[House Report 105-716]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
105th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 105-716
_______________________________________________________________________
UNRECOGNIZED SOUTHEAST ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITIES RECOGNITION ACT
_______________________________________________________________________
September 15, 1998.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 2812]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2812) to provide for the recognition of certain Native
communities under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and
for other purposes, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 2812 is to provide for the recognition
of certain Native communities under the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act, and for other purposes.
Background and Need for Legislation
The purpose of H.R. 2812 is to recognize five communities
in Southeast Alaska Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Wrangell,
and Tenakee under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
(ANCSA), and authorize each to form an urban corporation,
except Tenakee which is authorized to form a group corporation.
H.R. 2812 does not award any land or compensation to the newly
formed corporations. Instead, the bill provides that only a
future Act of Congress may convey compensation (land, money, or
other benefits) to the five new Native corporations.
Background on ANCSA
The aboriginal land claims of Alaska Natives were settled
in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA).
ANCSA extinguished all Alaska Native claims based on aboriginal
title, right, occupancy and use of Alaska's lands and waters.
To compensate the Alaska Natives, ANCSA transferred
approximately 44 million acres of public land (in fee simple
title) and nearly $1 billion to them. The compensation is
intended to meet the social, economic, cultural and other needs
of Alaska Natives. The land and cash compensation were not
awarded to tribes, clans, or families, but to eligible private
corporations organized by Alaska Natives. There are generally
two types of corporations: corporations organized by village
and those organized according to 12 geographic regions. All
Alaska Natives are shareholders of a regional corporation, but
not all belong to a village corporation. The law also
prescribes the process for selecting, awarding, and
distributing lands and funds to qualified corporations.
Generally, Native communities in Alaska are qualified to
form Native corporations only if recognized in ANCSA, or if
they meet certain criteria. However, section 16 of ANCSA
addresses Native communities in the Southeast region of the
State separately. Section 16 lists 12 Native communities that
may form corporations, ten of which are Native villages, and
two of which are ``urban'' communities (Juneau and Sitka) that
were historically Native, but no longer considered
``villages.'' Section 16 does not contain a process to
determine whether an unrecognized community in Southeast Alaska
is eligible to form a corporation.
There are several reasons for the special consideration
given to Southeast Alaska Native communities. One is that there
was an earlier land claims settlement for them: the 1959
Tlingit and Haida Settlement, which awarded $7.5 million to
tribes in Southeast. Another is that demographic and land
ownership patterns in this area of Alaska are considerably
different from the rest of the State.
Each corporation formed pursuant to section 16 was awarded
23,040 acres of land around the core township. Such property
can be valuable for timber harvesting and for social,
cultural,and subsistence benefits. Native residents of unrecognized
communities in Southeast Alaska remain eligible to be at-large
shareholders of Sealaska, the regional Native corporation.
Land Claims of Unrecognized Communities in Southeast Alaska
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Wrangell, and Tenakee, all
located in Southeast Alaska, were not recognized under section
16 of ANCSA. After ANCSA was enacted, Native residents of these
``unrecognized'' communities appealed to the Secretary of the
Interior to be included in the land claims settlement.
Administrative appeals and mechanisms were subsequently
exhausted by the villages without success.
The five unrecognized communities continued to press the
government for recognition and inclusion in ANCSA. In response,
Congress in 1993 directed the Secretary of the Interior to
examine why these five communities were not recognized in
ANCSA. The Institute of Social and Economic Research
(University of Alaska Anchorage) was contracted to study the
issue, and in 1994 produced A Study of Five Southeast Alaska
Communities. The report thoroughly examines the history and
describes the status of the five communities' Native claims,
and compares the attributes of these communities with those of
Southeast Alaska communities that were allowed to form Native
corporations. It notes that ``the omission of the [five]
communities is not clearly explained in any provision of ANCSA
or in the accompanying conference report.''
Despite appeals to the Interior Department, the land claims
of the five unrecognized Native villages of Haines, Ketchikan,
Petersburg, Wrangell, and Tenakee are unresolved.
Summary of H.R. 2812
H.R. 2812 grants recognition under the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act to the five unrecognized Native communities.
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell are authorized to
form urban corporations, and Tenakee is authorized to form a
group corporation. However, the legislation neither authorizes
the conveyance of land or compensation to the new corporations,
nor creates an entitlement to public lands. Instead, the bill
directs the Secretary of the Interior to submit a report to
Congress recommending what land or other appropriate
compensation should be awarded to the corporations. As
introduced, the bill provides that any land or compensation to
fully settle the unrecognized villages' land claims must be
authorized by a separate Act of Congress.
H.R. 2812 justly and fairly grants the recognition sought
by the five communities. Congress unintentionally left the five
Native villages in Southeast Alaska out of ANCSA. The 1993
study referenced above provides a historical summary of
Natives' ties to these communities. A close examination of the
historical, cultural, and demographic characteristics of these
communities establish the basis for recognizing their land
claims, which have at least as much standing as those of
several other Southeast Alaska Native villages recognized under
section 16. Deprived of recognition and with an incomplete
explanation for their omission from ANCSA, the five villages
have been unable to form Native corporations, and do not share
in the same social, cultural, and economic benefits as
residents of villages elsewhere in the State.
This bill does not affect the land entitlements of the
existing ANCSA Native corporations and has no impact on the
ANCSA section 7(i) entitlements of the regional corporations
Committee Action
H.R. 2812 was introduced on November 4, 1997, by
Congressman Don Young (R-AK). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Resources. On February 25, 1998, the Committee
held a hearing on H.R. 2812, where the Administration testified
in opposition to the bill, the coalition of five communities
recognized under the legislation testified in support, and an
environmental organization testified in opposition. On May 20,
1998, the full Resources Committee met to consider H.R. 2812.
No amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by a rollcall vote of
21 to 5, with one voting present, as follows:
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact H.R. 2812.
Cost of the Legislation
Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out
H.R. 2812. However, clause 7(d) of that rule provides that this
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Compliance With House Rule XI
1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R.
2812 does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 2812.
3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R.
2812 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
congressional budget office cost estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 9, 1998.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2812, the
Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition
Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Victoria V.
Heid (for federal costs), and Marjories Miller (for the state,
local, and tribal impact).
Sincerely,
June E. O'Neill, Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 2812--Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition
Act
Summary: H.R. 2812 would amend the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act by allowing five communities in southeast Alaska
to organize as Native corporations: four as urban corporations
and one as a group corporation.
CBO estimates that implementing this bill would cost about
$1 million over the 1999-2003 period for grants to the five
communities, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts.
Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or receipts;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. H.R. 2812
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would
have no significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or
tribal governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of H.R. 2812 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and the environment).
[By fiscal year, in millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Estimated authorization level................................... 0 1 0 0 0 0
Estimated outlays............................................... 0 (\1\) (\1\) (\1\) 0 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Less than $500,000.
Basis of estimate: H.R. 2812 would amend the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act by allowing the Native residents of
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell, in southeast
Alaska, to organize as urban corporations, and by allowing the
Native residents of Tenakee, Alaska, to organize as a group
corporation. H.R. 2812 would authorize grants of $250,000 to
each of the five Native communities for planning, development,
and organization of the new corporations. The bill states that
none of the changes made by H.R. 2812 would create any
entitlement to federal lands for the new corporations without a
subsequent act of the Congress. The bill would direct the
Secretary of the Interior to prepare, by December 31, 1998, a
report making recommendations to the Congress regarding lands
and other appropriate compensation to be provided to the new
corporations. CBO expects that preparing the report would have
a negligible cost.
Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
Estimated impact on State, local and tribal governments:
H.R. 2812 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in
UMRA and would have no significant impact on the budgets of
state, local, or tribal governments. This bill would give the
new corporations no rights to property or resources, but it
would direct the Secretary of the Interior to make
recommendations to the Congress regarding lands and other
appropriate compensation to be provided to these corporations.
Further legislation would be required to provide any such
compensation.
Estimated impact on the private sector: This bill would
impose no new private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Victoria V. Heid.
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie
Miller.
Estimate approved by: Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
H.R. 2812 contains no unfunded mandates.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the
bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed
in italic and existing law in which no change is proposed is
shown in roman):
ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT
* * * * * * *
regional corporations
Sec. 7. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(j) During the five years following the enactment of this
Act, not less than 10% of all corporate funds received by each
of the twelve Regional Corporations under section 6 (Alaska
Native Fund), and under subsection (i) (revenues from the
timber resources and subsurface estate patented to it pursuant
to this Act), and all other net income, shall be distributed
among the stockholders of the twelve Regional Corporations. Not
less than 45% of funds from such sources during the first five-
year period, and 50% thereafter, shall be distributed among the
Village Corporations in the region and the class of
stockholders who are not residents of those villages, as
provided in subsection to it. In the case of the thirteenth
Regional Corporation, if organized, not less than 50% of all
corporate funds received under section 6 shall be distributed
to the stockholders. Native members of the communities of
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell who become
shareholders in an Urban or Group Corporation for such a
community shall continue to be eligible to receive
distributions under this subsection as at-large shareholders of
Sealaska Corporation.
* * * * * * *
(r) No provision of the Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native
Communities Recognition Act shall affect the ratio for
determination of distribution of revenues among Native
Corporations under this section of the Act and the 1982 Section
7(i) Settlement Agreement among the Regional Corporations or
among Village Corporations under subsection (j).
village corporations
Sec. 8. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(d)(1) The Secretary shall enroll to each of the Urban
Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, or Wrangell
those individual Natives who enrolled under this Act to Haines,
Ketchikan, Petersburg, or Wrangell, and shall enroll to the
Group Corporation for Tenakee those individual Natives who
enrolled under this Act to Tenakee.
(2) Those Natives who, pursuant to paragraph (1), are
enrolled to an Urban Corporation for Haines, Ketchikan,
Petersburg, or Wrangell, or to a Group Corporation for Tenakee,
and who were enrolled as shareholders of the Regional
Corporation for southeast Alaska on or before March 30, 1973,
shall receive 100 shares of Settlement Common Stock in such
Urban or Group Corporation.
(3) A Native who has received shares of stock in the Regional
Corporation for southeast Alaska through inheritance from a
decedent Native who originally enrolled to Haines, Ketchikan,
Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell, which decedent Native was not
a shareholder in a Village, Group or Urban Corporation, shall
receive the identical number of shares of Settlement Common
Stock in the Urban Corporation for Haines, Ketchikan,
Petersburg, or Wrangell, or in the Group Corporation for
Tenakee, as the number of shares inherited by that Native from
the decedent Native who would have been eligible to be enrolled
to such Urban or Group Corporation.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall affect entitlement to
land of any Regional Corporation pursuant to section 12(b) or
section 14(h)(8).
* * * * * * *
the tlingit-haida settlement
Sec. 16. (a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(e)(1) The Native residents of each of the Native villages of
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell, Alaska, may
organize as an Urban Corporation.
(2) The Native residents of the Native village of Tenakee,
Alaska, may organize as a Group Corporation.
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall affect any entitlement
to land of any Native Corporation pursuant to this Act or any
other provision of law.
* * * * * * *
DISSENTING VIEWS ON H.R. 2812
We strongly oppose this legislation.
H.R. 2812 designates five new Native development
corporations to be capitalized with land from the Tongass
National Forest or other assets as determined by a future
Congress. The premise underlying the bill is that Natives in
these five Southeast Alaska communities did not receive the
same benefits from the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
as did Natives in other Alaskan villages.
We oppose reopening the 27 year-old settlement on the
rationale that some Alaska Natives got a better deal than
others. In enacting the 1971 Settlement Act--which conveyed
over 40 million acres of land and nearly $1 billion in
compensation to Alaska Natives--Congress in fact did not
exclude Natives in these five Southeast communities. All
eligible Natives were enrolled as at-large shareholders in the
Sealaska regional corporation. In addition to financial
compensation, Sealaska received about 313,000 acres of surface
lands and 589,000 acres of subsurface, including some of the
most productive timber lands in Southeast Alaska.
It is important to recognize that Natives in these five
communities are not ``landless.'' They are shareholders of
Sealaska, one of the most land-rich Native regional
corporations in Alaska, a corporation that has generated
significant revenues, primarily from clear-cutting the old-
growth forest on its lands and exporting the logs.
There is no question that the 1971 Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act did not treat equally every community and every
region in Alaska. There are thousands of other ``at-large''
shareholders of regional corporations who did not receive dual-
enrollment in village corporations and who are not included in
this bill. Native shareholders of some regional corporations,
such as the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation on the North
Slope, received more economically valuable assets than did
other regional corporations such as Calista in the southwest.
In recognition of these regional inequities, Congress included
section 7(I) in the 1971 Settlement Act, requiring that revenue
from timber, mineral and oil and gas development in any one
region be distributed amongst all the regions.
Both the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior have
stated that they will recommend this bill be vetoed if enacted
by Congress. The Administration testified before the Committee
that there is ``no legal or equitable justification'' for
Congress to rewrite the 1971 Settlement Act as provided for in
H.R. 2812.
Among the Administration's concerns is the likelihood of
future land conveyances from the Tongass National Forest if
five new development corporations are created by Congress.
Diverse interests in Alaska, including the Southeast Alaska
Conservation Council and the Alaska Outdoor Council (an
affiliate of the National Rifle Association), also oppose this
bill because of concerns that it will ultimately lead to
additional conveyances of important national forest lands out
of public ownership.
We share these concerns and urge the House to reject this
legislation.
George Miller.
Bruce F. Vento.
Maurice Hinchey.