Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3786) to direct the Administrator of General Services, on behalf of the Archivist of the United States, to convey certain Federal property located in the State of Alaska to the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3786, as amended.

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

H.R. 3786, as amended, will direct the General Services Administration, on behalf of the National Archives, to convey property in Alaska to the city of Anchorage.

I am pleased to be the sponsor of this legislation, which will bring savings to the taxpayer.

The National Archives has determined that it no longer needs the property to be conveyed in the bill, and it wants to sell it as part of its efforts to shrink its space footprint. The bill will require fair market value for the property and will allow the National Archives to retain the proceeds to offset the costs of repairing other facilities. I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3998) to authorize the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of real property in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the Amy Biehl High School Foundation, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3998, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3998, as amended, will direct the GSA to convey property in New Mexico to the Amy Biehl High School Foundation for fair market value. The Amy Biehl High School is a public charter school that has been using the building since 2006.

While the school currently leases the facilities from the General Services Administration, GSA only receives nominal rent, making it more costly to the taxpayer to maintain the property. In fact, the Amy Biehl Foundation has invested funds to renovate and restore the building for use as a school.

GSA has determined there is no Federal need for the property and concluded the cost of managing this building exceeds any revenue. Selling this property for fair market value will ensure the taxpayer receives the best return on the property.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to put a plug in for charter schools period. The Amy Biehl school is an example of what can be done under charter schools and how it does serve a purpose.

We have been very successful in the State of Alaska with our charter schools, and I think it is crucially important to understand that sometimes other schools can fulfill that gap.

Apparently, this one does a good job, according to the young lady that sponsored the bill and the gentleman that is managing this bill. But let's just remember that when education is failing, then we have to look for other alternatives, and this is a classic alternative.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I agree with the gentlelady. Housing is important for the American Indian community. It should be funded. This bill is a decent bill, but flatlining

this funding back to the 2004 level is not acceptable.

We need this housing in rural areas, as the gentlelady mentioned. I represent approximately 400 small villages. Most do not have running water and the facilities that you are used to every day when you get up. They have the problem of many diseases because of the lack of good facilities. We need new housing. We need the money to be spent.

My argument is, if we are putting money in Afghanistan like we have done in the last few years, we ought to be able to put the money into our own Nation and States to have the housing for the native communities.

This is an important piece of legislation, but we ought to fund it to the full extent. It is time that we recognize that we have to help those who do not have, especially our first citizens of the United States.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation to facilitate infrastructure development at, and potential uses of, Point Spencer in the Bering Strait Region of Arctic Alaska by and for both the public and private sectors through fostering a public/private partnership among the Federal Government/the U.S. Coast Guard, the State of Alaska, the Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) and industry.

I will be joined in co-sponsoring this bill by my friend, the Chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Honorable Duncan Hunter.

What the Bill Provides: This legislation seeks to address the legitimate interests of the Federal and State Governments as well as the private sector in providing a means for future uses of Point Spencer by Federal, state, and private sector stakeholders for a variety of tasks and missions, including search and rescue, shipping safety, economic development, oil spill prevention and response, port of refuge, arctic research, maritime law enforcement and related and other uses.

For the Coast Guard: The bill provides a footprint at Point Spencer that the Coast Guard has indicated that it needs to retain to support possible future uses of a portion of Point Spencer, a total of approximately 140 acres. That includes a major footprint on the water and the land on which buildings that the Coast Guard boarded up in 2010 are located, as well as rights to use at no cost the current and any future airstrips for Federal purposes. The bill provides that the Secretary of the agency in which the Coast Guard is operating could, instead of retaining the lands reserved for the Coast Guard, have those lands conveyed to BSNC and then leased at no cost to the Coast Guard by BSNC. Also, a federal Navigational Servitude is reserved for the Coast Guard to exercise upon tidelands and submerged lands.

For the State of Alaska: The bill provides for the conveyance of approximately 180 acres to the State, including the airstrip and a shoreline footprint on the water as well as a right-of-way should it decide to build a road in the future from the airstrip to the mainland across Coast Guard and/or BSNC land. The State would also have a choice of having the lands identified in the bill to be conveyed to the state, conveyed to BSNC instead and then leased back to the state at no cost to the state. The tidelands and submerged lands around Point Spencer would be recognized as having continued ownership by the State of Alaska as they were presumptively conveyed to the State under the Statehood Act.

For Bering Straits Native Corporation: The bill provides for BSNC to receive the remainder of the lands not set aside for the Coast Guard or the State and thereby to be able to serve in facilitating the future uses of Point Spencer. If the Coast Guard and the state prefer to have access to the lands through a lease arrangement rather than having them retained or conveyed as applicable, BSNC would receive the lands identified for Coast Guard or State use and then lease those lands back at no cost to the Coast Guard or the State. BSNC would have access to the airstrip but could be charged usual and customary landing fees to help defray maintenance and administrative costs associated with the operations of the airstrip. Provision is made in the bill to help ensure protections for archaeological and ancestral items of antiquity through the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

Background: By way of background, Point Spencer is a small 2,600 plus-acre spit of land located in the Bering Strait region and was used for thousands of years by the Inupiat Eskimos and their ancestors and was the site of an ancient lnupiat village. Long before the coming of Europeans and Americans to this region, Point Spencer served as a major trading hub for the intercontinental movement of items among the indigenous groups of what is today, Alaska, and eastern Eurasia. With the ``discovery'' of whales north of Bering Strait in the 1840's by non-Natives, Point Spencer and adjacent Port Clarence, served as a safe harbor for the vessels of the American Whaling industry. In 1850-1852, vessels searching for the lost Franklin expedition over-wintered in Port Clarence. From 1865-1867 the area saw activity related to the Western Union Telegraph project, an uncompleted plan to link North America with Russia across Bering Strait. Point Spencer-Port Clarence continued to serve as a major harbor for the Revenue Cutter Service (forerunner of the USCG) during the 19th and into the 20th centuries. Throughout this period of initial contact, the residents of Bering Strait provided food, safe harbor, and guiding services to the visiting EuroAmerican ventures.

Because of the use of this spit of land by indigenous Peoples, the ancestors of those who now comprise the BSNC, for thousands of years before contact by non-Natives, the land is of great importance archaeologically and culturally to Alaska Natives living in the region.

After passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in 1971, the purpose of which was to help settle aboriginal land claims of Alaska Natives and also help clear the way so that the Trans-Alaska pipeline right-of-way could be secured and the pipeline constructed in the 1970s, BSNC filed a selection to Point Spencer in 1976 as a 14(h)(8) selection under ANCSA. Key among the reasons for this selection by BSNC was the recognition of the historically strategic place of Point Spencer within Bering Strait history, and to help ensure that the artifacts and archaeological resources from their ancestors would be better protected and the land would be available for future purposes.

However, because Point Spencer had been withdrawn in 1962 from appropriation under the mining and mineral leasing and other relevant laws of the U.S. so as to permit the construction of a Coast Guard LORAN (Port Clarence long-range radar site) station in 1966 at Point Spencer, the lands were unavailable for BSNC to select or to use unless and until the U.S. no longer needed the lands for the LORAN site. Two years after BSNC filed its selection at Point Spencer, the State of Alaska in 1978 filed a selection application under the Statehood Act on most of the land there and then top-filed on the entire parcel in 1993.

In 2010, the LORAN site at Point Spencer (named the Port Clarence LORAN station) was closed, hardened and abandoned by the Coast Guard and LORAN was thereafter no longer utilized for navigation purposes. At that time, BSNC began to explore the potential for fulfilling its aspirations for selecting Point Spencer that began 34 (thirty-four) years earlier.

BSNC contracted in 2010 to have a geomorphic study of Point Spencer undertaken to determine the long-term stability of the landform. BSNC also conducted an economic study of the lands and began an analysis of the hazardous materials contamination that the Coast Guard generated during its years of operating the LORAN facility and cataloguing any necessary clean-up that would be required to make some of the abandoned site useable. Working with the shipping and response industry, BSNC has also begun developing a phased infrastructure development plan for the Point Spencer lands. Such infrastructure could play a key role in fulfilling the purposes outlined above as well as in enabling the U.S. to pursue and protect national security, transportation, and potential economic interests in the region as the sea lanes open up and natural resource development is considered in the Arctic.

Potential for Job Creation: The bill seeks to provide for public sector interests and at the

same time ensure that the priceless archaeological and cultural artifacts of the ancestors of the people of the Bering Straits region are protected, many of which artifacts have, unfortunately, been allowed to be taken and sold abroad during the years of use for the LORAN site and post abandonment. This would provide job opportunities for its people in a region where villages can face poverty rates of over 40% and where unemployment in some communities reaches nearly 50%. If wise use is made of this area, the essential needs of each stakeholder can likely be addressed.

Economic opportunity in this region of rural Alaska is an imperative to be achieved. Suicide rates among young rural Alaska Natives are extremely alarming and the Bering Straits region experiences that tragedy time and again. Much of the underlying cause of such tragic incidents comes from young people not having work and vocational training opportunities in an area their ancestors have inhabited for generation after generation. While development at Point Spencer would not be a panacea to all social maladies and challenges of the people of the region, it would be a remarkable and enlightened advancement for the people of the region and at the same time serve the federal and state interests and those of the private sector. And, in my mind, it is indefensible for those of us in leadership positions not to attempt to help address this scourge of suicide through sensible approaches to prudent use of lands such as is provided in this legislation.

National Security Interests Will Be Fully Supported: Whatever national security interests that may be involved ultimately with respect to Point Spencer and its future potential uses can be fully and responsibly dealt with through the approach set forth in this legislation. Since its establishment pursuant to authorization by Congress under ANCSA and incorporated under state law, BSNC has carried out numerous contracts with the federal government that were/are directly tied to the national security interests of the U.S., and this Native Corporation has met the challenge fully and performed well. BSNC has the capacity and capability to support the advancement of U.S. national security, transportation, and economic development interests at Point Spencer. Relevant to this discussion, a recent report to Congress entitled ``Feasibility of Establishing an Arctic Deep-draft Seaport'', dated February 11, 2014, states: ``The Coast Guard is currently engaged in negotiation to turn over most of this large parcel [Point Spencer] of property to the Bering Straits Native Corporation . . . Another goal is to pursue innovative arrangements to support the investments needed in the Arctic region, including `new thinking on public-private . . . partnerships.' ''

The following is a list of a few of the types of federal and private sector contracts that Alaska Native Corporations, including BSNC, have been involved in over recent decades, including many with the Department of Defense and the various Armed Services of our nation including work on military bases and posts throughout the nation: Aircraft maintenance and support; aircraft refueling; aerospace engineering; Tactical gear manufacturing; survival training; winter warfare training; Intelligence analysis; BRAC management; Software design, implementation, and testing; Ship building, Ship repair, IT for various branches of the military service; Constructing landing strips; Base Operations Support, Aviation Services; Research and Development; Engineering, Medical Staffing, Telecommunications, Cyber security; Security; Environmental remediation, Port and Harbor Operations; Healthcare Services; and Construction of a marine fiber optic subsea cable system to the nation's largest Coast Guard base to a Missile launch facility, to a major Alaska city and by microwave transmissions, to Alaska Native villages bringing high-speed, reliable, all-weather broadband to places that heretofore did not have access to such technology.

It is in part through such contract work that Alaska Natives have made incremental but significant progress in realizing the promise envisioned in the enactment by Congress of ANCSA. That work for Alaska Natives (and for other Native Americans in the country) has begun to help extricate their people from the vicious cycle of chronic and pernicious poverty, unemployment and lack of job opportunities for their youths, particularly in remote rural areas, and thereby help address some of the social ills that are associated with such conditions.

Conclusion: With the introduction of this legislation, and as it moves forward, the interests of all stakeholders interested in seeing that productive use is made of Point Spencer for diverse legitimate uses in the Arctic region can be fully met.

This approach is an equitable and sensible way to address the interests of the public and private sectors in Point Spencer. I believe that passage of the bill is in the best interests of our nation, the State of Alaska, the indigenous people of the Bering Strait region, as well as the private sector.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 298) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to evaluate the significance of the Mill Springs Battlefield located in Pulaski and Wayne Counties, Kentucky, and the feasibility of its inclusion in the National Park System, and for other purposes.

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

At this time, I yield whatever time he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky, Mr. Hal Rogers.

At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr).

I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.

I have no requests for further speakers, so I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 930) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the archeological site and surrounding land of the New Philadelphia town site in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schock) who authored this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3110) to allow for the harvest of gull eggs by the Huna Tlingit people within Glacier Bay National Park in the State of Alaska, as amended.

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

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

H.R. 3110 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to permit members of Hoonah Indian Association to harvest sea gull eggs in portions of Glacier Bay National Park, subject to terms and conditions the Secretary deems necessary.

This traditional Native subsistence harvest had been conducted long before the establishment by Congress of the national park, where the practice was subsequently forbidden by law.

In 1980, Congress passed the Alaska Lands Act, which, among other things, provided for the subsistence use of natural resources on public lands in Alaska by rural residents. The traditional harvest of sea gull eggs in Glacier Bay National Park, however, remained off limits.

A study conducted by the National Park Service determined the local Native people should be able to resume their harvest of sea gull eggs at specific locations in the park. Accordingly, I introduced H.R. 3110 to authorize the Hoonah Indian Association and

the Secretary of the Interior to develop a plan for the traditional Native collection of certain gull eggs.

Under H.R. 3110, the Hoonah Indians may harvest the eggs not more frequently than twice each calendar year at up to five locations within the park, subject to any terms and conditions that the Secretary determines to be necessary.

On February 5, 2014, the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs of the Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing on H.R. 3110 where the National Park Service testified in support of this bill. On February 27, the Natural Resources Committee ordered the bill reported by unanimous consent.

This bill allows a group of Natives in Alaska to resume an important cultural tradition and to pass it on to future generations. I urge the House to pass the bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other requests for time, and so I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4032) to exempt from Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 certain water transfers by the North Texas Municipal Water District and the Greater Texoma Utility Authority, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall), the author of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions).

If the gentleman will listen for a moment, big brothers have to think of little brothers. Alaska is the big brother, and Texas is the little brother.

This is a good bill. I want to compliment the Texas delegation supporting Mr. Hall especially, Mr. Sessions and Mr. Johnson.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4120) to amend the National Law Enforcement Museum Act to extend the termination date.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4120 provides a 3-year extension to allow the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund to begin construction of the National Law Enforcement Museum.

This fund has expended almost $30 million in private funds to complete the design, obtain approvals, and move all of the utilities on the site in preparation for construction.

However, the authority to begin construction has expired, and this extension will provide the time necessary to secure adequate private funds to complete construction of the National Law Enforcement Museum.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to compliment Mr. Hoyer for his work and Mr. Wolf. They testified before the committee. I asked the question about the extension as far as the length of time. They have assured me that it will be completed. I hope it will be completed. This is a memorial that should be open for the general public. Our police officers are sometimes overlooked.

I urge the passage of this legislation as quickly as possible, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1501) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, as a unit of the National Park System, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1501 authorizes the National Park Service to conduct a study of the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Brooklyn, New York, to determine its eligibility to become a unit in the National Park Service.

The Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park is a memorial to the more than 11,500 American prisoners of war who died in captivity aboard 16 British prison ships during the American Revolutionary War.

The study authorized by this legislation will determine if the site meets the test of national significance and provide different Federal, local, and nongovernmental management proposals. The study is informational. Congress would still have to act on separate legislation to designate the monument as a park.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman.

The Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act includes a provision that I offered as an amendment on the House floor in February. The amendment to the omnibus Public Access and Lands Improvement Act passed the House by voice vote, and I am pleased it has come before the House again as part of the Senate-passed legislation.

During the debate on that measure, I told a story that led to this provision, and how the Federal Government failed one of my constituents, Mr. William Alstrom, endangering his Alaska native veterans allotment and the cabin

he and his family built on their own effort on his land the Federal Government conveyed to him and then took back due to a bureaucratic error.

At its core, fixing issues like this is one we are all sent here to Washington to accomplish, and the way in which this has been fixed, merely months after I was first made aware of this issue, is an example of how Congress should function as we work together.

Today, after the House sends S. 404 to the President, I am pleased that William and his family can put this headache behind them, and William can put his time to better use by continuing to serve St. Mary's, Alaska, as mayor and president of his village corporation.

May I, again, thank the chairman, the ranking member, the two Senators, and the total Larsen delegation for this legislation, especially recognizing the mudslide.

But I hope we all recognize that the Federal Government is not a good manager of land. There are too many times that logic does not prevail and too many times they are being sued by interest groups that understand logic. I am suggesting respectfully, as the chairman has said, we ought to work together, both parties together, on solving land issues that are really created by our own government--both sides. I have been under eight Presidents, and I have watched these Presidents all not take into consideration individuals, their rights, their prerogatives, as free Americans.

So I, again, thank you for the efforts put forth in this legislation. I commend the chairman and ranking member for the work they put forth, and God bless you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the Golden Anniversary of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. In 1901, during the midst of the Alaska Gold Rush, the first pioneers settled on the banks of the Chena River on the land that would become the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The discovery of gold created a population boom in the region, and the town of Fairbanks was established. In 1963, the Alaska Legislature passed the Mandatory Borough Act requiring that the most populated areas in the state join together to form organized borough governments. Fairbanks students won a competition to name the borough the North Star Borough, and in 1966, the name was officially changed to the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Over the last 50 years, the Borough has grown tremendously to become the second largest community in Alaska with a population of over 100,000 residents, and is commonly referred to as the ``Golden Heart of Alaska.'' The Fairbanks North Star Borough has managed a unique juxtaposition by retaining the small-town pioneer quality that existed in the early 1900s, yet thriving with a modern and youthful spirit stemming from the economic opportunities in the area, as well as being the home of the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

After the gold rush, the next economic boom in the region was the discovery of oil in Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slope. Fairbanks North Star Borough was the closest large town to the project, and as a result, construction on the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline began in 1974. The pipeline was completed in 1977, traveling over frozen tundra, the boreal forest, 800 rivers and streams, three major earthquake faults, and three rugged mountain ranges. The exploding construction of the 800-mile pipeline brought more than 30,000 job opportunities to Fairbanks over the years.

Today, the Borough is home to many Alaskans, Military Servicemen and women stationed at Ft. Wainwright Army Base and Eielson Air Force Base, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, enrolling 10,800 students annually. Ft. Wainwright and Eielson AFB's strategic locations and Fairbanks' uniquely harsh climate prepare units to deploy anywhere in the world for contingencies ranging from humanitarian relief to combat operations. Eielson AFB remains a strategic location for refueling and North American Aerospace Defense Command.

On behalf of the State of Alaska, Fairbanks North Star Borough has hosted many international sporting events such as the World Eskimo- Indian Olympics, Junior Olympics, and the 2014 Arctic Winter Games. Fairbanks is also home to the Yukon Quest, an international 1,000 mile sled dog that is considered one of the toughest in the world.

Fairbanks North Star Borough has and will continue to provide important energy and mineral resources, defense tools, and education for Alaskans. The borough encourages vibrant, engaged citizens, and continues to provide for residents and businesses not only in the State of Alaska, but in the entire United States of America. I know that Fairbanks North Star Borough will continue to serve as a wonderful example for towns across the world.

Mr. Speaker, I would like all Members of Congress to join me in congratulating the Fairbanks North Star Borough on its Golden Anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to indulge in a colloquy with Mr. Hunter.

I want to thank the chairman of the subcommittee for yielding and, again, thank him for his work. Section 221 of H.R. 4005 prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security from dismantling or disposing of any former LORAN system infrastructure for at least 1 year from the date of enactment of the act or until the date the Secretary notifies the committee that such infrastructure is not needed for a positioning, navigation, and timing system to provide redundant capability in the event GPS signals are disrupted, whichever is later; is that the chairman's understanding?

I yield to the gentleman from California.

I ask the chairman, I am aware there are several important issues surrounding the disposition of LORAN stations, including the disposition of lands associated with them that we should closely examine and deal with in an appropriate manner.

I ask the chairman and my colleagues on the committee to work with me to resolve these issues in the context of H.R. 4005 as this bill moves forward.

I thank the chairman. I look forward to working on this issue further, and I also want to extend my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble), the only former coastguardsman now serving in Congress.

To find a finer gentleman and colleague than Mr. Coble would be difficult, indeed. We will miss you, Howard, so please stay in touch.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, the Alaska Native Allotment Act allowed Alaska Natives to acquire up to 160 acres of Federal land. Approximately 2,800 Alaska Natives served in the military during the Vietnam War, and because of their absence, they did not have an opportunity to apply for their Native allotment.

In 1998, Congress passed a law that provided certain Alaska Native Vietnam veterans an opportunity to obtain an allotment.

One of my constituents, Mr. William Alstrom, applied for an allotment in accordance with this law. During the war, he served honorably in the Air Force. Mr. Alstrom is a lifelong resident of St. Mary's, Alaska, a village of roughly 550 mostly Yup'ik Eskimo residents located on the Lower Yukon River in southwestern Alaska. His family has a long history in the region, helping to settle the area and operating the first general store. During World War II, Mr. Alstrom's father, Fred, was a member of the Alaska Territorial Guard, or the Eskimo Scouts, a military reserve component of the U.S. Army organized in 1942.

Following a TB outbreak in 1954, Mr. Alstrom was sent to a boarding school in southeast Alaska with many other children from Alaska villages. As the Vietnam War was escalating, he graduated from one of these boarding schools and promptly enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, serving his country. Soon thereafter, he left his wife and two children stateside and headed to southeast Asia. During the war, the newly minted Sergeant Alstrom served in Thailand, preparing aircraft on their way to strike North Vietnam.

On completion of his service, William and his family returned home to St. Mary's, where he invested himself in his village and continued to grow and raise his family. Today, William continues to serve--this time as mayor of his community and president of his village corporation.

In 2002, William applied for the Alaska Native veteran's allotment he was entitled to by law. Following an extensive application and vetting process, in 2009, the Bureau of Land Management, BLM, deeded him two 80-acre parcels located in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge.

With his deed in hand, William transported lumber and other supplies to one of his parcels on his skiff, spent countless hours clearing trees and brush, and finally built a small cabin and fish camp for him and his family to enjoy.

Out of the blue a few years later, the Fish and Wildlife Service realized that errors had been made by the Fish and Wildlife Service and BLM personnel, both in the surveying and application approval process. Instead of being located on general refuge lands, the two allotment parcels were located within the congressionally designated Andreafsky Wilderness Area. Conveying allotments in wilderness areas is prohibited by law. Similarly, making improvements to the land, such as constructing a cabin, cutting trees, or clearing bush, is also prohibited. As a result, the BLM canceled the deed to the two parcels, plunging this Alaska Native veteran and the status of his allotment and cabin into a state of limbo.

After this decision, William contacted me for assistance. To their credit, the BLM quickly admitted that both they and the Fish and Wildlife Service screwed up. Though, after looking into their options, they also admitted that they couldn't fix their mistakes administratively. In an attempt to resolve the issue, the BLM offered William two parcels of equal size elsewhere in the region. While he agreed to accept one of the replacement parcels, the second proposed parcel excluded his cabin.

My amendment today would approve his application for the second original parcel, subsequently saving his cabin and fish camp from demolition.

Though two Federal agencies are at fault, my Alaska Native constituent is the one being forced to bear the full cost of their errors. The purpose of my amendment is simply to allow a veteran to retain the 80-acre parcel with the cabin on it, at no cost to the taxpayer.

An identical version of this amendment was adopted by voice vote when the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held their markup of the Green Mountain Lookout Heritage Protection Act, of which the House version is included in today's package.

As you well know, I am no proponent of the fact that the Federal Government is the landlord of well over 60 percent of my State. Think about this: 60 percent. I generally oppose wilderness areas. I have often had an adversarial relationship with Federal land management agencies. All of that aside, this amendment is not meant to make a statement for or against wilderness designations, but rather to fix a unique issue for a truly deserving Vietnam veteran. At its core, fixing issues like this is what we do well when we are sent to Washington. Mr. Alstrom, like his father before him, served this country with honor and dignity, and he deserves similar treatment from this government in return.

I hope you will join me today in fixing this unfortunate mistake and allow this gentleman and his family to move on with their lives by supporting this simple amendment to H.R. 2954.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I am interested in title IV in this legislation, which is a good piece of legislation. The provision in title IV of H.R. 3590 has the support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the President of the United States. This provision is the Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act. It is a bipartisan measure that would make a very limited fix to an issue that affects a number of hunters nationwide.

Prior to the threatened listing of the worldwide polar bear population on May 15, 2008, there were a number of hunters that took hunting trips to Canada under Canadian law and United States law. These hunters followed all the rules at the time and were prevented from bringing in their polar bear trophy due to the threatened listing triggering an importation ban under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

My legislation, H.R. 3590, will allow the Secretary of the Interior to issue permits to only those qualified hunters with legally taken polar bear trophies prior to the May listing date. This legislation will allow up to 41 hunters to import their trophies from Canada.

As a result, roughly $41,000 would be available to the United States- Russia Polar Bear Conservation Fund to support conservation activities for the shared polar bear population. This is a provision that would bring in revenue for conservation activities that otherwise would not be funded.

As a result, I urge Members to support this legislation and keep in fact these are dead polar bears in storage hunted legally under the premise of Canadian law and United States law. This is a good part of this bill.

By the way, speaking of this bill, it is a good bill. From the State of Alaska are more parks and more refuges than any other State. The Refuge Department doesn't allow us to hunt on refuges in many areas. The Park Service definitely doesn't allow us to hunt. I am arguing that the park and refuge areas are set aside for the refuge managers themselves and not for the people of America, let alone the people of Alaska.

This legislation is the right way to go. Let's think about public lands, not the king's lands, not the administration's lands, but the lands of the people. This bill is a good bill. I urge the passage of this legislation.