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Alaska Congressman Don Young voted in support of the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act, S. 1466. This bill was sponsored by Senator Murkowski, and was passed by a unanimous voice vote in the House of Representatives today.
This bill will accelerate the process of transferring lands to Alaska Native Allot-tees, the State of Alaska, and Alaska Native Corporations under the Native Allotment Act of 1906, the Alaska Statehood Act, and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).
Even though these Acts passed decades ago, none have received all the public lands to which they are entitled under these Acts. Reasons for the delays relate to, a slow surveying process, complex rules for dealing with competing claims and identifying boundaries, and litigation. Ninety million acres of lands selected by the Natives, the State, and the Corporations are yet to be surveyed, and this bill will authorize more funds to complete these surveys on a timely basis.
"I am pleased to work with Senator Murkowski on this issue. The goal of the bill is to complete the process of making final land conveyances by 2009. It’s an excellent bill and it makes no substantive change to what is already in place," said Congressman Young. | 
