II 

Calendar No. 710 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 785 

To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide for equitable 

allotment of land to Alaska Native veterans. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2017 

Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 4, 2018 

Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide for equitable allotment of land to Alaska Native 

veterans. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alaska Native Vet5 erans Land Allotment Equity Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. OPEN SEASON FOR CERTAIN ALASKA NATIVE VET2 ERANS FOR ALLOTMENTS. 

3 Section 41 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 

4 Act (43 U.S.C. 1629g) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

7 ‘‘IN GENERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘ALASKA NATIVE

8 VETERAN ALLOTMENTS’’; 

9 (B) by striking paragraphs (1) through (4) 

10 and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) ALLOTMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—Any person 

13 described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection 

14 (b) shall be eligible to receive an allotment 

15 under the Act of May 17, 1906 (34 Stat. 197, 

16 chapter 2469) (as in effect before December 18, 

17 1971), of not more than 2 parcels of Federal 

18 land, the total area of which shall not exceed 

19 160 acres. Any person described in paragraphs 

20 (1) and (2) of subsection (b) who, prior to the 

21 date on which the Secretary promulgates regu22 lations pursuant to section 3 of the Alaska Na23 tive Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act, re24 ceived an allotment that has a total area of less 

25 than 160 acres shall be eligible to receive an al26 lotment under the Act of May 17, 1906 (34 


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1 Stat. 197, chapter 2469) (as in effect before 

2 December 18, 1971), of not more than 1 parcel 

3 of Federal land, the total area of which shall 

4 not exceed the difference in acres between 160 

5 acres and the total area of the allotment that 

6 the person previously received under the Act. 

7 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The civil 

8 action styled ‘Shields v. United States’ (698 

9 F.2d 987 (9th Cir. 1983), cert. denied (104 S. 

10 Ct. 73 (1983))) shall not be construed to dimin11 ish or modify the eligibility of any person de12 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection 

13 (b). 

14 ‘‘(C) FILING DEADLINE.—An allotment 

15 shall be filed for an eligible recipient not later 

16 than 3 years after the date on which the Sec17 retary promulgates regulations pursuant to sec18 tion 3 of the Alaska Native Veterans Land Al19 lotment Equity Act. 

20 ‘‘(2) LAND AVAILABLE FOR ALLOTMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara22 graph (C), an allotment under this section shall 

23 be selected from land that is— 

24 ‘‘(i)(I) vacant; and 

25 ‘‘(II) owned by the United States; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) selected by, or conveyed to, the 

2 State of Alaska, if the State voluntarily re3 linquishes or conveys to the United States 

4 the land for the allotment; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) selected by, or conveyed to, a 

6 Native Corporation, if the Native Corpora7 tion voluntarily relinquishes or conveys to 

8 the United States the land for the allot9 ment. 

10 ‘‘(B) RELINQUISHMENT BY NATIVE COR11 PORATION.—If a Native Corporation relin12 quishes land under subparagraph (A)(iii), the 

13 Native Corporation may select appropriate Fed14 eral land, as determined by the Secretary, the 

15 area of which is equal to the area of the land 

16 relinquished by the Native Corporation, to re17 place the relinquished land. 

18 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—An allotment under 

19 this section shall not be selected from land that 

20 is located within— 

21 ‘‘(i) a right-of-way of the TransAlaska 

22 Pipeline; 

23 ‘‘(ii) an inner or outer corridor of 

24 such a right-of-way; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a unit of the National Park Sys2 tem, a National Preserve, or a National 

3 Monument. 

4 ‘‘(D) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The civil 

5 action styled ‘Shields v. United States’ (698 

6 F.2d 987 (9th Cir. 1983), cert. denied (104 S. 

7 Ct. 73 (1983))) shall not be construed to limit 

8 the land that is eligible for allotment under this 

9 paragraph. 

10 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVE ALLOTMENTS.—A person 

11 described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) 

12 who qualifies for an allotment under this section on 

13 land described in paragraph (2)(C) may select an al14 ternative allotment from land that is— 

15 ‘‘(A) located within the boundaries of land 

16 described in paragraph (2)(C); 

17 ‘‘(B)(i)(I) withdrawn under section 

18 11(a)(1)(C); and 

19 ‘‘(II) not selected, or relinquished after se20 lection, under section 11(a)(3); 

21 ‘‘(ii) contiguous to an outer boundary of 

22 land withdrawn under section 11(a)(1)(C); or 

23 ‘‘(iii) vacant, unappropriated, and unre24 served; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) not a unit of the National Park Sys2 tem, a National Preserve, or a National Monu3 ment.’’; and 

4 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 

5 (6) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara8 graph (B) and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(B) is a veteran who served during the 

10 period beginning on August 5, 1964, and end11 ing on May 7, 1975.’’; 

12 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(2) DECEASED PERSONS.—If an individual 

15 who would otherwise have been eligible for an allot16 ment under this section dies before applying for an 

17 allotment, an heir of the person may apply for, and 

18 receive, an allotment under this section, on behalf of 

19 the estate of the person.’’; and 

20 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert21 ing the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—No person who received an 

23 allotment or has a pending allotment under the Act 

24 of May 17, 1906, may receive an allotment under 

25 this section, other than— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an heir who applies for, and receives, 

2 an allotment on behalf of the estate of a de3 ceased person under paragraph (2); and 

4 ‘‘(B) a person who, prior to the date on 

5 which the Secretary promulgates regulations 

6 pursuant to section 3 of the Alaska Native Vet7 erans Land Allotment Equity Act, received an 

8 allotment under the Act of May 17, 1906 (34 

9 Stat. 197, chapter 2469), that has a total area 

10 of less than 160 acres.’’; 

11 (3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

12 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; 

13 (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL OF ALLOTMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to any valid right 

17 in existence on the date of enactment of the Alaska 

18 Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act, and ex19 cept as provided in paragraph (3), not later than 5 

20 years after the date of the enactment of the Alaska 

21 Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act, the 

22 Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) approve any application for an allot24 ment filed in accordance with subsection (a); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) issue a certificate of allotment under 

2 such terms, conditions, and restrictions as the 

3 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 2 years 

5 after the date of the enactment of the Alaska Native 

6 Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act, on receipt of 

7 an application for an allotment under this section, 

8 the Secretary shall provide to any person or entity 

9 that has an interest in land described in subsection 

10 (a)(2) that is potentially adverse to the interest of 

11 the applicant a notice of the right of the person or 

12 entity, by not later than 90 days after the date of 

13 receipt of the notice— 

14 ‘‘(A) to initiate a private contest of the al15 lotment; or 

16 ‘‘(B) to file a protest against the allotment 

17 in accordance with procedures established by 

18 the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(3) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—If a private con20 test or protest relating to an application for an allot21 ment is initiated or filed under paragraph (2), the 

22 Secretary shall not issue a certificate for the allot23 ment under paragraph (1)(B) until a final deter24 mination has been made with respect to the private 

25 contest or protest. 


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1 ‘‘(e) RESELECTION.—A person that selected an allot2 ment under this section may withdraw that selection and 

3 reselect land in accordance with this section after the date 

4 of enactment of the Alaska Native Veterans Land Allot5 ment Equity Act, if the land originally selected— 

6 ‘‘(1) was selected before the date of enactment 

7 of the Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Eq8 uity Act; and 

9 ‘‘(2) as of the date of enactment of that Act, 

10 was not conveyed to the person.’’; and 

11 (5) by striking subsection (f), as designated by 

12 paragraph (3) and inserting: 

13 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) The term ‘veteran’ means a person who 

15 served in the active military, naval, or air service, 

16 and who was discharged or released therefrom. 

17 ‘‘(2) The term ‘Vietnam era’ has the meaning 

18 given the term by paragraph (29) of section 101 of 

19 title 38.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. REGULATIONS. 

21 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate, 

23 after consultation with Alaska Native organizations, final 

24 regulations to carry out the amendments made by section 

25 2. During the consultation process, the Secretary shall, 


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1 in coordination with Alaska Native organizations and to 

2 the greatest extent possible, identify persons who are eligi3 ble to receive an allotment under the amendments made 

4 by section 2. Upon promulgation of the final regulations, 

5 the Secretary shall contact each of these persons directly 

6 to provide an explanation of the process by which the per7 son may apply for an allotment under the amendments 

8 made by section 2. 

9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alaska Native Vietnam 

11 Era Veterans Land Allotment Act’’. 

12 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

13 The purpose of this Act is to provide an opportunity 

14 for certain Alaska Native Vietnam era veterans to select and 

15 receive an allotment of Federal land in the State of Alaska. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘available 

20 Federal land’’ means Federal land in the State 

21 that— 

22 (i) is vacant, unappropriated, and un23 reserved; 

24 (ii) has been selected by, but not yet 

25 conveyed to— 


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1 (I) the State, if the State agrees to 

2 voluntarily relinquish the selection of 

3 the Federal land for selection by an eli4 gible individual; or 

5 (II) a Regional Corporation or a 

6 Village Corporation, if the Regional 

7 Corporation or Village Corporation 

8 agrees to voluntarily relinquish the se9 lection of the Federal land for selection 

10 by an eligible individual; or 

11 (iii) is identified as available for selec12 tion under section 4(d)(1). 

13 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘available 

14 Federal land’’ does not include any Federal land 

15 in the State that is— 

16 (i)(I) a right-of-way of the 

17 TransAlaska Pipeline; or 

18 (II) an inner or outer corridor of such 

19 a right-of-way; 

20 (ii) withdrawn or acquired for pur21 poses of the Armed Forces; 

22 (iii) under review for a pending right23 of-way for a natural gas corridor; 

24 (iv) within the Arctic National Wild25 life Refuge; 


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1 (v) within a unit of the National For2 est System; or 

3 (vi) within a unit of the National Park 

4 System, a National Preserve, or a National 

5 Monument. 

6 (2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

7 individual’’ means an individual who, as determined 

8 by the Secretary in accordance with section 4(a)— 

9 (A) is— 

10 (i) a Native veteran who served during 

11 the period between August 5, 1964, and De12 cember 31, 1971; or 

13 (ii) a personal representative, acting 

14 for the benefit of the heirs, of the estate of 

15 a deceased Native veteran who served dur16 ing the period between August 5, 1964, and 

17 December 31, 1971; and 

18 (B) has received fewer than 157.5 acres pur19 suant to— 

20 (i) the Act of May 17, 1906 (34 Stat. 

21 197, chapter 2469) (as in effect on Decem22 ber 17, 1971); and 

23 (ii) section 41 of the Alaska Native 

24 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1629g). 


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1 (3) NATIVE; REGIONAL CORPORATION; VILLAGE

2 CORPORATION.—The terms ‘‘Native’’, ‘‘Regional Cor3 poration’’, and ‘‘Village Corporation’’ have the mean4 ings given those terms in section 3 of the Alaska Na5 tive Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602). 

6 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

9 of Alaska. 

10 (6) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

11 meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, 

12 United States Code. 

13 SEC. 4. ALLOTMENTS FOR CERTAIN NATIVE VETERANS. 

14 (a) INFORMATION TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of De17 fense, in coordination with the Secretary of Veterans 

18 Affairs, shall provide to the Secretary a list of all 

19 members of the Armed Forces who served during the 

20 period between August 5, 1964, and December 31, 

21 1971. 

22 (2) USE.—The Secretary shall use the informa23 tion provided under paragraph (1) to determine 

24 whether an individual meets the military service re25 quirements under section 3(2)(A). 


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1 (3) OUTREACH AND ASSISTANCE.—The Sec2 retary, in coordination with the Secretary of Veterans 

3 Affairs, shall conduct outreach, and provide assistance 

4 in applying for allotments, to eligible individuals. 

5 (b) SELECTION BY ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible individual— 

7 (A) subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), may 

8 select not more than 2 parcels of available Fed9 eral land totaling not more than 160 acres; and 

10 (B) on making a selection pursuant to sub11 paragraph (A), shall submit to the Secretary an 

12 allotment selection application for the applicable 

13 parcels of available Federal land. 

14 (2) MINIMUM ACREAGE.—A parcel of available 

15 Federal land selected pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) 

16 shall be not less than 2.5 acres. 

17 (3) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN ACRES.—The fol18 lowing acres held by an eligible individual shall be 

19 counted toward the 160-acre limitation under para20 graph (1)(A): 

21 (A) Any acres received pursuant to the Act 

22 of May 17, 1906 (34 Stat. 197, chapter 2469) (as 

23 in effect on December 17, 1971). 


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1 (B) Any acres received pursuant to section 

2 41 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 

3 (43 U.S.C. 1629g). 

4 (c) CONFLICTING SELECTIONS.—If 2 or more eligible 

5 individuals submit to the Secretary an allotment selection 

6 application under subsection (b)(1)(B) for the same parcel 

7 of available Federal land, the Secretary shall— 

8 (1) give preference to the selection application re9 ceived on the earliest date; and 

10 (2) provide to each eligible individual the selec11 tion application of whom is rejected under paragraph 

12 (1) an opportunity to select a substitute parcel of 

13 available Federal land. 

14 (d) IDENTIFICATION OF AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND

15 FOR ALLOTMENT SELECTION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, subject to para18 graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary, in consultation 

19 with the State, Regional Corporations, and Village 

20 Corporations, shall identify not more than 500,000 

21 acres of Federal land as available Federal land for al22 lotment selection to meet the purpose of this Act. 

23 (2) LIMITATION ON WILDLIFE REFUGE ACRE24 AGE.— 


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1 (A) YUKON DELTA NATIONAL WILDLIFE

2 REFUGE ACREAGE.—Of the available Federal 

3 land identified under paragraph (1), not more 

4 than 42,000 acres shall be located in the Yukon 

5 Delta National Wildlife Refuge. 

6 (B) TOGIAK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

7 ACREAGE.—Of the available Federal land identi8 fied under paragraph (1), not more than 10,000 

9 acres shall be located in the Togiak National 

10 Wildlife Refuge. 

11 (3) CERTIFICATION; SURVEY.—The Secretary 

12 shall— 

13 (A) certify that the available Federal land 

14 identified under paragraph (1) is free of known 

15 contamination; and 

16 (B) survey the available Federal land under 

17 paragraph (1) into aliquot parts and lots, segre18 gating all navigable and meanderable waters 

19 and land not available for allotment selection. 

20 (4) MAPS.—As soon as practicable after the date 

21 on which available Federal land is identified under 

22 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to Con23 gress, and publish in the Federal Register, 1 or more 

24 maps depicting the identified available Federal land. 


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1 (e) CONVEYANCES.—Any available Federal land con2 veyed to an eligible individual under this section shall be 

3 subject to— 

4 (1) valid existing rights; 

5 (2) the reservation of minerals to the United 

6 States; and 

7 (3) if the available Federal land conveyed is 

8 within the boundaries of a unit of the National Wild9 life Refuge System, the laws (including regulations) 

10 applicable to the use and development of the unit of 

11 the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

12 (f) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of Congress 

13 that not later than 2 years after the date on which an eligi14 ble individual submits an allotment selection application 

15 under subsection (b)(1)(B) that meets the requirements of 

16 this Act, as determined by the Secretary, the Secretary shall 

17 issue to the eligible individual a certificate of allotment 

18 with respect to the available Federal land covered by the 

19 allotment selection application, subject to the requirements 

20 of subsection (e). 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to provide an 

opportunity for certain Alaska Native Vietnam era veterans to select and receive an allotment of Federal land 

in the State of Alaska.’’. 


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Calendar No. 710 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 785 

A BILL 

To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 

ka Native veterans. to provide for equitable allotment of land to AlasDECEMBER 4, 2018 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 


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