Haley Stevens: “we are in a situation where one provision of our bill--it is in our amendment and in Senator Murkowski's underlying…”

“we are in a situation where one provision of our bill--it is in our amendment and in Senator Murkowski's underlying amendment--grants the Kaktovik village the right to drill on their land. They have land that is owned by their Native village. It was part of the 1971 settlement. Their people settled their claims against the United States by accepting conveyance of lands that were due to them. Each village was given the township in which it was located and further lands depending on population. But for this village only, in the State of Alaska, there is a Federal law in another provision of basic law that says they cannot drill on their land, I believe it says, until the 1002 area is authorized to be drilled by the Federal Government. In the old days we would have said that shows the forked tongue of the Federal Government. It told them they had a settlement. It told them they got the right to their lands. It gave them fee title to the surface. It gave the subsurface to their regional organization. But they cannot use it. Why? Because of the policy with regard to the 1002 area. But even there, it was, again, an imposition on the private structure of our State. I think the great problem I have here is what is going to happen now to the steel industry.”