Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Land Transfer Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 623) to provide for the conveyance of certain property located in Anchorage, Alaska, from the United States to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 623 transfers by warranty deed a 2.79-acre parcel of federal land located in Anchorage, Alaska, from the Indian Health Service to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. This consortium is a nonprofit authorized by Congress to render health services to Alaska Natives under a contract with the Indian Health Service.

The land has been used for parking to accommodate nearby facilities run by the consortium and the Indian Health Service. It will be used to construct a patient housing facility, thereby expanding its capacity to offer vital health services for Alaska Native patients, some of whom travel great distances from rural areas to receive care.

Following a subcommittee hearing on the bill in May, the Indian Health Service administratively conveyed the land to the consortium by quitclaim deed. H.R. 623 remains necessary because transferring the land by warranty deed provides cleaner title to the property than by quitclaim deed.

The bill was also referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The chairman of that committee, Mr. Upton, has kindly foregone action on the bill in the interest of expediting it for consideration on the House floor. I thank him for his cooperation and have an exchange of letters memorializing our agreement. CBO estimates that H.R. 623 would have no significant impact on the Federal budget and would not affect direct spending on revenues.

H.R. 623 is non-controversial, and I hope the House will pass it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Energy and Commerce,

Washington, DC, October 1, 2013.

Hon. Doc Hastings,

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, Longworth House

Office Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Hastings, I write concerning H.R. 623, Alaska

Native Tribal Health Consortium Land Transfer Act, which was

ordered to be reported out of your Committee on July 31,

2013. I wanted to notify you that the Committee on Energy and

Commerce will forgo action on H.R. 623 so that it may proceed

expeditiously to the House floor for consideration.

This is done with the understanding that the Committee on

Energy and Commerce is not waiving any of its jurisdiction,

and the Committee will not in any way be prejudiced with

respect to the appointment of conferees

or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this or similar

legislation.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding, and ask that a copy of our exchange of

letters on this matter be included in the Congressional

Record during consideration of H.R. 623 on the House floor.

Sincerely,

Fred Upton,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for commenting on this bill and supporting it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. GRIJALVA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium was established in 1997 to provide health services to Alaska Natives. Based in Anchorage, the consortium now serves over 130,000 patients from all over the State.

H.R. 623 conveys 2.79 acres of Federal land in Anchorage, Alaska, to the consortium. The parcel will be used to construct patient housing for visiting patients, allowing continued growth so that the Anchorage facilities can meet the health care needs of more and more people from rural Alaska. Some patients travel long distances to access health care facilities in Anchorage. H.R. 623 helps ensure that traveling patients are not burdened with finding their own accommodations. This is an important component of making sure that all Native Alaskans have access to equitable health care.

I am happy to report that the Indian Health Service transferred the parcel in question by quitclaim deed on June 20 of this year.

While the consortium is now able to start planning and preparation for patient housing, H.R. 623 transfers the parcel to the consortium by warranty deed. This removes future complications and guarantees there will be no hiccups in the development of additional patient housing at the Anchorage site.

We support H.R. 623 and urge its passage by the House today.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I ask unanimous consent that the Indian Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 623 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I further ask that the bill be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.