[House Report 113-689]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress} { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 113-689
======================================================================
TO AMEND THE ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT TO PROVIDE THAT
ALEXANDER CREEK, ALASKA, IS AND SHALL BE RECOGNIZED AS AN ELIGIBLE
NATIVE VILLAGE UNDER THAT ACT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
December 22, 2014.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 1103]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1103) to amend the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Alaska, is and
shall be recognized as an eligible Native village under that
Act, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1103 is to amend the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Alaska,
is and shall be recognized as an eligible Native village under
that Act.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA)
extinguished all claims of Native people based on aboriginal
title to lands and waters in Alaska. In compensation, the Act
entitled Alaska Natives to 44 million acres of public lands in
Alaska and nearly $1 billion. The lands and funds would be
conveyed to 12 Regional Corporations, more than 200 Village
Corporations, and a small number of Group Corporations and
Urban Corporations organized by Native residents of at least
one-fourth degree Alaska Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut blood (or a
combination thereof).
Fee title to the 44 million acres of land conveyed under
ANCSA is divided among the Native Corporations under a complex
formula relating to geography and Native population. Depending
on the size of its enrollment, each Alaska Native Village of 25
or more residents is entitled to a minimum of three townships
(69,120 acres) and a maximum of seven townships (161,280 acres)
in which part of the village is located. The Act further
provides that title to the subsurface estate of a Village
Corporation's land (except in a National Wildlife Refuge) be
held by the applicable Regional Corporation.
In addition to providing land conveyances to Regional and
Village Corporations, ANCSA provides that a Village of fewer
than 25 Native residents may form a ``Group Corporation''
entitled to a maximum of 7,680 acres of land. Accordingly,
Alexander Creek organized as a Group Corporation after the
Department of the Interior reduced its original enrollment from
more than 25 Natives to fewer than 25.
ANCSA prescribed a host of conditions under which Native
Corporations must operate. The Corporations must be for-profit
business corporations organized under the laws of Alaska. Their
settlement lands are treated as private property subject to
State regulation, but they are nontaxable until developed.
While ANCSA Corporations may buy, sell, or trade their lands
like any private landowner, shares issued by the Corporations
are not publicly traded or sold. Importantly, section 7 of
ANCSA requires that 70% of revenues derived by a Regional
Corporation from the development of timber and mineral
resources on land patented to it under ANCSA be shared with the
other Regional Corporations. The other Regional Corporations in
turn must redistribute these benefits to Village Corporations
in their regions and to at-large shareholders (i.e., Natives
who own shares in a Regional but not a Village Corporation).
ALEXANDER CREEK
Alexander Creek is located 27 miles northwest of Alaska's
largest city of Anchorage. While most Native Villages are
listed by name in Section 11(b)(1) of ANCSA, Alexander Creek
secured recognition as a Village of at least 25 Native
residents under Interior Department procedures authorized by
ANCSA Section 11(b)(3). Alexander Creek's recognition was
challenged through administrative appeals and lawsuits,
precipitated by (among other things) concerns that its Village
status would entitle it to the same lands claimed by the State
and the Mat-Su Borough pursuant to other statutes including the
Alaska Statehood Act (Public Law 85-508, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat.
339).
On an appeal of Alexander Creek's Village status in 1974,
the Department of the Interior Alaska Native Claims Appeals
Board (ANCAB) decided that only 22 Native people should be
enrolled to Alexander Creek, three short of meeting the
eligibility requirements for a Village. As a result, Alexander
Creek was forced to organize as a Group Corporation with a
corresponding reduction of its land entitlement. Alexander
Creek argues that several Native residents were not properly
counted because the Interior Department failed to notify them
of the administrative proceedings where they could have
testified as to their resident status.
Alexander Creek filed a lawsuit that resulted in protracted
litigation. The case eventually went to the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which reversed
Interior's determination but remanded the case to a lower court
for further proceedings. This led to negotiations that resulted
in Alexander Creek organizing as a Group Corporation rather
than a Village Corporation. Subsequent leadership of Alexander
Creek petitioned Congress for legislation to enroll the
excluded Natives and give it Village Corporation status.
On July 23, 2013, the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska
Native Affairs held a hearing on H.R. 1103. A witness
representing the Department of the Interior testified in
opposition to the bill. In Interior's view, H.R. 1103 would
``effectively overturn the long-standing settlement, codified
in statute, which resolved the status of Alexander Creek, and
would undermine the finalization of entitlement claims in
southcentral Alaska.'' (Written Statement of Mike Black,
Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.)
It must be noted that ANCSA has been amended numerous times
by Congress. It is further important to note that Native
Villages recognized pursuant to ANCSA are not tribes. The
Alaska Native Villages possess a unique history of relations
with the federal government that is not comparable to those of
recognized Indian tribes in the contiguous 48 states.
Accordingly, Congress has regularly dealt with Alaska Natives
through laws and policies that are separate from those Congress
uses in its dealings with tribes.
Testimony from Stephanie Thompson, President of Alexander
Creek, was given on a previous version of the bill (H.R. 4194)
on March 20, 2012. Ms. Thompson submitted materials in the
record demonstrating that a number of Natives (who have since
passed away) were not given a fair opportunity to testify
before the Interior Department regarding their membership in
Alexander Creek. Ms. Thompson was not asked to testify on H.R.
1103 because her testimony would be substantially unchanged
from what she provided in the previous Congress.
ANALYSIS OF H.R. 1103
H.R. 1103 recognizes Alexander Creek as a Native Village,
making it eligible to form a Village Corporation under ANCSA.
The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to open
negotiations with Alexander Creek and, in his sole discretion,
to enter into an agreement within one year of enactment of the
bill ``to fairly and equitably settle aboriginal land claims
and any other claims of Alexander Creek against the United
States'' in approximate parity with those of other Alaska
Village Corporations.
The bill does not prescribe any benefits and does not
guarantee what they will be, if any. Unlike a prior version
reported by the Committee in the 112th Congress (H.R. 4194; H.
Rept. 112-736), H.R. 1103 further provides that any settlement
reached by Interior and Alexander Creek pursuant to the bill
``shall not be subject to the Indian Tribal Judgment Funds Use
or Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 1401), unless subsequently
authorized by law.'' Even though it is not the bill sponsor's
intent to authorize the payment of money to Alexander Creek,
this new provision was included following his consultation with
the Congressional Budget Office in an effort to ensure the bill
does not generate a budget score.
The bill further requires Alexander Creek, upon being
recognized as a Village, to notify its members that they shall
cease receiving certain revenue-sharing benefits available to
them under section 7(m) of ANCSA. Such members, however, will
be eligible for revenue sharing payments established under
section 7(j) of ANCSA. These revenue sharing measures in ANCSA
provide for the redistribution of 70% of revenues derived by
all Alaska Native Regional Corporations from the development of
timber and subsurface resources on their settlement lands.
Finally, the bill ensures the entitlement to lands that
Alexander Creek obtained as a Group Corporation is not
diminished by the change in its status.
H.R. 1103 rectifies a longstanding problem caused by the
federal government in its failure to allow Alexander Creek a
fair and just opportunity to establish the requisite enrollment
of Natives that would qualify it to be a Village under ANCSA.
The bill has no impact on taxpayers and it does not disturb any
existing land entitlement under ANCSA.
Committee Action
H.R. 1103 was introduced on March 12, 2013, by Congressman
Don Young (R-AK). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. On July 23, 2013, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On February 27, 2014,
the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs was discharged
by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the bill
was adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by voice vote.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 1103--A bill to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to
provide that Alexander Creek, Alaska, is and shall be
recognized as an eligible Native village under that Act, and
for other purposes
Summary: H.R. 1103 would change the federal designation of
the Alexander Creek community in Alaska. CBO estimates that
enacting H.R. 1103 would cost $30 million over the 2015-2024
period. Because those costs would increase direct spending,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting the legislation would
not affect revenues or spending subject to appropriation.
H.R. 1103 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: H.R. 1103 would
designate the Alexander Creek community as a Native village
under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA).
The community is currently recognized as a Native group under
ANCSA. The legislation would require the Department of the
Interior (DOI) to settle land and other claims with the newly
designated Native village.
ANCSA established a process to classify Native Alaskan
communities for the purpose of conveying nearly 44 million
acres of federal land to those communities. Under ANCSA, Native
villages are entitled to about 69,000 acres, and Native groups
can receive up to about 8,000 acres. The Alexander Creek
community was classified as a Native group in 1974, and that
classification was affirmed and codified in the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA). In that
agreement, the Alexander Creek community was entitled to
receive almost 8,000 acres of federal land. H.R. 1103 would
supersede the ANILCA agreement and would classify the Alexander
Creek community as a Native village, allowing them to receive
an additional 61,000 acres of land.
CBO estimates that 61,000 acres of land in this area of
Alaska would have an appraised value of about $30 million.
Because most eligible lands have already been conveyed to the
state of Alaska, CBO expects that the settlement under H.R.
1103 would be in the form of a monetary settlement to the
community from the Treasury's Judgment Fund (a permanent,
indefinite appropriation for claims and judgments against the
United States). However, the cost of the settlement under H.R.
1103 ultimately would depend on the terms agreed upon by DOI
and the Alexander Creek Native Village. (The bill does not
specify the terms of the settlement agreement.) If the
settlement were in the form of a transfer of federal land to
the Alexander Creek community, for example, the legislation
would have a negligible effect on the federal budget.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or
revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those
pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table.
CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR H.R. 1103, A BILL TO AMEND THE ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT TO PROVIDE THAT ALEXANDER CREEK, ALASKA, IS
AND SHALL BE RECOGNIZED AS AN ELIGIBLE NATIVE VILLAGE UNDER THAT ACT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AS ORDERED REPORTED ON FEBRUARY 27, 2014
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
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2014- 2014-
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2019 2024
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NET INCREASE IN THE DEFICIT
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact............................. 0 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 30
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Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1103
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments. Enacting the bill would benefit the
community of Alexander Creek.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Martin von Gnechten;
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa
Merrell; Impact on the Private-Sector: Amy Petz.
Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. CBO estimates that
enacting H.R. 1103 would cost $30 million over the 2015-2024
period.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to amend the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Alaska, is and
shall be recognized as an eligible Native village under that
Act.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Compliance With H. Res. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
Preemption Of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic):
ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 43. ALEXANDER CREEK VILLAGE RECOGNITION.
(a) Recognition of the Village of Alexander Creek.--Subject
to the limitations of this section and notwithstanding section
1432(d) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
(Public Law 96-487) and any conveyance or agreement in
furtherance thereof or thereto, to the contrary, Alexander
Creek, located within Township 15N, Range 7W, Seward Meridian,
Alaska, is and shall be recognized as an eligible Native
village under section 11(b)(3) of this Act.
(b) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section, the
following terms apply:
(1) The term ``agency'' includes--
(A) any instrumentality of the United States;
(B) any element of an agency; and
(C) any wholly owned or mixed-owned
corporation of the United States Government
identified in chapter 91 of title 31, United
States Code.
(2) The term ``Alexander Creek'' means Alexander
Creek, Incorporated, an Alaska Native Group corporation
organized pursuant to this Act prior to the enactment
of this section, but subsequent to enactment of this
section means Alexander Creek, Incorporated, an Alaska
Native Village corporation recognized and organized
pursuant to section (a).
(3) The term ``Region'' means Cook Inlet Region
Incorporated, an Alaska Native Regional Corporation,
which is the appropriate Regional Corporation for
Alexander Creek under section 1613(h) of this Act.
(c) Organization of Alexander Creek.--As soon as practicable
after enactment of this section, Alexander Creek shall cause to
be filed--
(1) any amendments to its corporate charter in the
State of Alaska necessary to convert from a Native
group to a Native Village corporation; and
(2) if necessary, any amendments to its corporate
charter and governing business documents that fulfill
the terms of the agreement authorized under this Act.
(d) Negotiations.--
(1) Authority and direction to negotiate.--Not later
than 30 days after the date of enactment of this
section, the Secretary shall open discussions and
subsequently negotiate and, in the Secretary's sole
discretion on behalf of the United States, enter into
an agreement within one year of enactment of this
section, with Alexander Creek to fairly and equitably
settle aboriginal land claims and any other claims of
Alexander Creek against the United States; and such
agreement with Alexander Creek shall be in approximate
value parity with those of other Alaska Native Village
Corporations, notwithstanding Alexander Creek's prior
status as a Group Corporation.
(2) Funds for settlement.--A settlement reached under
this subsection shall not be subject to the Indian
Tribal Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act (25
U.S.C. 1401), unless subsequently authorized by law.
(e) Shareholder Participation.--Alexander Creek shall notify
each member of the Native village recognized under this section
that, upon the effective date of this section, such members
shall cease to receive benefits from the Region as at-large
shareholders pursuant to section 7(m), and that all future
resource payments from the Region shall be made to the Village
Corporation pursuant to section 7(j). The Region shall not be
liable under any State, Federal, or local law, or under State
or Federal common law, for damages arising out of or related to
the cessation of payments to such individuals under section
7(m) pursuant to this section.
(f) Construction.--Except as provided in this section with
respect to Alexander Creek, nothing in this section shall be
construed to modify or amend land conveyance entitlements or
conveyance agreements between the Region and village
corporations other than Alexander Creek in such region, nor
between the Region and the Federal Government, nor between any
such parties and the State of Alaska.
(g) Construction Regarding Current Alexander Creek Land.--
Nothing in this section shall be construed to reduce the land
entitlement to which Alexander Creek became entitled as a Group
Corporation, including the land selected by and conveyed to
Alexander Creek at the time of enactment of this section.
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 1103: ALEXANDER CREEK VILLAGE RECOGNITION ACT
H.R. 1103 would amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act (ANCSA) to recognize Alexander Creek Inc., currently an
Alaska Native Group, as an Alaska Native Village. As a Native
Village, Alexander Creek would be eligible for similar
treatment as other Native Villages under ANCSA, including
eligibility to receive from 69,120 acres to 161,200 acres of
land from the public domain, depending on the number of
residents. Under its Native Group designation, Alexander Creek
currently encompasses 7,680 acres--the maximum acreage allotted
under ANCSA for Native Groups--in a remote area approximately
27 miles from Anchorage, Alaska.
In 1973, Alexander Creek, the Cook Inlet Region
Incorporated (CIRI--an Alaska Native Corporation), the United
States, and various other groups including Sierra Club and an
Alaska sportsmen's group began having disputes over whether
Alexander Creek should be considered a Group or a Village.
These disputes led to court battles and culminated in a 1979
agreement in which Alexander Creek dropped its claim to be a
Village in exchange for Group status and up to 7,680 acres of
land. The agreement was codified in Section 1432 of the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). In
subsequent years, however, the leadership of Alexander Creek
took the view that they should have been recognized as an ANCSA
Village.
The Department of the Interior has expressed concerns with
the bill. Specifically, declaration of Alexander Creek as an
eligible Village could have serious repercussions in the
overall framework of land conveyances established by ANCSA. The
resolution of Alexander Creek's status as a Native Group and
subsequent codification in ANILCA allowed the land entitlement
process throughout South Central Alaska's Cook Inlet region to
proceed. The BLM's Alaska Land Conveyance program is now in a
late stage of implementation. The Department believes that
changing the status of Alexander Creek at this stage in the
process could undercut the basis on which village and regional
entitlements were addressed.
For these reasons, H.R. 1103 has the potential to require
recalculation and reapportionment of the ANCSA figures, which
may disrupt this lengthy and complex land entitlement and
conveyance process.
Peter DeFazio,
Ranking Member, Committee on Natural Resources.