[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 154 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H9710-H9711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CORRECTING THE ENROLLMENT OF H.R. 402, ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT 
                             ACT AMENDMENTS

  Mr. LONGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the Senate concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 27) 
correcting the enrollment of H.R. 402, and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maine?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate concurrent resolution, as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 27

       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That the Clerk of the House of Representatives 
     is directed to correct the enrollment of H.R. 402 as follows:
       Amend section 109 to read:

     ``SEC. 109. CONFIRMATION OF WOODY ISLAND AS ELIGIBLE NATIVE 
                   VILLAGE.

       ``The Native Village of Woody, Island located on Woody 
     Island, Alaska, in the Koniag Region, is hereby confirmed as 
     an eligible Alaska Native Village, pursuant to section 
     11(b)(3) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 
     (``ANCSA''). It is further confirmed that Leisnoi, Inc., is 
     the Village Corporation, as that term is defined in section 
     3(j) of the ANCSA, for the village of Woody Island. This 
     section shall become effective on October 1, 1998, unless the 
     United States judicial system determines this village was 
     fraudulently established under ANCSA prior to October 1, 
     1998.''.


                    amendment offered by mr. longley

  Mr. LONGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment offered by Mr. Longley:
       On page 1, line 2, strike all that follows after ``That'' 
     to the end of the resolution and insert the following:
       ``the action of the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
     and the President pro tempore of the Senate in signing the 
     bill (H.R. 402) is rescinded, and the Clerk of the House of 
     Representatives shall, in the reenrollment of the bill, make 
     the following correction:
       Strike section 109''.

  Mr. LONGLEY (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the 
Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Maine?
  There was no objection.
  (Mr. LONGLEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks, and to include extraneous material.)
  Mr. LONGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record a letter from 
Michael J. Schneider regarding this matter.
                                                    Law Offices of


                                   Michael J. Schneider, P.C.,

                                Anchorage, AK, September 28, 1995.
     Re Leisnoi, Inc., eligibility legislation (S537/HR402 Sec. 
         109).

     Mr. Dan Kish,
     Staff Director, Office of Congressman Don Young, U.S. 
         Congress, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Kish: If S537/HR402, in its present form, is 
     signed by the President, it will spell the death of our 
     litigation against Leisnoi. Even if the bill becomes law, it 
     will take a couple of years for the case to be wrapped up. 
     The Lis Pendens regarding Termination Point will stay in 
     place to that point in time. This will preclude any 
     possibility of selling Termination Point to the EVOS 
     trustees. The trustees will have spent their money elsewhere 
     by then.
       We want the public to acquire Termination Point. Therefore, 
     if Section 109 of this legislation can be completely 
     eliminated and Leisnoi's eligibility thus left to the courts, 
     already poised to decide it in the near future, we will 
     abandon our current demand that Termination Point proceeds be 
     escrowed pending the outcome of Leisnoi's eligibility fight.
       I have Mr. Statman's specific authority to bind him to the 
     proposal above, and do so by my signature below.
           Sincerely yours,
                                             Michael J. Schneider.

  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I support the amendment 
offered by the gentleman from Alaska to delete section 109 of H.R. 402. 
That language was added by the other body without public hearings and 
was intended to intervene in pending litigation. But the Senate did not 
do their homework. This provision generated significant controversy, 
especially amongst the affected citizens of Kodiak, AK. Moreover, this 
technical amendments bill was an inappropriate vehicle for controversy. 
The gentleman from Alaska and I had worked over two Congresses to 
develop a consensus on this legislation only to be undercut, in my 
view, by the other body.
  I am especially pleased that, if this amendment passes, the plaintiff 
in this litigation has agreed to lift a claim to lands on Kodiak which 
are sought for acquisition by the Exxon Valdez Trustee Council.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the amendment offered 

[[Page H 9711]]
  by the gentleman from Maine [Mr. Longley].
  The amendment was agreed to.
  The Senate concurrent resolution was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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