[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 29, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H4929-H4930]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SALMON LAKE LAND SELECTION RESOLUTION ACT
Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2340) to resolve the claims of the Bering Straits Native
Corporation and the State of Alaska to land adjacent to Salmon Lake in
the State of Alaska and to provide for the conveyance to the Bering
Straits Native Corporation of certain other public land in partial
satisfaction of the land entitlement of the Corporation under the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2340
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Salmon Lake Land Selection
Resolution Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to ratify the Salmon Lake Area
Land Ownership Consolidation Agreement entered into by the
United States, the State of Alaska, and the Bering Straits
Native Corporation.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agreement.--The term ``Agreement'' means the document--
(A) titled ``Salmon Lake Area Land Ownership Consolidation
Agreement'';
(B) between the United States, the State, and the Bering
Straits Native Corporation on July 18, 2007, which was
extended until January 1, 2011, by agreement of the parties
to the Agreement effective January 1, 2009; and
(C) on file with--
(i) the Department of the Interior;
(ii) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate; and
(iii) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Bering straits native corporation.--The term ``Bering
Straits Native Corporation'' means an Alaska Native Regional
Corporation formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) for the Bering Straits region of
the State.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Alaska.
SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT.
(a) In General.--Subject to the provisions of this Act,
Congress ratifies the Agreement.
(b) Easements.--The conveyance of land to the Bering
Straits Native Corporation, as specified in the Agreement,
shall include the reservation of the easements that--
(1) are identified in Appendix E to the Agreement; and
(2) were developed by the parties to the Agreement in
accordance with section 17(b) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1616(b)).
(c) Corrections.--Beginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary, with the consent of the other
parties to the Agreement, may only make typographical or
clerical corrections to the Agreement and any exhibits to the
Agreement.
(d) General Authority of Secretary.--The Secretary may
carry out all actions allowed or required under the
Agreement.
SEC. 5. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Mexico (Mr. Heinrich) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Mexico.
General Leave
Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Mexico?
There was no objection.
Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 2340 would ratify an agreement between the United States, the
Bering
[[Page H4930]]
Straits Native Corporation, and the State of Alaska. The underlying
agreement provides for the conveyance of certain Federal lands to the
Bering Straits Native Corporation and to the State of Alaska. The
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was enacted in 1971. It was
intended to resolve longstanding issues surrounding native land claims
in Alaska. Under this act, Alaska Native regional corporations are
entitled to a certain amount of public lands. The Bering Straits Native
Corporation is one of those regional corporations entitled to certain
lands.
In addition, the Alaska Statehood Act grants the State of Alaska the
opportunity to select a certain amount of public lands for the State's
benefit. Normally, legislation is not required to implement these
selections. In this case, however, both the State and the Native
corporations selected some of the same lands. After years of
negotiations, the parties, along with the United States, arrived at an
agreement to resolve this conflict.
I want to commend our colleague, Mr. Young of Alaska, for his hard
work and dedication to this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to
support its passage.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill as sponsored by our colleague from
Alaska (Mr. Young). It resolves overlapping selections to the same
parcels of land that were filed by the State of Alaska and the Bering
Straits Native Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Statehood Act and the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. As we learned during the committee
hearing on this bill, there is no opposition to its enactment. So I am
pleased to support this bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2340,
as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Heinrich) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2340, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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