[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 136 (Wednesday, November 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4818, CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005

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                               speech of

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                      Saturday, November 20, 2004

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend the conferees for 
including economic development funding for the Pribilof Islands. The 
economies of these Island communities have been struggling in the face 
of the ban on the fur seal harvest and the collapse of the crab and 
other fisheries in the area. The funding in this appropriations bill is 
a key step in helping the Aleut population of the Islands to develop a 
diversified, sustainable economy.
  For over 100 years, the Federal Government controlled the Natives' 
fur seal harvest on the Islands, as well as their social and municipal 
services. In the 1980s the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration and the Congress embarked on a plan for transition of 
the Islands to independence and economic self-sufficiency. One of the 
most important aspects of the plan was that the Federal Government 
would transfer control of the fur seal harvests to the Natives and 
permit the Natives to keep the income from the harvests. Unfortunately, 
one year after the plan was developed, the Government banned fur seal 
harvesting on environmental grounds and removed a critical source of 
regular income from the community.
  Four years ago, the Congress enacted the Pribilof Island Transition 
Act, which I authored. I worked closely with my Alaska colleagues in 
the other body in crafting that legislation and shepherding it through 
the legislative process. The Act was aimed at compensating for the loss 
of the fur seal industry and for the delays in implementation of two 
other key objectives of the transition plan: construction of usable 
harbors and transfer of lands from NOAA to Island entities. The 
Transition Act authorized $28 million for economic development over a 
period of five years. This is the first year that funds have been 
appropriated for this purpose, and it comes at a crucial time.
  It is my hope that additional funding for Pribilof Island economic 
development will be forthcoming in the years ahead.

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