Bruce Westerman: “Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3903, the Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Act of 2025, sponsored by Congressman…”

“Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3903, the Chugach Alaska Land Exchange Oil Spill Recovery Act of 2025, sponsored by Congressman Begich, would authorize the exchange of 231,000 subsurface acres currently held by the Chugach Alaska Corporation for approximately 65,374 acres of Federal land in the Chugach region. Following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, extensive conservation land acquisitions created split-estate ownership in which the Federal Government holds surface ownership while the Chugach Alaska Corporation holds subsurface ownership. The split-estate ownership precluded the Chugach Alaska Corporation from exercising its property rights, restricted shareholder economic opportunities, and complicated Federal land management by dividing subsurface and surface ownership. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3903 authorizes a negotiated exchange to consolidate Federal ownership of surface and subsurface estate, while conveying culturally significant, economically viable, and accessible lands to the Chugach Alaska Corporation. The bill will streamline Federal land management and reduce checkerboard land ownership while promoting self-determination and economic development for Alaska Natives.”