[House Report 112-428]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-428
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               SALMON LAKE LAND SELECTION RESOLUTION ACT

                                _______
                                

 April 16, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 292]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (S. 292) 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, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of S. 292 is 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.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 
(ANCSA), all aboriginal claims to land and waters in Alaska 
were extinguished in exchange for the transfer of fee title to 
44 million acres of public lands in the state to Alaska 
Natives, divided among 12 Regional Corporations and more than 
200 Village Corporations that the Act authorized them to form. 
Pursuant to Section 14(h)(8) of ANCSA, Bering Straits Native 
Corporation (BSNC), organized by Natives in the Nome area, 
received an entitlement to 145,728 acres of land. In partial 
satisfaction of this entitlement, BSNC selected federal lands 
adjacent to Salmon Lake, a large lake 38 miles north of Nome, 
Alaska. Some of these selections overlap a selection made by 
the State pursuant to its own land entitlement under the Alaska 
Statehood Act of 1958.
    To resolve the conflicting land selections, BSNC, the 
State, and the United States negotiated the ``Salmon Lake Area 
Land Ownership Consolidation Agreement'' (Agreement), effective 
as of July 18, 2007. An Act of Congress is necessary to ratify 
the Agreement before it takes full effect.
    The Agreement provides for certain land conveyances and 
relinquishments among the parties. BSNC acquires 1,009 acres in 
the Salmon Lake area, 6,132 acres of land at Windy Cove, and 
7,504 acres of land at Imuruk Basin. The State acquires 3,084 
acres in the Salmon Lake area, while BSNC relinquishes 3,084 
acres of land from its original Salmon Lake selection.
    The Agreement does not change the total amount of land to 
which BSNC and the State are entitled under ANCSA and the 
Alaska Statehood Act, respectively. Additionally, the Agreement 
protects public access to popular recreation and subsistence 
sites, including a campground managed by the Bureau of Land 
Management.
    The Agreement had originally been set to expire on January 
1, 2009, but the three parties to it have extended the deadline 
for Congressional ratification until January 1, 2013.
    In the 111th Congress, the House and Senate worked on a 
prior version of S. 292. In the House, H.R. 2340, sponsored by 
Congressman Don Young (R-AK), passed on a 410-0 vote, but no 
further action occurred on this bill in the Senate. The Senate 
version, S. 522, sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), 
was reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources, but no further action occurred.
    The bill is supported by the Administration, the BSNC, and 
the State of Alaska.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    S. 292 was introduced on February 4, 2011, by Senator Lisa 
Murkowski (R-AK). On October 18, 2011, the bill passed the 
Senate by unanimous consent. The bill was then referred to the 
House Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee 
to the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. On 
January 25, 2012, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. 
On February 29, 2012, the Full Natural Resources Committee met 
to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska 
Native Affairs was discharged by unanimous consent. No 
amendments were offered to the bill and the bill was then 
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by 
voice vote.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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 this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 
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 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII 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 this bill from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

S. 292--Salmon Lake Land Selection Resolution Act

    Summary: S. 292 would ratify the Salmon Lake Area Land 
Ownership Consolidation Agreement that was signed by the 
federal government, the state of Alaska and the Bering Straits 
Native Corporation (a native-owned regional corporation 
established to administer land given to Alaska Natives under 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) in 2007. That 
agreement was to settle a land dispute. Based on information 
from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO expects that 
enacting the legislation would increase offsetting receipts (a 
credit against direct spending) in 2013; therefore, pay-as-you-
go procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that such effects 
would be insignificant. The act would not affect revenues.
    S. 292 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: Under the act, 
the federal government would convey about 18,000 acres of land 
located in western Alaska to the Bering Straits Native 
Corporation and the state of Alaska to satisfy claims made by 
those parties under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and 
the Alaska Statehood Act, respectively. The federal government 
currently collects about $1,500 per year from a lease on the 
affected land. Those amounts are deposited in an escrow account 
pending ratification of the agreement. Upon enactment of the 
legislation, BLM would transfer 90 percent of all receipts 
collected over the life of the lease (about $20,000 to date) to 
the state of Alaska and would deposit the remaining 10 percent 
of those funds in the U.S. Treasury. Thus, CBO estimates that 
enacting the legislation would increase offsetting receipts to 
the Treasury (a credit against direct spending) by about $2,000 
in 2013.
    Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go 
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement 
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or 
revenues. Enacting S. 292 would result in an insignificant 
reduction in direct spending over the 2012-2022 period.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 292 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    Previous CBO cost estimate: On July 26, 2011, CBO 
transmitted a cost estimate for S. 292, as ordered reported by 
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on July 
14, 2011. The two versions of the legislation are similar and 
the CBO cost estimates are the same. The cost estimate 
transmitted on July 26, 2011, did not reflect new information 
about the deposit of funds into an escrow account pending 
ratification of the agreement. Because those amounts are in an 
escrow account, CBO now estimates that enacting S. 292 would 
result in an insignificant reduction in direct spending, rather 
than an insignificant increase as reported in our cost estimate 
of July 26, 2011.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Martin von Gnechten; 
Impact on state, local, and tribal governments: Melissa 
Merrell; Impact on the private sector: Amy Petz.
    Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required 
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget 
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase 
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. Based on 
information from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO 
expects that enacting the legislation would increase offsetting 
receipts (a credit against direct spending) in 2013; therefore, 
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that 
such effects would be insignificant.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is 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.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates as defined under 
Public Law 104-4.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any local or tribal 
law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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