[Senate Report 117-15]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        Calendar No. 43
117th Congress        }                       {               Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session          }                       {               117-15

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



 
  TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY TO THE SOUTHEAST 
  ALASKA REGIONAL HEALTH CONSORTIUM LOCATED IN SITKA, ALASKA, AND FOR 
                             OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

                 April 14, 2021.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

           Mr. Schatz, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 550]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 550) to provide for the conveyance of certain property 
to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium located in 
Sitka, Alaska, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of this bill is to direct the Secretary of the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convey 
certain property, located in Sitka, Alaska, to the Southeast 
Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). The property 
transfer authorized by this bill would enable SEARHC to 
renovate existing, and construct new, health care facilities in 
order to provide improved services to surrounding communities 
in southeast Alaska.

                               BACKGROUND

    Founded in 1975, SEARHC is one of the oldest and largest 
Native-run health organizations in the country. SEARHC is a 
non-profit Tribal health consortium that provides health and 
social services to 18 Native communities, including the 
Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples in southeast Alaska.
    Following passage of the Indian Self-Determination and 
Education Assistance Act in 1976, SEARHC began contracting with 
the Indian Health Service (IHS) to assume management of the 
Community Health Aide Program (CHAP), which services several 
Indian Tribes in the area. CHAP allows community health aides 
to work with licensed providers to offer medical, dental, and 
behavioral health care services to Native patients living in 
remote areas of the state.
    The SEARHC also controls and operates Mt. Edgecumbe 
Hospital (MEH), the regional hospital that provides acute care, 
critical care, obstetrics, surgery, and perioperative care to 
residents of Sitka and other areas of southeast Alaska. MEH was 
constructed toward the end of World War II by the U.S. 
Department of War to treat patients with tuberculosis. As the 
oldest hospital in Alaska, the facilities need renovations or 
replacement in order to continue providing quality health care 
services to the community. But because HHS currently holds 
title to the land, SEARHC is unable to readily make renovations 
and expand MEH with a replacement facility without federal 
legislation transferring title.

                          SUMMARY OF THE BILL

    S. 550 directs the Secretary of the HHS to transfer 10.87 
acres of the described land including all right, title, and 
interest, to SEARHC by warranty deed within two years of 
enactment.

                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    SEARHC intends to use the transferred land located in 
Sitka, Alaska for future health care facility renovations and 
expansion of MEH. Without the conveyance of title by warranty 
deed, SEARHC will be less likely to secure needed financing for 
renovations to the hospital and construct new facilities. The 
land conveyance will also provide SEARHC with more control and 
oversight of the properties resulting in enhanced access to 
health care services in the area.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    On March 2, 2021, Senators Murkowski and Sullivan 
introduced S. 550, A bill to provide for the conveyance of 
certain property to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health 
Consortium located in Sitka, Alaska, and for other purposes. S. 
550 is identical to its predecessor bill, S. 3099, which passed 
the Senate in the 116th Congress. The Senate referred the bill 
to the Committee on Indian Affairs (Committee) the same day. 
The Committee held a duly called business meeting to consider 
nine bills, including S. 550, on March 10, 2021. No amendments 
were filed to S. 550. The Committee passed the bill en bloc 
with eight other bills by voice vote, and ordered the bill to 
be favorably reported.
    On January 21, 2021, Representative Young introduced H.R. 
442, the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Land 
Transfer Act. The House of Representatives referred the bill to 
the Committee on Natural Resources with a sequential referral 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. On February 2, 2021, 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce referred H.R. 442 to the 
Subcommittee on Health and on February 18 the Committee on 
Natural Resources referred the bill to the Subcommittee for 
Indigenous Peoples of the United States. No further action has 
been taken.
    This bill, S. 550, is similar to other bills that were 
passed by the Committee and signed into law in 2013, 2015 and 
2018.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\See Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Land Transfer 
Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-326 (2018); A bill to provide for the 
conveyance of certain property to the Yukon Kuskokwim Health 
Corporation located in Bethel, Alaska, Pub. L. No. 114-56 (2015); 
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Land Transfer Act, Pub. L. No. 
113-68 (2013); To provide for the conveyance of certain property from 
the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, 
Alaska, Pub. L. No. 112-263 (2013).
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                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 states that the Act may be cited as the 
``Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Land Transfer Act 
of 2021''.

Sec. 2. Conveyance of property

    Subsection (a) directs the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to convey all right, title, and interest of the land 
described in Section 3 by warranty deed to the Southeast Alaska 
Regional Health Consortium no later than two years after the 
date of enactment of this Act. The land will continue to be 
used for health and social services programs.
    Subsection (b) provides conditions for the conveyance of 
the property, including--
          (1) must be made by warranty deed; and
          (2) will not to require any consideration by the 
        Consortium; impose any obligation, term, or condition 
        on the Consortium; or allow for any reversionary 
        interest.
    Subsection (c) states that on the effective date of the 
conveyance, the warranty deed will supersede and render no 
future effect any quitclaim deed to the property.

Sec. 3. Property described

    Section 3 provides the physical property description of 
10.87 acres, including all appurtenances, in Sitka, Alaska.

Sec. 4. Environmental liability

    Subsection (a)(1) states that SEARHC will not be liable for 
any soil, surface water, groundwater, or other contamination 
resulting from the disposal, release, or presence of any 
environmental contamination on any portion of the land 
described in Section 3 on or before the date the property is 
conveyed to the Consortium.
    Subsection (a)(2) describes environmental contamination to 
include any oil or petroleum products, hazardous substances, 
hazardous materials, hazardous waste, pollutants, toxic 
substances, solid waste, or any other environmental 
contamination or hazard defined in any Federal or State of 
Alaska law.
    Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary any easement or 
access to the conveyed property as may be reasonably necessary 
to satisfy any retained obligation or liability.
    Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to comply with 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 120(h)(3) of the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following cost estimate, as provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office, dated March 24, 2021, was prepared 
for S. 550:

                                                    March 24, 2021.
Hon. Brian Schatz,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 550, the Southeast 
Alaska Regional Health Consortium Land Transfer Act of 2021.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert 
Stewart.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure

    
    	  [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    S. 550 would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services (HHS) to convey a parcel of land in Sitka, Alaska, to 
the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SARHC). The 
conveyance would be made by a warranty deed, which is a type of 
deed that guarantees a clear title to the new owner of the 
property.
    The Indian Self-Determination and Education Act (ISDEAA) 
allows tribal entities to assume responsibility for providing 
health care services funded by the Indian Health Service (IHS). 
The SARHC is a nonprofit health care and social services 
corporation that operates facilities under the ISDEAA in 
southeast communities throughout Alaska. According to IHS, the 
SARHC currently does not pay rent or any other remuneration to 
IHS for the use of the land to be transferred. Consequently, 
CBO estimates that enacting S. 550 would not affect direct 
spending or revenues and would have an insignificant effect on 
spending subject to appropriation for IHS staff to facilitate 
the land transfer.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Stewart. 
The estimate was reviewed by Leo Lex, Deputy Director for 
Budget Analysis.

               REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the 
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes S. 550 will have 
minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding S. 550.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    On February 11, 2021, the Committee unanimously approved a 
motion to waive subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate. In the opinion of the Committee, it is 
necessary to dispense with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite the business of the 
Senate.

                                  [all]