Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alaska Native Veterans 
Land Allotment Equity Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION REGARDING OCCUPANCY OF NA-
TIVE ALLOTMENTS IN NATIONAL FORESTS. 
Section 18(a) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1617(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(a) No Native’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(a) REVOCATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No Native’’; 
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Further, 
the’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) REPEAL.—The’’; 
(3) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘Notwith-
standing the foregoing provisions of this section, any’’ 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS FOR ALLOTMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para-
graphs (1) and (2), any’’; and 
(4) in paragraph (3) (as designated by para-
graph (3)), by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(B) CERTAIN APPLICATIONS APPROVED.— 
Any allotment application pending before the 
Department of the Interior on December 18, 
1971, that was closed by the Department pursu-
ant to the civil action styled ‘Shields v. United 
States’ (698 F.2d 987 (9th Cir. 1983), cert. de-
nied (104 S. Ct. 73 (1983))) shall be reopened 
and considered to be approved pursuant to this 
paragraph.’’. 
SEC. 3. OPEN SEASON FOR CERTAIN ALASKA NATIVE VET-
ERANS FOR ALLOTMENTS. 
Section 41 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 
(43 U.S.C. 1629g) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
‘‘IN GENERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘ALASKA NATIVE 
VETERAN ALLOTMENTS’’; 
(B) by striking paragraphs (1) through (4) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) ALLOTMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE
RECIPIENTS.—Any person 
described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection 
(b) shall be eligible to receive an allotment under 
the Act of May 17, 1906 (34 Stat. 197, chapter 
2469) (as in effect before December 18, 1971), of 
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not more than 2 parcels of Federal land, the 
total area of which shall not exceed 160 acres. 
Any person described in paragraph (1) and (2) 
of subsection (b) who, prior to the date on which 
the Secretary promulgates regulations pursuant 
to section 4 of the Alaska Native Veterans Land 
Allotment Equity Act, received an allotment that 
has a total area of less than 160 acres shall be 
eligible to receive an allotment under the Act of 
May 17, 1906 (34 Stat. 197, chapter 2469) (as 
in effect before December 18, 1971), of not more 
than 1 parcel of Federal land, the total area of 
which shall not exceed the difference in acres be-
tween 160 acres and the total area of the allot-
ment that the person previously received under 
the Act. 
‘‘(B) FILING
DEADLINE.—An allotment 
shall be filed for an eligible recipient not later 
than 3 years after the date on which the Sec-
retary promulgates regulations pursuant to sec-
tion 4 of the Alaska Native Veterans Land Allot-
ment Equity Act. 
‘‘(2) LAND AVAILABLE FOR ALLOTMENTS.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (C), an allotment under this section shall 
be selected from land that is— 
‘‘(i)(I) vacant; and 
‘‘(II) owned by the United States; 
‘‘(ii) selected by, or conveyed to, the 
State of Alaska, if the State voluntarily re-
linquishes or conveys to the United States 
the land for the allotment; or 
‘‘(iii) selected by, or conveyed to, a Na-
tive Corporation, if the Native Corporation 
voluntarily relinquishes or conveys to the 
United States the land for the allotment. 
‘‘(B) RELINQUISHMENT
BY
NATIVE
COR-
PORATION.—If a Native Corporation relinquishes 
land under subparagraph (A)(iii), the Native 
Corporation may select appropriate Federal 
land, as determined by the Secretary, the area of 
which is equal to the area of the land relin-
quished by the Native Corporation, to replace the 
relinquished land. 
‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—An allotment under 
this section shall not be selected from land that 
is located within— 
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‘‘(i) a right-of-way of the TransAlaska 
Pipeline; 
‘‘(ii) an inner or outer corridor of such 
a right-of-way; or 
‘‘(iii) a unit of the National Park Sys-
tem, a National Preserve, or a National 
Monument. 
‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVE ALLOTMENTS.—A person de-
scribed in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) who 
qualifies for an allotment under this section on land 
described in paragraph (2)(C) may select an alter-
native allotment from land that is— 
‘‘(A) located within the boundaries of land 
described in paragraph (2)(C); 
‘‘(B)(i)(I) 
withdrawn 
under 
section 
11(a)(1)(C); and 
‘‘(II) not selected, or relinquished after selec-
tion, under section 11(a)(3); 
‘‘(ii) contiguous to an outer boundary of 
land withdrawn under section 11(a)(1)(C); or 
‘‘(iii) vacant, unappropriated, and unre-
served; and 
‘‘(C) not a unit of the National Park Sys-
tem, a National Preserve, or a National Monu-
ment.’’; and 
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(C) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 
(6) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara-
graph (B) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(B) is a veteran who served during the period 
beginning on August 5, 1964, and ending on May 7, 
1975.’’; 
(B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(2) DECEASED
PERSONS.—If an individual 
who would otherwise have been eligible for an allot-
ment under this section dies before applying for an 
allotment, an heir of the person may apply for, and 
receive, an allotment under this section, on behalf of 
the estate of the person.’’; and 
(C) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—No person who received an 
allotment or has a pending allotment under the Act 
of May 17, 1906, may receive an allotment under this 
section, other than— 
‘‘(A) an heir who applies for, and receives, 
an allotment on behalf of the estate of a deceased 
person under paragraph (2); and 
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‘‘(B) a person who, prior to the date on 
which the Secretary promulgates regulations 
pursuant to section 4 of the Alaska Native Vet-
erans Land Allotment Equity Act, received an 
allotment under the Act of May 17, 1906 (34 
Stat. 197, chapter 2469), that has a total area 
of less than 160 acres.’’; 
(3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 
subsections (f) and (g), respectively; 
(4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) APPROVAL OF ALLOTMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to any valid right in 
existence on the date of enactment of the Alaska Na-
tive Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act, and except 
as provided in paragraph (3), not later than Decem-
ber 31, 2020, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) approve any application for an allot-
ment filed in accordance with subsection (a); 
and 
‘‘(B) issue a certificate of allotment under 
such terms, conditions, and restrictions as the 
Secretary determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than December 
31, 2017, on receipt of an application for an allot-
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ment under this section, the Secretary shall provide 
to any person or entity that has an interest in land 
described in subsection (a)(2) that is potentially ad-
verse to the interest of the applicant a notice of the 
right of the person or entity, by not later than 90 
days after the date of receipt of the notice— 
‘‘(A) to initiate a private contest of the al-
lotment; or 
‘‘(B) to file a protest against the allotment 
in accordance with procedures established by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(3) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—If a private con-
test or protest relating to an application for an allot-
ment is initiated or filed under paragraph (2), the 
Secretary shall not issue a certificate for the allotment 
under paragraph (1)(B) until a final determination 
has been made with respect to the private contest or 
protest. 
‘‘(e) RESELECTION.—A person that selected an allot-
ment under this section may withdraw that selection and 
reselect land in accordance with this section after the date 
of enactment of the Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment 
Equity Act, if the land originally selected— 
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‘‘(1) was selected before the date of enactment of 
the Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity 
Act; and 
‘‘(2) as of the date of enactment of that Act, was 
not conveyed to the person.’’; and 
(5) by striking subsection (f), as designated by 
paragraph (3) and inserting: 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘veteran’ means a person who 
served in the active military, naval, or air service, 
and who was discharged or released therefrom. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘Vietnam era’ has the meaning 
given the term by paragraph (29) of section 101 of 
title 38.’’. 
SEC. 4. REGULATIONS. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate, 
after consultation with Alaska Native organizations, final 
regulations to carry out the amendments made by this Act. 
During the consultation process, the Secretary shall, in co-
ordination with Alaska Native organizations and to the 
greatest extent possible, identify persons who are eligible to 
receive an allotment under section 3 of this Act. Upon pro-
mulgation of the final regulations, the Secretary shall con-
tact each of these persons directly to provide an explanation 
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of the process by which the person may apply for an allot-
ment under section 3 of this Act. 
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Union Calendar No. 653 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 2387 
[Report No. 114–832] 
A BILL 
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 
to provide for equitable allotment of land to Alas-
ka Native veterans. 
NOVEMBER 22, 2016 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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