Hoke, Scotland and Cumberland counties, making up the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth largest in the country.

“Now, despite their long history of cohesive culture, the Lumbee tribe has never had access to the same resources exercised by every other federally recognized tribe during the termination era, when Congress ended the federal relationship with 60 tribes,” Rouzer said. “The Lumbee Act of 1956 recognized the tribe’s existence, yet denied them the federal rights and protections afforded to other federally recognized tribes. This includes access to benefits from the Indian Health Services and support from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.”

Rouzer’s bill directs the Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop, with the tribe, a determination of needs for eligible services. The bill also directs the Department of Interior to take land into a trust to benefit the tribe.

State officials are directed to hold jurisdiction over criminal offenses and civil actions on North Carolina lands owned by or held in the trust for the Lumbee tribe or any dependent of the community unless jurisdiction is transferred to the federal government through an agreement between the tribe and North Carolina officials.

The Lumbees first sought recognition in 1888, in an attempt to get federal funding for the tribe’s educational needs. At the time, the commissioner of Indian Affairs declined, citing lack of funding.

Rouzer said a bill to recognize the tribe has been introduced 30 times with broad bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. And he warned that though it passed the House during each of the past two sessions of Congress, it never made it to the Senate floor or the president’s desk.

There was opposition to Rouzer’s bill Tuesday, both from Edwards, a Republican from Flat Rock, and Rep. Josh Brecheen, a Republican from Oklahoma.

Both argued that members of the tribe were unable to prove they are “historically tribal,” a common argument against Lumbee recognition.

Edwards quickly acknowledged he represents the area of North Carolina that the Eastern Band of the Cherokee calls home, and called that tribe “a true treasure of the state.”

“In stark contrast, it must be noted that the Lumbee community has no standing treaties with the federal government, no reservation land and no common language,” Edwards said.

He said the Department of the Interior has a rigorous process for tribes seeking federal recognition that include genealogical and historical research.

“This legislation wholly bypasses the (Office of Federal Acknowledgment) process, and I believe that if the Lumbee community truly had a legitimate claim of federal recognition, they would go through that process like other prospective tribes have done,” Edwards said.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where it has strong support from Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, Republicans from North Carolina. Tillis was present on the House floor during Tuesday’s debate.

This is the final week of this session of Congress.

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