[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 4, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H445-H447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGE MUNICIPAL LANDS RESTORATION ACT OF 2025
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 43) to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to
provide that Village Corporations shall not be required to convey land
in trust to the State of Alaska for the establishment of Municipal
Corporations, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 43
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 ``Alaska Native Village
Municipal Lands Restoration Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. REVERSION OF CERTAIN LAND CONVEYED IN TRUST TO THE
STATE OF ALASKA.
Section 14(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(43 U.S.C. 1613(c)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as
subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively, and indenting
appropriately;
(2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so
redesignated), by striking ``(c) Each patent'' and inserting
the following:
``(c) Conveyance of Certain Land by Village Corporation.--
``(1) In general.--Each patent'';
(3) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), in the
undesignated matter following subparagraph (E) (as so
redesignated), in the first sentence--
(A) by striking ``section 14(c) of this Act'' and inserting
``this subsection''; and
(B) by striking ``There is authorized'' and inserting the
following:
``(2) Technical assistance.--
``(A) In general.--There are authorized'';
(4) in paragraph (2)(A) (as so redesignated), in the second
sentence, by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the
following:
``(B) Form of funding.--The Secretary''; and
(5) in paragraph (1) (as so designated)--
(A) in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B) (as so
redesignated)--
(i) by striking ``the'' the first place it appears and
inserting ``The''; and
(ii) by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting a
period;
(B) in subparagraph (D) (as so redesignated), by striking
``the'' the first place it appears and inserting ``The'';
(C) by striking ``existed as of'' in subparagraph (D) (as
so redesignated) and all that follows through ``for'' in
subparagraph (E) (as so redesignated) and inserting the
following: ``existed as of December 18, 1971.
``(E) For''; and
(D) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated)--
(i) by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting a
period;
(ii) by striking ``in trust: Provided, however, That the
word'' and all that follows through ``sentence,'' and
inserting the following: ``in trust.
``(II) Definition of sale.--For purposes of subclause (I),
the term `sale' '';
(iii) by striking ``one thousand two hundred and eighty
acres: Provided further, That any net'' and inserting the
following: ``1,280 acres.
``(iii) Net revenues.--
``(I) In general.--Any net'';
(iv) by striking ``community needs: Provided, That the''
and inserting the following: ``community needs.
``(ii) Minimum acreage.--The'';
(v) by striking ``(C) the Village Corporation'' and
inserting the following:
``(C) Conveyance to municipal corporation or the state in
trust.--
``(i) In general.--The Village Corporation''; and
(vi) by adding at the end the following:
``(iv) Cases in which conveyance shall not be required.--
[[Page H446]]
``(I) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this subparagraph, if a Village Corporation, prior to the
date of enactment of the Alaska Native Village Municipal
Lands Restoration Act of 2025, conveyed to the State in trust
all or a portion of the acreage of land required to be
conveyed under this subparagraph for the establishment of a
Municipal Corporation in the future, and a Municipal
Corporation has not been established as of that date of
enactment, on formal resolution by the Village Corporation
and the residents of the Native village requesting
dissolution of the trust, the trust shall be dissolved and
title to the land shall revert to the Village Corporation,
subject to subclause (III).
``(II) Additional land.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of this subparagraph, as of the date of enactment
of the Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act
of 2025, a Village Corporation shall not be required to
convey any additional land in trust under this subparagraph
for the establishment of a Municipal Corporation in the
future.
``(III) Requirements.--In accordance with subsection (g)--
``(aa) the reversion of land to a Village Corporation
pursuant to subclause (I) shall be subject to--
``(AA) valid existing rights created by the applicable
trust; and
``(BB) any existing easements, rights-of-way necessary for
public roadway access, or rights-of-way for access of holders
of valid existing rights; and
``(bb) the Village Corporation shall assume the obligations
of the applicable trust with respect to any lease or other
use agreement applicable to the land on reversion of the land
to the Village Corporation pursuant to subclause (I).''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Ansari)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
to add extraneous material on H.R. 43, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
H.R. 43, the Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act of
2025, would amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, or ANCSA,
and to return lands back to Alaska Native Village Corporations that are
currently held in trust by the State of Alaska for future
municipalities.
ANCSA was enacted to settle aboriginal land claims of Alaska Natives,
and in doing so Alaska Native corporations were created to receive land
and disburse payments to Alaska Natives.
ANCSA required Alaska Native Village Corporations that received land
to convey some land to an existing municipality. If no municipality
existed, the land was conveyed to the State of Alaska to be held in
trust for a future municipality.
Over the past 53 years, only eight Village Corporations have seen a
municipality created, with the most recent municipality created in
1995. This leaves 11,500 acres throughout 83 villages unable to be
developed because it must be held in trust by Alaska in perpetuity for
the unlikely creation of a municipality.
H.R. 43 would end this requirement for Village Corporations to
reconvey lands for a potential municipality and return land already
conveyed under this provision to Village Corporations. If returned,
Village Corporations anticipate developing this land for housing,
community buildings, and other economic development projects.
There is widespread support for H.R. 43 within the State of Alaska.
The Alaska State Senate unanimously passed S.J. Res. 13 on May 9,
2024, which encouraged the enactment of Federal legislation to return
the reconveyed lands to Alaska Native Village Corporations. Alaska
Governor Mike Dunleavy is also supportive of the legislative fix that
H.R. 43 would provide.
Again, Madam Speaker, I thank the sponsor of this legislation, Mr.
Begich, for his work to introduce this bill on the first day of the
119th Congress so that we could bring it to the floor quickly. I
appreciate his diligence and swift work on behalf of Alaska, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ANSARI. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of Representative Begich's H.R. 43,
the Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act of 2025.
Under current law, when an Alaska Native Village Corporation receives
land pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, then the
Village Corporation must convey certain lands to its municipal
government. If none exists, then the law requires them to convey the
land to the State of Alaska to be held in trust for when a municipality
is established in the future.
The problem is that in many remote Alaska Native communities, it is
unlikely that a municipal government will ever be formed, which means
the land being held in trust won't ever be used for its intended
purpose.
In fact, since the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
in 1971, 101 Village Corporations have had lands held in trust by the
State but only 8 of those villages have incorporated into a
municipality, and none have done so since 1995.
This bill would remove the requirement that Alaska Native Village
Corporations convey land in trust to the State of Alaska for the
hypothetical establishment of Municipal Corporations, and it would
allow the Village Corporations to have the State of Alaska reconvey
such lands back to them.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, which will
allow communities themselves to make decisions about how best to
utilize their own lands. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Alaska (Mr. Begich), who is the lead sponsor of the bill.
Mr. BEGICH. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 43, the Alaska
Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act. This bill corrects a
decades-old oversight in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to
ensure Alaska Native communities can fully use their own land.
In 1971, ANCSA granted fee simple land ownership to Alaska Natives,
resolving historic land claims and enabling statehood land
entitlements. However, section 14(c)(3) required Native Village
Corporations to transfer land to the State of Alaska to be held in
trust for future municipalities. More than 50 years later, only 8 of
101 affected villages have incorporated, leaving 11,500 acres in 83
villages frozen in bureaucratic limbo.
H.R. 43 eliminates this outdated requirement and returns these lands
to Village Corporations, allowing for housing, economic development,
and community expansion. This bill restores self-determination,
ensuring Alaska Natives, not government bureaucracy, decide how to use
their own land.
This legislation has broad support, as was mentioned, including from
the Alaska Governor and State Legislature, and was unanimously passed
by the Senate in the last Congress. I urge my colleagues to support
this commonsense fix and allow these lands to be used by their owners
to support their own communities.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I
am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ANSARI. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, again, this legislation would amend
ANCSA to return the land in question to impacted Alaska Native Village
Corporations and eliminate the unnecessary land conveyance requirement
in the statute.
I thank Mr. Begich for his leadership and working on this important
issue for his constituents in Alaska.
Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of H.R. 43, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 43.
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. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
[[Page H447]]
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________