Delegation Applauds Passage of Alaska Native Legislation

Washington, D.C.– U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, along with U.S. Representative Nick Begich (all R-Alaska), applauded Senate passage of two important bills—H.R. 42, the Alaska Native Settlement Trust Eligibility Act, and H.R. 43, the Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act of 2025. These bills previously passed the U.S. House of Representatives on February 4. Both pieces of legislation were led by Congressman Begich.
H.R. 42 and H.R. 43 passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent,following floor remarksby Senator Murkowski. These measures uphold the promises made to Alaska Natives in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) and empower Alaska Native people to exercise self-determination over their lands and resources for the benefit of their communities.
H.R. 42amends ANCSA to exclude certain payments from Settlement Trusts to aged, blind, or disabled Alaska Natives or their descendants from being counted as income when determining eligibility for need-based federal programs.
H.R. 43amends ANCSA to end the requirement for Alaska Native village corporations to convey lands to the State of Alaska to be held “in trust” for future municipal governments.  In addition, the bill provides a process for village corporations to get the land back that they conveyed to the State.  These reconveyances or “reversions” will be subject to any valid existing rights created by the State Municipal Land Trust during its management of these village corporation lands.
The bills now head to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
“I’m very glad we could reach agreement to pass these important measures for Alaska Natives in the Senate. These are common sense bills that are long overdue—Alaska Natives who are aged, blind, or disabled will no longer have to choose between accepting the settlement trust income they are entitled to or qualifying for federal needs-based benefits. And with the passage of HR 43, we restore the ability of Alaska Native villages to make decisions about their lands and resources for the benefit of their communities,”said Senator Murkowski.“This has been a years-long effort to get these measures to the President’s desk. And I am proud to have led that effort and to it see it through.”
“For the more than 50 years since ANCSA was signed into law, Alaska Native people have sustainably managed their lands, fostered world-class businesses that have become integral to Alaska’s economy, and helped Alaska Native communities preserve their unique cultures, languages and ways of life,”said Senator Sullivan. “Despite the enormous good ANCSA has done, the law was not perfect. Senator Murkowski, Congressman Begich and I have put forward legislation to address two oversights of ANCSA, giving Alaska Native communities more decision-making power over their lands and ensuring elder and disabled Alaska Native people are not unfairly excluded from the federal assistance they may need. I want to commend our Senate colleagues for unanimously supporting our legislation, and I look forward to these bills being signed into law soon.”
“These bills represent the kind of meaningful, nonpartisan work that Alaskans sent me here to do,”said Congressman Begich.“We’ve corrected longstanding federal issues that have held Alaska Native communities back, and we’ve done it with strong support from both parties. These bills were about local decision-making and empowering communities to build their futures. My team and I have worked diligently since day one to move these bills through Congress, and I’m honored to be one of the only freshmen of the 119th Congress to send legislation to the President’s desk. This is a major victory for Alaskans, and a strong step forward towards greater self-determination and opportunity for Alaska Natives.”
Legislative History: