[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 31, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1414-E1415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               2002 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES FACILITATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. JAMES V. HANSEN

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 30, 1996

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, following is the Congressional Budget Office 
cost estimate for H.R. 3907, a bill to facilitate the 2002 Winter 
Olympic Games in the State of Utah at the Snowbasin Ski area, to 
provide for the acquisition of lands within the Sterling Forest 
Reserve, and for other purposes, that passed the House on Tuesday, July 
30, 1996.

                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                    Washington, DC, July 29, 1996.
     Hon. Don Young,
     Chairman, Committee on Resources, U.S. House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     reviewed H.R. 3907, a bill to facilitate the 2002 Winter 
     Olympic Games in the state of Utah at the Snowbasin Ski Area, 
     to provide for the acquisition of lands within the Sterling 
     Forest Reserve, and for other purposes, as introduced in the 
     House of Representatives on July 26, 1996. Assuming 
     appropriation of the necessary sums, CBO estimates that the 
     federal government would spend $17.5 million over the next 
     several years to implement Title II of this bill. In 
     addition, Title I of the bill would affect direct spending; 
     therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. However, we 
     estimate that any change in direct spending would be 
     insignificant.


                        federal budgetary impact

       Title I would authorize and direct the Secretary of 
     Agriculture to transfer to the Sun Valley Company 1,230 acres 
     of federally owned land for the Snowbasin Ski Area, located 
     within the Cache National Forest in Utah. In exchange, the 
     Forest Service would receive about 4,100 acres of privately 
     owned land of roughly equal value located within the Cache 
     National Forest. Based on conversations with the committee 
     staff, we understand that the map designations are intended 
     to be the same as those in H.R. 2402, as reported by the 
     Committee on Resources on December 15, 1995. Based on 
     information from the Forest Service, CBO estimates that this 
     exchange would cause the federal government to lose receipts 
     from permit fees totaling less than $25,000 annually. We 
     estimate that no significant change in discretionary spending 
     would result from implementing this title.
       Title II would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
     transfer funds to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission 
     for the purpose of acquiring lands and related interests in 
     the Sterling Forest Reserve in New York. The title would 
     authorize the appropriation of up to $17.5 million for 
     this purpose. In addition, section 202 would authorize the 
     Secretary to exchange unreserved federal lands for about 
     2,220 acres of nonfederal property in Sterling Forest. The 
     Secretary would be directed to transfer to the commission 
     any land acquired by exchange.
       Assuming that the entire amounts authorized for land 
     acquisition would be appropriated as needed by the 
     commission, CBO estimates that the Secretary of the Interior 
     would transfer $17.5 million to the commission over the next 
     several years. It is unlikely that any land exchanges would 
     be executed under the authority provided in this title 
     because there is probably no federal land suitable for 
     exchange purposes in New York, and any federal land located 
     in other states could probably not be used for the exchange 
     without specific legislative authority.


             impact on state, local, and tribal governments

       H.R. 3907 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined 
     in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-
     4). The state of Utah would lose a small amount of receipts 
     as a result of the proposed land transfer in Title I because 
     it receives 25 percent of the permit fees paid by ski areas 
     on federal lands within the state. The bill would impose no 
     other costs on state, local, or tribal governments.


                      impact on the private sector

       This bill would impose no new private-sector mandates as 
     defined in Public Law 104-4.


                         previous cbo estimates

       On March 17, 1995, CBO completed a cost estimate for S. 
     223, the Sterling Forest Protection Act of 1995, as ordered 
     reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
     Resources on March 15, 1995. S. 223 also would authorize the 
     appropriation of $17.5 million for acquisition and transfer 
     of the Sterling Forest lands. The Senate bill contains other 
     provisions that would have cost the federal government about 
     $200,000. Because these provisions are not included in H.R. 
     3907, estimated costs for this bill are lower.

[[Page E1415]]

       On December 1, 1995, CBO completed a cost estimate for H.R. 
     2402, the Snowbasin Land Exchange Act of 1995, as ordered 
     reported by the House Committee on Resources on November 16, 
     1995. H.R. 2402 contains provisions that are very similar to 
     those of Title I of H.R. 3907, and the estimated costs for 
     those provisions in the two bills are identical.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah 
     Reis and Victoria V. Heid (for federal costs), who can be 
     reached at 226-2860, and Marjorie Miller (for the state and 
     local impact), who can be reached at 225-3220.
           Sincerely,
                                                  June E. O'Neill,
     Director.

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