Don Young

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr, Speaker, I rise today to honor one of Alaska's most distinguished, faithful, and respected public servants, John Katz. Fresh out of Berkley Law, he boldly moved to Alaska and made a decision to embark upon a life of selfless public service to the people of Alaska. Among his first few jobs in public service were being Alaska Commissioner of Natural Resources and special counsel on land-use issues, before being appointed the Governor's man in Washington D.C. in 1983. His departure can only be described as an enormous loss for our great state. For more than 40 years, and spanning eight governors, he has served Alaska with unwavering commitment, integrity, and with the utmost level of professionalism. Having worked with him for almost 30 of those years, I have little doubt that his loyalty to and knowledge of Alaska is second to none. Through thick and thin, his dedication to Alaska was evident to everyone who worked with him. Over the years he has always put the needs of Alaska first, no more so than when he delayed his retirement at the request of Governor Frank Murkowski. His reputation of being calm and cool under pressure is well known and his ability to work well with Republicans and Democrats alike should be emulated by others here in Washington. He once said his greatest disappointment was being unable to open up ANWR and I share that disappointment with him. But despite ANWR, he was an integral part of every positive development to happen to Alaska in the last three decades including Alaska Native rights, fisheries management, protecting Alaska's sovereignty, and natural resource development. After all the work we've done together, I will do my utmost to continue this legacy for the good of Alaska. He is exactly the kind of public servant who gives public service a good name. My staff and I will miss working with him, but I hope that our paths will continue to cross. Thank you for your service to Alaska, John, and I wish you all the best in the future.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I have listened to this debate. This is a reciprocity vote that allows me to carry my weapon, as I have carried it for the last 50 years, from one State to another as long as I have a permit and they do also. But more than that, I am a little bit resentful when I hear on the floor that this is ``the will of the NRA.'' Now, I am proud to have been a lifetime member of the NRA--since I could vote. I am a member today. I participate in their board meetings, and I am proud of that organization. It is probably one of the leading organizations. But to cast that in the form of ``they are not the people of America'' is wrong. The greatest strength the NRA has is its members. There is talk about how strong they are as a lobbying group. The lobbying group is the citizen, the citizen that wants to carry his arm, as permitted, across State lines, as they do with a driver's license. This is a good piece of legislation. I'm glad we are having this discussion. There can be differences of opinion. But don't take it away from myself to go from Alaska with my permit and go into the other 48 States, I believe it is, that have permits and I can't use my permit. That's wrong. Let's vote for this legislation.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Chairman, this is well explained in the unanimous consent by the gentleman from New Jersey. I just urge the passage of the conveyance of the decommissioned Coast Guard Cutter STORIS to the nonprofit organization in Juneau, Alaska, for use as an historic memorial. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Steve Borell in recognition of the 22 years of service he has given as Director of the Alaska Miners Association. An engineering master's graduate of Kansas State University, he began his career as a pit foreman in North Dakota, quickly rising up through the ranks of his profession, eventually starting his own engineering consulting company in Anchorage, Alaska. He began his role as Director of the Alaska Miners Association (AMA) in 1989. Founded in 1939, the Alaska Miners Association has about 1,000 members throughout Alaska and elsewhere, and exists primarily to support the mining industry and all those who work with and within it. Through his leadership of the AMA he has unified the industry behind simple and consistent support of the responsible and safe development of minerals, doing his utmost to advocate for the mining industry in difficult economic times and in the face of staunch opposition to progress in this sector. The mining industry brings a host of benefits to both the State of Alaska and the Nation as a whole. The jobs it creates, the economic and infrastructural development it yields, and the energy security it maintains are some of the most pressing issues facing Americans today. It is these issues that the mining industry and the AMA have always sought to address. In doing this the AMA has sought to ensure that any restrictions on the use of land and water for infrastructural and energy development are firmly scientifically sound and economically realistic. All modern mining must address the balance between environmentalism and resource utilization--the two need not be mutually exclusive. In recognizing this, Steve has truly helped bring mining into the 21st century. Steve has been a great Director of the AMA, unifying the industry around common goals and aims, serving the best interests of the working men who make up the ranks of the Association, and last, but not least, his tireless effort to be the voice of a whole new generation of miners. Thanks for everything, Steve.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This bill would transfer title to 422 acres of land from the Fish and Wildlife Service to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The commission has been effectively managing this property since 1998 under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Service, and they have been providing anglers with 150,000 channel catfish each year. Both the State and the Obama administration testified in support of this conveyance, and I note that Congress has previously conveyed 10 national fish hatcheries to various States and municipalities. I urge the adoption of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1160) to require the Secretary of the Interior to convey the McKinney Lake National Fish Hatchery to the State of North Carolina, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 461, sponsored by Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah, conveys the federal title of electricity distribution lines to a local entity. This transfer resolves ownership confusion caused by lack of proper federal paperwork and will lead to more efficient management of the project. The general concept of so-called title transfers is a promising one: they place projects under local control; they reduce federal paperwork; and they provide instant ownership equity for a local entity to leverage private financing dollars. These benefits will all be achieved without a cost to the American taxpayer. This bill is an excellent example of a win-win scenario. I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking Congressman Calvert for introducing this bill to designate a memorial in honor of the over 150,000 current and former members of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The new memorial was dedicated on October 27, 2010, at March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California. With the legislation, the memorial will be designated as the Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial. This designation honors these patriots and does not require or permit the expenditure of any Federal dollars. I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 818 would allow a local water district in Utah to prepay its loan obligations to the Federal Government. Prepayment can benefit local water utilities because it relieves them of interest costs and some regulatory burdens. This concept is similar to giving a family an option to prepay its mortgage and to save compounded interest cost. It's also in the best interest of the American taxpayer since it will facilitate the revenues to the U.S. Treasury. I urge adoption of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 441) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue permits for a microhydro project in nonwilderness areas within the boundaries of Denali National Park and Preserve, to acquire land for Denali National Park and Preserve from Doyon Tourism, Inc., and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I again urge the passage of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 441, the Kantishna Hills Renewable Energy Act, would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue permits for a microhydro project within a nonwilderness area of Denali National Park. Additionally, it will facilitate a small land exchange between the National Park Service and Doyon, Ltd., which owns and operates the facilities that will take advantage of the proposed microhydro project. Finally, at the request of the National Park Service, this bill will allow the Park Service to permit similar projects that exist or may exist in the future. Roughly only six acres of land would be affected. Doyon is one of 13 Alaska Native Regional Corporations formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Currently, the facilities at Kantishna, which are located at the end of a 90-mile park road, operate exclusively off diesel fuel. Not being connected to any grid system, the roadhouse must produce all its energy onsite. This means trucking thousands of gallons of diesel fuel over the long and treacherous park road. Energy created by this microhydro project could cut the roadhouse's diesel usage in half and drastically reduce the need of these trips. Down the road at the new Eielson Visitor Center, the National Park Service operates a similar microhydro project to great success, and the Kantishna Roadhouse seeks to take advantage of similar technology that could help rid their reliance on costly diesel fuel. Working with both the National Park Service and Doyon, we have before us a bill that was crafted in a truly collaborative fashion that is a win-win that lowers the fossil fuel use in the park, lowers costs for the lodge operators, and protects park resources. I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 295) to amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 to authorize funds to acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services specific to the Arctic for safe navigation, delineating the United States extended continental shelf, and the monitoring and description of coastal changes, as amended.