[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2218-S2219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 111--CELEBRATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ALASKA 
                                PURCHASE

  Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 111

       Whereas Secretary of State William H. Seward agreed to 
     purchase Alaska from Russia on March 30, 1867, for 
     approximately 2 cents per acre;
       Whereas the Senate ratified the treaty with Russia 
     regarding the purchase of Alaska on April 9, 1867, and the 
     House of Representatives approved the fund appropriation for 
     that purchase on July 14, 1868;
       Whereas, on August 1, 1868, the Envoy Extraordinary and 
     Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the Emperor of all 
     the Russias acknowledged that $7,200,000 had been received 
     from the United States Treasury as payment in full for the 
     cession of Alaska;
       Whereas New Archangel, later Sitka, served as--
       (1) the capital of the territory of Alaska from the time of 
     Russian rule until 1906; and
       (2) the location for the signing of the Alaska Purchase on 
     October 18, 1867;
       Whereas Alaska is home to--
       (1) the highest mountain peak in North America, Denali, 
     which rises 20,310 feet above sea level;
       (2) the northernmost, easternmost, and westernmost points 
     of the United States;
       (3) more active glaciers and ice fields than in the rest of 
     the inhabited world;
       (4) a variety of animal species, including--
       (A) the largest concentration of American Bald Eagles and 
     the largest species of brown bear in the United States; and
       (B) 90 percent of the sea otters in the world;
       (5) 24 national parks, including the 5 largest national 
     parks in the United States, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, 
     the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Denali 
     National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Park and 
     Preserve, and Glacier Bay National Park, which, together, are 
     larger than the 8 smallest States combined;
       (6) the 2 largest national forests in the United States, 
     the Tongass and Chugach National Forests, spanning more than 
     37,000 square miles;
       (7) more than 38 percent of the shoreline and nearly 54 
     percent of the coastline of the United States; and
       (8) more Federal land than there is total land in the 
     States of Texas and Nebraska combined;
       Whereas, in 1913, the first act of the first Territorial 
     Legislature of Alaska was to grant women suffrage;

[[Page S2219]]

       Whereas there are 229 federally recognized tribes in Alaska 
     and 20 Alaska Native languages are spoken in the State;
       Whereas, on December 18, 1971, the landmark Alaska Native 
     Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) was signed 
     into law, which established 13 Alaska Native Regional 
     Corporations and more than 200 Alaska Native Village 
     Corporations;
       Whereas more than 44,000,000 acres of land in Alaska are 
     under Alaska Native ownership;
       Whereas the 3 most diverse census tracts in the United 
     States are located in the Municipality of Anchorage;
       Whereas, during World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy 
     invaded and occupied portions of the Aleutian Islands of 
     Alaska;
       Whereas Alaska has--
       (1) 12 major military bases and stations that are home to 
     honorable men and women who serve the United States in the 
     Armed Forces; and
       (2) the highest number of veterans in the United States per 
     capita;
       Whereas some of the highest producing oil and natural gas 
     fields in the United States are on the North Slope in Alaska;
       Whereas more crude oil has been produced from State lands 
     on the North Slope in Alaska than from Federal lands in the 
     Central Gulf of Mexico;
       Whereas the ports of Alaska consistently process the 
     highest volume of commercial seafood that lands in the United 
     States;
       Whereas Alaska has vast reserves of minerals and the Red 
     Dog Mine is one of the largest zinc mines in the world;
       Whereas Alaska has produced world record-breaking 
     agricultural products, such as the heaviest cabbage at 138.25 
     pounds and the heaviest broccoli at 35 pounds;
       Whereas the Aurora Borealis is visible from Fairbanks an 
     average of 243 days each year;
       Whereas Girdwood was recognized by National Geographic as 
     the world's best ski town;
       Whereas, in the northernmost town in Alaska, the sun does 
     not set for approximately 80 days in the summer and does not 
     rise for approximately 60 days in the heart of winter;
       Whereas President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the 
     proclamation admitting Alaska to the United States on January 
     3, 1959; and
       Whereas Alaska is the largest State in the United States in 
     land area at more than 586,000 square miles and constitutes 
     almost \1/5\ the size of the contiguous United States: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate commends the State of Alaska on, 
     and joins with the people of the State of Alaska in 
     celebrating, the 150th anniversary of the Alaska Purchase.

                          ____________________