Matteo Renzi: “Mr. Speaker, S. 924 is sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski of the State of Alaska. This legislation provides for a land…”

“Mr. Speaker, S. 924 is sponsored by Senator Lisa Murkowski of the State of Alaska. This legislation provides for a land exchange between the Newtok Native Corporation and the United States. Newtok is a village in western Alaska located on a river that is rapidly eroding. Within several years, experts believe the river will eventually wash away key areas of the village. Newtok is inhabited by the Yupik Eskimo people who still live a natural subsistence lifestyle and they exist below the poverty line. In order to avoid the problems the eroding river is going to cause, local leaders have chosen to relocate Newtok to another site. This is by no means an easy process, and there are many steps to get this done. The first step is in the hands of the Congress. Because the 19 million-acre Yukon National Wildlife Refuge surrounds the existing village and the site identified for the relocation, a land exchange is necessary. After much work and negotiations between the villagers, the corporation, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the environmental community an agreement was worked out. The land exchange described in S. 924 is the product of that compromise. It will enable Newtok to relocate once it has secured the funds necessary to do so, and the United States will acquire lands of high value for waterfowl habitat.”