House committee considers Alaska Native bills

Friday, November 16, 2007  

The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to consider four Alaska Native bills.

The bills are sponsored by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the committee's ranking member. They affect economic development, land claims, federal recognition and veterans.

The Bush administration didn't offer much support for any of the bills, The Anchorage Daily News reported. The one to treat Alexander Creek as a Native village appeared to draw the most opposition.

"Thirty-six years you've been sitting on your thumbs," Young told an Interior Department official, the paper reported. "It seems like the agency's got its head stuck somewhere I don't want to talk about."

The bills are:

• H.R. 2445: To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to recognize Alexander Creek as a Native village, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 3350: To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide for equitable allotment of lands to Alaska Native veterans. (Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act)
• H.R.3351: To adapt the lessons of foreign aid to underdeveloped economies to the provision of Federal economic development assistance to similarly situated remote Native American communities, and for other purposes. (Native American Challenge Demonstration Project Act of 2007)
• H.R. 3560: To provide for the completion of certain land selections under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for other purposes. (Southeast Alaska Native Land Entitlement Finalization Act)

Get the Story:
Four U.S. House bills focus on Natives (The Anchorage Daily News 11/16)
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Hearing Info/Testimony:
'Full Committee Legislative Hearing: H.R. 2445, H.R. 3350, H.R. 3351, And H.R. 3560 (November 14, 2007)

Relevant Links:
House Natural Resources Committee - http://resourcescommittee.house.gov

Related Stories:
House Resources Committee hearing, markup (11/12)