[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 96 (Thursday, June 26, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S8759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MURKOWSKI:
  S. 1364. A bill to amend the Alaska National Lands Conservation Act 
to authorize the payment of expenses after the death of certain Federal 
employees in the State of Alaska; to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, on the morning following the annual 
candlelight vigil to honor fallen law enforcement officers, I came to 
the floor to speak about three brave Alaskans whose names were 
inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial at 
Judiciary Square this year. One of these brave Alaskans was a National 
Park Service ranger who lost his life when the aircraft he was piloting 
crashed in a remote part of Alaska. Today, I am introducing legislation 
which I hope will help the surviving family members of this ranger in 
their recovery from this tragic loss and provide authority for the 
Federal Government to help the surviving family members of other 
similarly situated Federal employees should a similar tragedy occur in 
the future.
  This ranger I am speaking about was assigned to the Katmai National 
Park and Preserve in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska and lived in the 
community of Naknek. Naknek is not connected to the rest of North 
America by road. It is what we in Alaska call a ``bush'' community. But 
it was home to the ranger and became the adopted home of his widow who 
did not grow up in the area. The ranger about whom I am speaking was 
hired under a special hiring authority in the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act, ANILCA, which authorizes the Federal land 
managers to extend a hiring preference to those with special knowledge 
about a Conservation System Unit. He was regarded as a ``local hire.''
  Under the Federal Travel Regulation, when a federal employee dies 
outside of the Continental United States, the Federal Government will 
reimburse the members of his or her household for the cost of 
relocating to their permanent residence. Alaska is regarded as 
``outside of the Continental United States'' under this regulation.
  Thus, if the National Park Service ranger who died in the line of 
duty came from the Lower 48 before being assigned to the Katmai 
National Park and Preserve then the Federal Government, as I read the 
regulation, could reimburse the surviving family members for the cost 
of relocating to Anchorage. This cost can be fairly substantial since 
one cannot hire a moving van to ship the personal effects from South 
Naknek to Anchorage. There are no roads which connect the bush village 
of South Naknek to Anchorage. The personal effects need to be 
transported by air.
  However, if the deceased employee is a local hire employee, the 
Federal Travel Regulation does not authorize the Federal Government to 
reimburse the surviving family members for their relocation cost 
because the deceased employee's hometown is deemed to be the local hire 
location. This works an inequity where, as in the present case, the 
deceased employee's surviving spouse does not have ties to the duty 
station community, but rather to another community in Alaska. In this 
instance, the surviving spouse desires to relocate to Anchorage, which 
is Alaska's largest city, and continue to raise her three children 
there.
  The legislation that I am introducing today is intended to cure this 
inequity. It would amend ANILCA, the same legislation which contains 
the local hire authority, to provide that if a local hire employee dies 
in the line of duty, the Federal Government will reimburse the 
surviving immediate family for the cost of transporting the remains to 
a location in Alaska of their choosing and will also relocate the 
immediate family members to a community in the State of Alaska which is 
selected by the surviving head of household. I think that this is the 
least we can do for the survivors of local hire employees who go to 
work everyday in the harsh climate and conditions of bush Alaska but 
sadly sometimes do not return home.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1364

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PAYMENT OF EXPENSES AFTER THE DEATH OF CERTAIN 
                   FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN THE STATE OF ALASKA.

       Section 1308 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
     Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3198) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
       ``(c) Payment of Expenses After Death of an Employee.--
       ``(1) Definition of immediate family member.--In this 
     subsection, the term ``immediate family member'' means a 
     person related to a deceased employee that was a member of 
     the household of the deceased employee at the time of death.
       ``(2) Payments.--If an employee appointed under the program 
     established by subsection (a) dies in the performance of any 
     assigned duties on or after October 1, 2002, the Secretary 
     may--
       ``(A) pay reasonable expenses for the preparation and 
     transportation of the remains of the deceased employee to a 
     location in the State of Alaska which is selected by the 
     surviving head of household of the deceased employee;
       ``(B) pay reasonable expenses for transporting immediate 
     family members and the baggage and household goods of the 
     deceased employee and immediate family members to a community 
     in the State of Alaska which is selected by the surviving 
     head of household of the deceased employee.''.
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