[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 141 (Monday, October 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
          ARIZONA WILDERNESS LAND TITLE RESOLUTION ACT OF 1994

  Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1233) to resolve the status of certain lands in Arizona 
that are subject to a claim as a grant of public lands for railroad 
purposes, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1233

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Arizona Wilderness Land 
     Title Resolution Act of 1994''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the Act entitled ``An Act granting Lands to aid in the 
     Construction of a Railroad and Telegraph Line from the States 
     of Missouri and Arkansas to the Pacific Coast'', approved 
     July 27, 1866 (14 Stat. 292), granted a right-of-way in 
     Arizona to the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company, 
     together with certain alternate sections of public lands on 
     both sides of the right-of-way;
       (2) patents were not issued to some of the lands in the 
     grant described in paragraph (1);
       (3) as successors in interest to the Atlantic and Pacific 
     Railroad Company, the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad, and Perrin 
     Properties, Inc., a California corporation--
       (A) claim rights to approximately 14,632.72 acres of the 
     lands described in paragraph (1); and
       (B) applied to the Secretary of the Interior for a patent 
     to the lands;
       (4) the Secretary of the Interior denied the application 
     for the patent, which was filed in the name of the Santa Fe 
     Railroad Company for the benefit of Perrin Properties, Inc., 
     on the ground that the claim had been extinguished by failure 
     to record the claim in accordance with the Act entitled ``An 
     Act to require the recordation of scrip, lieu selection, and 
     similar rights'', approved August 5, 1955 (69 Stat. 534; 43 
     U.S.C. 274 note) (commonly known as the ``Recordation Act'');
       (5) on appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the 
     District of Columbia Circuit ruled in Santa Fe Pacific 
     Railroad Company, et al. v. Secretary of the Interior, 830 
     F.2d 1168 (D.C. Cir. 1987), that such Act was not applicable 
     and did not bar the issuance of a patent;
       (6) ultimate resolution of the question of the title to the 
     14,632.72 acres may require years of additional litigation;
       (7) the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-406) 
     designated certain lands in the Prescott National Forest in 
     Arizona as components of the National Wilderness Preservation 
     System established by the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 
     seq.), including the Apache Creek Wilderness and the Juniper 
     Mesa Wilderness;
       (8) the 14,632.72 acres are in the Prescott National Forest 
     and comprise large portions of the Apache Creek and Juniper 
     Mesa Wilderness areas; and
       (9) if the 14,632.72 acres are patented to private owners, 
     the creation of a checkerboard ownership pattern over the 
     wilderness areas will effectively preclude management of the 
     areas as wilderness.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to resolve the status of the title to the approximately 
     14,632.72 acres in the Prescott National Forest described in 
     section 3(c);
       (2) to ensure that the lands are permanently retained in 
     Federal ownership; and
       (3) to preserve the integrity of the Apache Creek and 
     Juniper Mesa Wilderness areas consistent with the Arizona 
     Wilderness Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-406).

     SEC. 3. RESOLUTION OF STATUS OF LANDS.

       (a) Payment by the Secretary of the Treasury.--
       (1) Payment.--Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of 
     the Treasury shall pay to Perrin Properties, Inc., the sum of 
     $3,854,000 from the permanent judgment appropriation 
     established pursuant to section 1304 of title 31, United 
     States Code.
       (2) Interest.--No funds shall be made available for the 
     payment of interest on the amounts payable under paragraph 
     (1).
       (b) Conditions of Payment.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
     shall make the payment described in subsection (a) if the 
     Attorney General of the United States notifies the Secretary 
     of the Treasury that the appellants in Santa Fe Pacific 
     Railroad Company, et al. v. Secretary of the Interior, 830 
     F.2d 1168 (1987), and Perrin Properties, Inc., have executed 
     in forms satisfactory to the Attorney General all documents 
     necessary--
       (1) to dismiss with prejudice all litigation involving the 
     title to the lands described in subsection (c); and
       (2) to release and quitclaim to the United States all 
     right, title, and interest of the appellants and of Perrin 
     Properties, Inc., arising out of the Act entitled ``An Act 
     granting Lands to aid in the Construction of a Railroad and 
     Telegraph Line from the States of Missouri and Arkansas to 
     the Pacific Coast'', approved July 27, 1866 (14 Stat. 292), 
     in and to lands in the Prescott National Forest.
       (c) Description of Lands.--The lands described in this 
     subsection are the approximately 14,632.72 acres of land in 
     the Prescott National Forest in Arizona described in the 
     decision by the Interior Board of Land Appeals, Santa Fe 
     Pacific Railroad Co., No. 82-449, 72 IBLA 197 (April 19, 
     1983).
       (d) Management of Lands.--Upon the execution of documents 
     and dismissal of the litigation as described in subsection 
     (b), the lands described in subsection (c) shall be managed 
     in accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations 
     pertaining to the National Forest System. Lands described in 
     subsection (c) that lie within the boundaries of a wilderness 
     area, as designated on or before the date of enactment of 
     this Act, shall also be managed in accordance with the 
     applicable provisions of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 
     et seq.).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas [Mr. Brooks] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the gentleman 
from California [Mr. Moorhead] will be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Brooks].
  Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. BROOKS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1233, to resolve the 
status of certain lands in Arizona that are subject to a claim as a 
grant of public lands for railroad purposes.
  S. 1233 directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to Perrin 
Properties the sum of $3.84 million from the permanent judgment fund 
established under 31 United States Code 1304 as a final settlement of 
its claims to approximately 14,633 acres of land located in the 
Prescott National Forest in Arizona.
  The measure has already passed the Senate and I urge an ``aye'' vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MOORHEAD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume, and I rise in support of S. 1233.
  (Mr. MOORHEAD asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. MOORHEAD. Mr. Speaker, this bill, which has passed the Senate, 
will settle the title dispute that has surrounded more than 14,000 
acres of land in Arizona as a result of the Congress' grant of a 
railroad right of way in 1966.
  The Federal Government has sought reversion of the land to the United 
States since they comprise a checkerboard of portions within land 
designated under the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984.
  The most recent court decision concerning the ownership of the land 
has returned it to a family to which the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad had 
transferred it in 1896. This legislation would effect a purchase of the 
lands for the Forest Service for $3.84 million to be paid from the 
judgment fund.
  I urge support of the legislation.
  Mr. FAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 1233, the 
Arizona Wilderness Land Title Resolution Act. This important 
legislation will put to rest a longstanding dispute between certain 
Arizona landowners and the Federal Government. Simply put, this 
legislation implements a settlement agreement between the landowners 
and the Federal Government. The settlement requires the U.S. Government 
to pay the landowners in question $3.84 million to acquire property 
within the Prescott National Forest. In return, the landowners will 
drop litigation which is currently pending in the Federal court system.
  S. 1233 and the settlement agreement are supported by the U.S. Forest 
Service, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, and 
the landowners. Both the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction 
reviewed this bill and determined that it has significant merit. This 
is a noncontroversial bill and I am pleased that the House has been 
able to act on it so swiftly.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to thank Mr. Vento, chairman of 
the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands; Mr. 
Miller, chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources; Mr. Bryant, 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Administrative Law and Government 
Relations; and Mr. Brooks, chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, 
for their efforts in bringing this bill to the floor in an expeditious 
manner.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I strongly support S. 1233 and urge my colleagues 
to vote in favor of this important measure.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, S. 1233 is a Senate-passed bill that would 
ratify and implement a settlement of litigation about ownership of 
about 14,600 acres of land in the Prescott National Forest, in Arizona, 
including parts of two existing wilderness areas.
  These lands were part of an 1866 land-grant from the United States to 
a railroad company. In subsequent years, the railroad company and its 
successors in interest got patents for some of the grant lands, but not 
for the lands covered by this bill.
  When the Prescott National Forest was established by Presidential 
proclamation in 1907, the forest's boundaries encompassed these 
previously granted lands.
  In 1977, an application was submitted for a patent for the lands 
involved here. The application was rejected by the Secretary of the 
Interior, a rejection that was challenged in court.
  In 1984, Congress passed the Arizona Wilderness Act. Some of the 
grant lands are within the boundaries of two of the wilderness areas 
designated by that act.
  In 1987, the Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 
Circuit reversed on technical grounds the Secretary's denial of the 
patent application for the grant lands.
  The Forest Service and the claimants then started negotiations toward 
a settlement, and finally agreed that the claimants would relinquish 
all their interests in the lands upon payment by the United States of 
$3.854 million.
  According to the Forest Service, if the claimants finally won in 
court the price for acquisition of the lands might be as much as $10 
million, not to mention litigation costs.
  After this settlement was reached, the Forest Service and the 
Department of Justice sought approval to pay the agreed amount from the 
permanent judgment fund. However, this was denied on the grounds that 
the judgment fund could only be used for settlement of monetary claims, 
not land title claims.
  The bill would direct payment of the settlement from the judgment 
fund when the claimants have taken all steps necessary to end the 
litigation and to relinquish all claims on the lands.
  Enactment of the bill will thus remove a serious cloud from the title 
to these national forest lands, including the two wilderness areas, 
along lines agreed to by the Forest Service, the Department of Justice, 
and the private claimants.
  The administration strongly supports the measure because it could 
mean significant cost savings. I know of no controversy about the bill, 
which was approved without amendment by the Natural Resources Committee 
and the Judiciary Committee. I urge its passage by the House.
  Mr. MOORHEAD. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Brooks] that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the Senate bill, S. 1233.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the grounds 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5, rule I, and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceeding on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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