On Thursday, the full House will consider H.R. 538, the “Native American Energy Act”, introduced by Alaska Congressman Don Young. The bill, which passed committee on September 10, 2015, works to promote energy development on Indian and Alaska Native Corporation lands by expediting, streamlining, and standardizing the process for obtaining appraisals and permits.
For too long, the federal government has impeded Indian tribes and Alaska Native Corporations from developing their lands for the social and economic well-being of their people.
Congressman Young, Chairman of the Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs Subcommittee, offered this statement after H.R. 538 passed Committee:
“H.R. 538 contains a number of measures proposed by tribes to reduce the administrative and legal obstacles that hinder their efforts to develop energy and other natural resources on their lands. While this bill does not solve every problem a tribe faces, it is good start. It is based on the principle that tribes, not the federal government, are the best stewards of their lands.”
Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee Rob Bishop says H.R. 538 will break tribes free of “regulatory shackles…empowering tribes to experience the great economic gains that energy development brings.”
H.R. 538 has wide-spread support among Alaska Natives and Indian tribes, in addition to the National Congress of American Indians and the United States Chamber of Commerce.
For more information on H.R. 538, click here.
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