[Senate Report 117-72]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 271
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-72
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ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT
_______
February 10, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Manchin, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 2524]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 2524), to amend the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act to exclude certain payments to aged, blind, or
disabled Alaska Natives or descendants of Alaska Natives from
being used to determine eligibility for certain programs, and
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
Purpose
The purpose of S. 2524 is to amend the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act to exclude certain payments to a Native or
descendant of a Native who is aged, blind, or disabled Alaska
Natives or descendants of Alaska Natives from being used to
determine eligibility for certain federal need-based benefit
programs.
Background and Need
Alaska Native Corporations established under the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA; Public Law 92-203) have
been authorized to establish settlement trusts since 1988. The
purpose of these trusts is to provide durable support to Alaska
Native beneficiaries. The authorized scope of these trusts was
expanded in 2000, and section 13821 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-97) further revised the tax
treatment of these trusts.
Alaska Native Corporations can distribute assets to
settlement trusts to provide benefits consistent with the
purposes for which the trusts are established. Many of these
trusts serve to provide critical support, including financial
support, to Alaska Native elders over the age of 65, the blind,
and the disabled.
Distributions from settlement trusts are among the only
sources of cash income for many Alaska Native elders, the blind
and the disabled, especially those living in rural areas and
traditional villages with multi-generational households and
limited cash economies. These payments, along with
participation in federal needs-based programs, are a crucial
sources of support for these people as they navigate seasonal
subsistence food availability and access limitations.
Because Alaska Native communities continue to experience
some of the highest poverty levels in the U.S., S. 2524 seeks
to ensure that marginal increases in these payments not
eliminate the eligibility of elders, the blind, and the
disabled to participate in federal needs-based benefit
programs.
Legislative History
S. 2524 was introduced by Senators Murkowski and Sullivan
on July 28, 2021. The Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests,
and Mining held a hearing on the bill on October 19, 2021.
Senators Murkowski and Sullivan introduced a similar bill
during the 116th Congress, S. 2533. The Subcommittee on Public
Lands, Forests, and Mining held a hearing on this bill on
September 16, 2020. No further action was taken.
Committee Recommendation
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on November 18, 2021, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S.
2524 without amendment.
Summary
S. 2524 amends section 29(c) of ANCSA (43 U.S.C. 1626(c))
to exclude amounts distributed and benefits provided by a
Settlement Trust to a Native or descendant of a Native who is
65 years or older, blind, or disabled, for determining the
eligibility for need-based Federal programs.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The Congressional Budget Office has not estimated the costs
of S. 2524 as passed by the Senate. The Committee has
requested, but has not yet received, the Congressional Budget
Office's estimate of the cost of S. 2524 as ordered reported.
When the Congressional Budget Office completes its cost
estimate, it will be posted on the Internet at www.cbo.gov.
Regulatory Impact Evaluation
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 2524. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals
and businesses. No personal information would be collected in
administering the program. Therefore, there would be no impact
on personal privacy. Little, if any, additional paperwork would
result from the enactment of S. 2524, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
S. 2524, as ordered reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
Executive Communications
The testimony for the record provided by the Department of
the Interior for the October 19, 2021, hearing on S. 2524
follows:
Statement for the Record from the Office of the Assistant Secretary--
Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
Thank you for the opportunity to provide the Department of
the Interior's (Department) views on S. 2524, a bill to amend
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) to exclude
certain payments to aged, blind, or disabled Alaska Natives or
descendants of Alaska Natives from being used to determine
eligibility for certain need-based Federal programs.
Section 29 of the ANCSA (43 U.S.C Sec. 1626) articulates
how payments and grants made under ANCSA relate to other
programs. Section 29(a) characterizes those payments and grants
to be compensation for the extinguishment of claims to land
which shall not be deemed to substitute for any governmental
programs otherwise available to Native people of Alaska as
citizens of the United States and the State of Alaska.
Grants and payments, in the context of Section 29, mean
compensation received from a Native Corporation, which may
include cash, stock, partnership interests, land or interests
in land, or interest in a settlement trust. The ANCSA excludes
such compensation from eligibility determination for programs
such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, needs-
based assistance programs authorized in the Social Security
Act, and needs-based financial assistance or benefits from any
other federal program or federally assisted program. S. 2524
would expand ANCSA's exemption for interests in settlement
trusts to also exempt amounts distributed from, or benefits
provided by, a settlement trust to a Native or descendant of a
Native who is an aged, blind, or disabled individual.
S. 2524 represents a commonsense approach to ensure Alaska
Native citizens in need of assistance resources are not
foreclosed from the federal programs that are designed to help
them. Nor, are they foreclosed from utilizing resources
available at the Alaska Native community level--resources to
which they are rightfully entitled as compensation for the
extinguishment of Alaska Native land claims throughout the
entire state of Alaska.
conclusion
The Department supports S. 2524. This bill would increase
ground-level support for individuals in need in Alaska Native
communities while also improving cohesion between federal,
state, and local resources that are critical to supporting
Alaska Natives in need.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill S. 2524, as ordered reported, are shown as follows
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
Public Law 92-203
AN ACT To provide for the settlement of certain land claims of Alaska
Natives, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, this Act
may be cited as the ``Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act''.
* * * * * * *
RELATION TO OTHER PROGRAMS
SEC. 29. (a) The payments and grants authorized under this
chapter constitute compensation for the extinguishment of
claims to land, and shall not be deemed to substitute for any
governmental programs otherwise available to the Native people
of Alaska as citizens of the United States and the State of
Alaska.
(b) Notwithstanding section 5(a) and any other provision of
the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (78 Stat. 703), as amended,
in determining the eligibility of any household to participate
in the supplemental nutrition assistance program, any
compensation, remuneration, revenue, or other benefit received
by any member of such household under this chapter shall be
disregarded.
(c) In determining the eligibility of a household, an
individual Native, or a descendant of a Native (as defined
insection 1602(r) of this title) to--
(1) participate in the supplemental nutrition
assistance program,
(2) receive aid, assistance, or benefits, based on
need, under the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 301 et
seq.], or
(3) receive financial assistance or benefits, based
on need, under any other Federal program or federally-
assisted program, none of the following, received from
a Native Corporation, shall be considered or taken into
account as an asset or resource:
(A) cash (including cash dividends on stock
received from a Native Corporation and on bonds
received from a Native Corporation) to the
extent that it does not, in the aggregate,
exceed $2,000 per individual per annum;
(B) stock (including stock issued or
distributed by a Native Corporation as a
dividend or distribution on stock) or bonds
issued by a Native Corporation which bonds
shall be subject to the protection of section
1606(h) of this title until voluntarily and
expressly sold or pledged by the shareholder
subsequent to the date of distribution;
(C) a partnership interest;
(D) land or an interest in land (including
land or an interest in land received from a
Native Corporation as a dividend or
distribution on stock); and
[(E) an interest in a settlement trust.] (E)
an interest in a Settlement Trust or an amount
distributed from or benefit provided by a
Settlement Trust to a Native or descendant of a
Native who is an aged, blind, or disabled
individual (as defined in section 1614(a) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)).
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Alaska
Natives shall remain eligible for all Federal Indian programs
on the same basis as other Native Americans.
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