[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 125 (Thursday, September 12, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S10427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself and Mr. Stevens):
  S. 2068. A bill to provide for a study of the recommendations of the 
Joint Federal-State Commission on Policies and Programs Affecting 
Alaska Natives, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Indian 
Affairs.


             the alaska native commission study act of 1996

 Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today, I am introducing the 
Alaska Native Commission Study bill. I am pleased that my colleague 
Senator Stevens of Alaska is joining me as a cosponsor. This 
legislation is the product of years of study and candid self-appraisal 
by Alaska Natives about their standard-of-living problems and the need 
to address these problems. It is also the product of a congressional 
act that called for the study of the problems.
  Public Law 101-379 established the Joint Federal-State Commission on 
Policies and Programs Affecting Alaska Natives, better known as the 
Alaska Natives Commission. Among its many recommendations, the 
Commission called for Federal funding to examine how best to implement 
the recommendations of the Commission. The purpose of this bill is to 
establish the funding for such a study.
  The need for this study is well documented. In 1989, I and 
Representative Don Young of Alaska introduced a bill creating the 
Alaska Natives Commission, a publish commission jointly funded by the 
State and Federal Governments. The creation of the commission followed 
the publication in 1989 of the ``Report on the Status of Alaska 
Natives: A Call for Action'' by the Alaska Federation of Natives and 
was also spurred by extensive congressional hearings which focussed on 
the need for the first comprehensive assessment of the social, 
cultural, and economic condition of Alaska's 90,000 Natives since the 
enactment of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Public Law 92-
203.
  Here are but some of the findings of the Alaska Natives Commission 
regarding the condition of Alaska Natives:
  Alcohol problems are one of the key reasons why Alaska Natives 
comprise 36-40 percent of the statewide prison population, even though 
they total only 16 percent of the population of Alaska.
  Alaska Native families need help: In 1988, one out of every eleven 
Alaska Native children received child protection services from the 
State of Alaska.
  Alaska Natives need to have opportunities and training for jobs: In 
1990, 20 percent of the Native work force was unemployed, and for 
Alaska Natives living in villages, the rate can be as high as 50-80 
percent, depending on the season and location.
  Alaska Natives need more opportunities for an education: 12-15 
percent of Alaska Native high school students drop out from village/
rural schools; 60 percent of Native students entering urban high 
schools do not graduate.
  This bill calls for the authorization of $350,000 in Federal funds to 
be spent by the Alaska Federation of Natives to study how to implement 
the recommendations of the Alaska Native Commission. This investment is 
needed to create realistic solutions to serious problems. I would note 
that Congressman Young has introduced a companion bill in the 
House.
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