[House Report 113-689]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress}                                                 {  Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session   }                                                 { 113-689

======================================================================

 
   TO AMEND THE ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT TO PROVIDE THAT 
  ALEXANDER CREEK, ALASKA, IS AND SHALL BE RECOGNIZED AS AN ELIGIBLE 
         NATIVE VILLAGE UNDER THAT ACT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 December  22, 2014.--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

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 1103]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1103) to amend the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Alaska, is and 
shall be recognized as an eligible Native village under that 
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. 1103 is to amend the Alaska Native 
Claims Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Alaska, 
is and shall be recognized as an eligible Native village under 
that Act.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) 
extinguished all claims of Native people based on aboriginal 
title to lands and waters in Alaska. In compensation, the Act 
entitled Alaska Natives to 44 million acres of public lands in 
Alaska and nearly $1 billion. The lands and funds would be 
conveyed to 12 Regional Corporations, more than 200 Village 
Corporations, and a small number of Group Corporations and 
Urban Corporations organized by Native residents of at least 
one-fourth degree Alaska Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut blood (or a 
combination thereof).
    Fee title to the 44 million acres of land conveyed under 
ANCSA is divided among the Native Corporations under a complex 
formula relating to geography and Native population. Depending 
on the size of its enrollment, each Alaska Native Village of 25 
or more residents is entitled to a minimum of three townships 
(69,120 acres) and a maximum of seven townships (161,280 acres) 
in which part of the village is located. The Act further 
provides that title to the subsurface estate of a Village 
Corporation's land (except in a National Wildlife Refuge) be 
held by the applicable Regional Corporation.
    In addition to providing land conveyances to Regional and 
Village Corporations, ANCSA provides that a Village of fewer 
than 25 Native residents may form a ``Group Corporation'' 
entitled to a maximum of 7,680 acres of land. Accordingly, 
Alexander Creek organized as a Group Corporation after the 
Department of the Interior reduced its original enrollment from 
more than 25 Natives to fewer than 25.
    ANCSA prescribed a host of conditions under which Native 
Corporations must operate. The Corporations must be for-profit 
business corporations organized under the laws of Alaska. Their 
settlement lands are treated as private property subject to 
State regulation, but they are nontaxable until developed. 
While ANCSA Corporations may buy, sell, or trade their lands 
like any private landowner, shares issued by the Corporations 
are not publicly traded or sold. Importantly, section 7 of 
ANCSA requires that 70% of revenues derived by a Regional 
Corporation from the development of timber and mineral 
resources on land patented to it under ANCSA be shared with the 
other Regional Corporations. The other Regional Corporations in 
turn must redistribute these benefits to Village Corporations 
in their regions and to at-large shareholders (i.e., Natives 
who own shares in a Regional but not a Village Corporation).

                            ALEXANDER CREEK

    Alexander Creek is located 27 miles northwest of Alaska's 
largest city of Anchorage. While most Native Villages are 
listed by name in Section 11(b)(1) of ANCSA, Alexander Creek 
secured recognition as a Village of at least 25 Native 
residents under Interior Department procedures authorized by 
ANCSA Section 11(b)(3). Alexander Creek's recognition was 
challenged through administrative appeals and lawsuits, 
precipitated by (among other things) concerns that its Village 
status would entitle it to the same lands claimed by the State 
and the Mat-Su Borough pursuant to other statutes including the 
Alaska Statehood Act (Public Law 85-508, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 
339).
    On an appeal of Alexander Creek's Village status in 1974, 
the Department of the Interior Alaska Native Claims Appeals 
Board (ANCAB) decided that only 22 Native people should be 
enrolled to Alexander Creek, three short of meeting the 
eligibility requirements for a Village. As a result, Alexander 
Creek was forced to organize as a Group Corporation with a 
corresponding reduction of its land entitlement. Alexander 
Creek argues that several Native residents were not properly 
counted because the Interior Department failed to notify them 
of the administrative proceedings where they could have 
testified as to their resident status.
    Alexander Creek filed a lawsuit that resulted in protracted 
litigation. The case eventually went to the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which reversed 
Interior's determination but remanded the case to a lower court 
for further proceedings. This led to negotiations that resulted 
in Alexander Creek organizing as a Group Corporation rather 
than a Village Corporation. Subsequent leadership of Alexander 
Creek petitioned Congress for legislation to enroll the 
excluded Natives and give it Village Corporation status.
    On July 23, 2013, the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska 
Native Affairs held a hearing on H.R. 1103. A witness 
representing the Department of the Interior testified in 
opposition to the bill. In Interior's view, H.R. 1103 would 
``effectively overturn the long-standing settlement, codified 
in statute, which resolved the status of Alexander Creek, and 
would undermine the finalization of entitlement claims in 
southcentral Alaska.'' (Written Statement of Mike Black, 
Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.)
    It must be noted that ANCSA has been amended numerous times 
by Congress. It is further important to note that Native 
Villages recognized pursuant to ANCSA are not tribes. The 
Alaska Native Villages possess a unique history of relations 
with the federal government that is not comparable to those of 
recognized Indian tribes in the contiguous 48 states. 
Accordingly, Congress has regularly dealt with Alaska Natives 
through laws and policies that are separate from those Congress 
uses in its dealings with tribes.
    Testimony from Stephanie Thompson, President of Alexander 
Creek, was given on a previous version of the bill (H.R. 4194) 
on March 20, 2012. Ms. Thompson submitted materials in the 
record demonstrating that a number of Natives (who have since 
passed away) were not given a fair opportunity to testify 
before the Interior Department regarding their membership in 
Alexander Creek. Ms. Thompson was not asked to testify on H.R. 
1103 because her testimony would be substantially unchanged 
from what she provided in the previous Congress.

                         ANALYSIS OF H.R. 1103

    H.R. 1103 recognizes Alexander Creek as a Native Village, 
making it eligible to form a Village Corporation under ANCSA. 
The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to open 
negotiations with Alexander Creek and, in his sole discretion, 
to enter into an agreement within one year of enactment of the 
bill ``to fairly and equitably settle aboriginal land claims 
and any other claims of Alexander Creek against the United 
States'' in approximate parity with those of other Alaska 
Village Corporations.
    The bill does not prescribe any benefits and does not 
guarantee what they will be, if any. Unlike a prior version 
reported by the Committee in the 112th Congress (H.R. 4194; H. 
Rept. 112-736), H.R. 1103 further provides that any settlement 
reached by Interior and Alexander Creek pursuant to the bill 
``shall not be subject to the Indian Tribal Judgment Funds Use 
or Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 1401), unless subsequently 
authorized by law.'' Even though it is not the bill sponsor's 
intent to authorize the payment of money to Alexander Creek, 
this new provision was included following his consultation with 
the Congressional Budget Office in an effort to ensure the bill 
does not generate a budget score.
    The bill further requires Alexander Creek, upon being 
recognized as a Village, to notify its members that they shall 
cease receiving certain revenue-sharing benefits available to 
them under section 7(m) of ANCSA. Such members, however, will 
be eligible for revenue sharing payments established under 
section 7(j) of ANCSA. These revenue sharing measures in ANCSA 
provide for the redistribution of 70% of revenues derived by 
all Alaska Native Regional Corporations from the development of 
timber and subsurface resources on their settlement lands.
    Finally, the bill ensures the entitlement to lands that 
Alexander Creek obtained as a Group Corporation is not 
diminished by the change in its status.
    H.R. 1103 rectifies a longstanding problem caused by the 
federal government in its failure to allow Alexander Creek a 
fair and just opportunity to establish the requisite enrollment 
of Natives that would qualify it to be a Village under ANCSA. 
The bill has no impact on taxpayers and it does not disturb any 
existing land entitlement under ANCSA.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 1103 was introduced on March 12, 2013, by Congressman 
Don Young (R-AK). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. On July 23, 2013, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On February 27, 2014, 
the 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 and the bill 
was adopted and 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:

H.R. 1103--A bill to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to 
        provide that Alexander Creek, Alaska, is and shall be 
        recognized as an eligible Native village under that Act, and 
        for other purposes

    Summary: H.R. 1103 would change the federal designation of 
the Alexander Creek community in Alaska. CBO estimates that 
enacting H.R. 1103 would cost $30 million over the 2015-2024 
period. Because those costs would increase direct spending, 
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting the legislation would 
not affect revenues or spending subject to appropriation.
    H.R. 1103 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: H.R. 1103 would 
designate the Alexander Creek community as a Native village 
under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA). 
The community is currently recognized as a Native group under 
ANCSA. The legislation would require the Department of the 
Interior (DOI) to settle land and other claims with the newly 
designated Native village.
    ANCSA established a process to classify Native Alaskan 
communities for the purpose of conveying nearly 44 million 
acres of federal land to those communities. Under ANCSA, Native 
villages are entitled to about 69,000 acres, and Native groups 
can receive up to about 8,000 acres. The Alexander Creek 
community was classified as a Native group in 1974, and that 
classification was affirmed and codified in the Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA). In that 
agreement, the Alexander Creek community was entitled to 
receive almost 8,000 acres of federal land. H.R. 1103 would 
supersede the ANILCA agreement and would classify the Alexander 
Creek community as a Native village, allowing them to receive 
an additional 61,000 acres of land.
    CBO estimates that 61,000 acres of land in this area of 
Alaska would have an appraised value of about $30 million. 
Because most eligible lands have already been conveyed to the 
state of Alaska, CBO expects that the settlement under H.R. 
1103 would be in the form of a monetary settlement to the 
community from the Treasury's Judgment Fund (a permanent, 
indefinite appropriation for claims and judgments against the 
United States). However, the cost of the settlement under H.R. 
1103 ultimately would depend on the terms agreed upon by DOI 
and the Alexander Creek Native Village. (The bill does not 
specify the terms of the settlement agreement.) If the 
settlement were in the form of a transfer of federal land to 
the Alexander Creek community, for example, the legislation 
would have a negligible effect on the federal budget.
    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. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those 
pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table.

CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR H.R. 1103, A BILL TO AMEND THE ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT TO PROVIDE THAT ALEXANDER CREEK, ALASKA, IS
         AND SHALL BE RECOGNIZED AS AN ELIGIBLE NATIVE VILLAGE UNDER THAT ACT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AS ORDERED REPORTED ON FEBRUARY 27, 2014
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                       By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                            --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                           2014-   2014-
                                                              2014   2015   2016   2017   2018   2019   2020   2021   2022   2023   2024   2019    2024
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               NET INCREASE IN THE DEFICIT
 
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact.............................      0     30      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      0      30      30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 1103 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments. Enacting the bill would benefit the 
community of Alexander Creek.
    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. CBO estimates that 
enacting H.R. 1103 would cost $30 million over the 2015-2024 
period.
    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 amend the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act to provide that Alexander Creek, Alaska, is and 
shall be recognized as an eligible Native village under that 
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.

                       Compliance With H. Res. 5

    Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that 
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any 
specific rule-making proceedings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                Preemption Of State, Local or Tribal Law

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

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) 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):

                  ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT




           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
SEC. 43. ALEXANDER CREEK VILLAGE RECOGNITION.

  (a) Recognition of the Village of Alexander Creek.--Subject 
to the limitations of this section and notwithstanding section 
1432(d) of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
(Public Law 96-487) and any conveyance or agreement in 
furtherance thereof or thereto, to the contrary, Alexander 
Creek, located within Township 15N, Range 7W, Seward Meridian, 
Alaska, is and shall be recognized as an eligible Native 
village under section 11(b)(3) of this Act.
  (b) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section, the 
following terms apply:
          (1) The term ``agency'' includes--
                  (A) any instrumentality of the United States;
                  (B) any element of an agency; and
                  (C) any wholly owned or mixed-owned 
                corporation of the United States Government 
                identified in chapter 91 of title 31, United 
                States Code.
          (2) The term ``Alexander Creek'' means Alexander 
        Creek, Incorporated, an Alaska Native Group corporation 
        organized pursuant to this Act prior to the enactment 
        of this section, but subsequent to enactment of this 
        section means Alexander Creek, Incorporated, an Alaska 
        Native Village corporation recognized and organized 
        pursuant to section (a).
          (3) The term ``Region'' means Cook Inlet Region 
        Incorporated, an Alaska Native Regional Corporation, 
        which is the appropriate Regional Corporation for 
        Alexander Creek under section 1613(h) of this Act.
  (c) Organization of Alexander Creek.--As soon as practicable 
after enactment of this section, Alexander Creek shall cause to 
be filed--
          (1) any amendments to its corporate charter in the 
        State of Alaska necessary to convert from a Native 
        group to a Native Village corporation; and
          (2) if necessary, any amendments to its corporate 
        charter and governing business documents that fulfill 
        the terms of the agreement authorized under this Act.
  (d) Negotiations.--
          (1) Authority and direction to negotiate.--Not later 
        than 30 days after the date of enactment of this 
        section, the Secretary shall open discussions and 
        subsequently negotiate and, in the Secretary's sole 
        discretion on behalf of the United States, enter into 
        an agreement within one year of enactment of this 
        section, with Alexander Creek to fairly and equitably 
        settle aboriginal land claims and any other claims of 
        Alexander Creek against the United States; and such 
        agreement with Alexander Creek shall be in approximate 
        value parity with those of other Alaska Native Village 
        Corporations, notwithstanding Alexander Creek's prior 
        status as a Group Corporation.
          (2) Funds for settlement.--A settlement reached under 
        this subsection shall not be subject to the Indian 
        Tribal Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 
        U.S.C. 1401), unless subsequently authorized by law.
  (e) Shareholder Participation.--Alexander Creek shall notify 
each member of the Native village recognized under this section 
that, upon the effective date of this section, such members 
shall cease to receive benefits from the Region as at-large 
shareholders pursuant to section 7(m), and that all future 
resource payments from the Region shall be made to the Village 
Corporation pursuant to section 7(j). The Region shall not be 
liable under any State, Federal, or local law, or under State 
or Federal common law, for damages arising out of or related to 
the cessation of payments to such individuals under section 
7(m) pursuant to this section.
  (f) Construction.--Except as provided in this section with 
respect to Alexander Creek, nothing in this section shall be 
construed to modify or amend land conveyance entitlements or 
conveyance agreements between the Region and village 
corporations other than Alexander Creek in such region, nor 
between the Region and the Federal Government, nor between any 
such parties and the State of Alaska.
  (g) Construction Regarding Current Alexander Creek Land.--
Nothing in this section shall be construed to reduce the land 
entitlement to which Alexander Creek became entitled as a Group 
Corporation, including the land selected by and conveyed to 
Alexander Creek at the time of enactment of this section.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

           H.R. 1103: ALEXANDER CREEK VILLAGE RECOGNITION ACT

    H.R. 1103 would amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
Act (ANCSA) to recognize Alexander Creek Inc., currently an 
Alaska Native Group, as an Alaska Native Village. As a Native 
Village, Alexander Creek would be eligible for similar 
treatment as other Native Villages under ANCSA, including 
eligibility to receive from 69,120 acres to 161,200 acres of 
land from the public domain, depending on the number of 
residents. Under its Native Group designation, Alexander Creek 
currently encompasses 7,680 acres--the maximum acreage allotted 
under ANCSA for Native Groups--in a remote area approximately 
27 miles from Anchorage, Alaska.
    In 1973, Alexander Creek, the Cook Inlet Region 
Incorporated (CIRI--an Alaska Native Corporation), the United 
States, and various other groups including Sierra Club and an 
Alaska sportsmen's group began having disputes over whether 
Alexander Creek should be considered a Group or a Village. 
These disputes led to court battles and culminated in a 1979 
agreement in which Alexander Creek dropped its claim to be a 
Village in exchange for Group status and up to 7,680 acres of 
land. The agreement was codified in Section 1432 of the Alaska 
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). In 
subsequent years, however, the leadership of Alexander Creek 
took the view that they should have been recognized as an ANCSA 
Village.
    The Department of the Interior has expressed concerns with 
the bill. Specifically, declaration of Alexander Creek as an 
eligible Village could have serious repercussions in the 
overall framework of land conveyances established by ANCSA. The 
resolution of Alexander Creek's status as a Native Group and 
subsequent codification in ANILCA allowed the land entitlement 
process throughout South Central Alaska's Cook Inlet region to 
proceed. The BLM's Alaska Land Conveyance program is now in a 
late stage of implementation. The Department believes that 
changing the status of Alexander Creek at this stage in the 
process could undercut the basis on which village and regional 
entitlements were addressed.
    For these reasons, H.R. 1103 has the potential to require 
recalculation and reapportionment of the ANCSA figures, which 
may disrupt this lengthy and complex land entitlement and 
conveyance process.

                                             Peter DeFazio,
                    Ranking Member, Committee on Natural Resources.