[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 127 (Monday, September 27, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1965]]



INTRODUCTION OF A BILL ON THE ENHANCEMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN ALASKA 
                      THROUGH A FEDERAL LAND GRANT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 27, 1999

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation 
to provide for the continuance of higher education in the State of 
Alaska by conveying certain public lands in the State to the University 
of Alaska system.
  This bill is not a new idea: it follows on and honors a commitment 
Congress first made in 1915 when the then-territory was promised a 
generous land grant for higher education, but due to circumstances 
outside Alaska's control, was never completed. As a result, the largest 
state has the second lowest Federal land grant of all land grant 
institutions nationwide even though Congress intended each state to 
acquire a large grant for its higher education needs.
  The legislation I introduce today rectifies this gross oversight and 
puts Alaska's premier university on equal footing with other land grant 
institutions. This is only fair for a State with over 240 million acres 
of land owned by the Federal Government and most of that locked away 
from any development.
  The history behind this issue begins in 1915 when Congress reserved 
about 268,000 acres of public domain for the Alaska Agricultural 
College and School of Mines (the former name of the University of 
Alaska). However, barely any land had been surveyed at that time, and 
only a fraction could be transferred. In 1958, the Alaska Statehood Act 
eliminated the original 1915 grant, with no clear, historical record 
explaining why. Alaska's university land grant today stands at only 
112,000 acres in total. If the same formula for granting lands were 
used as in some other states, Alaska could have received five million 
acres.
  A Federal land grant is vital to the future of higher education in 
Alaska. I believe its most important role is to make a top-tier 
educational opportunity available to those who otherwise must travel 
hundreds, even thousands of miles to the lower 48 States for college. I 
don't want to see this role compromised because the university is not 
on an equal footing with its competitors in the lower 48 States.
  The legislation introduced today will provide to the university 
system a grant of 250,000 acres of Federal land, and up to 250,000 
acres more on an acre-for-acre matching basis with the State. The 
University may not select lands in national parks, refuges, wilderness 
areas, wild and scenic rivers, or specific areas of the national forest 
system. Thus, those lands open to selection are those which Congress, 
as ANILCA declares, are ``necessary and appropriate for more intensive 
use and disposition . . .''
  This bill also benefits the national conservation areas in Alaska. It 
conditions the Federal grant on the university's relinquishment of 
13,900 acres of inholdings surrounded by national parks, refuges and 
wildernesses. The relinquished lands will be added to the units in 
which they are located.
  At its core, this in an education bill. By providing a land base with 
which to derive resources for the future, Alaskans will continue to 
receive the fruits of our university system without having to travel 
outside the State to colleges which were granted their full land 
entitlements.

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