[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H9971-H9972]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 APACHE NATIONAL FOREST LAND CONVEYANCE

  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3547) to provide for the conveyance of a parcel of real 
property in the Apache National Forest in the State of Arizona to the 
Alpine Elementary School District 7 to be used for the construction of 
school facilities and related playing fields, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3547

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

     SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE, APACHE NATIONAL FOREST, ARIZONA.

       (a) Conveyance Required.--(1) The Secretary of Agriculture 
     shall convey, without consideration, to the Alpine Elementary 
     School District 7 of the State of Arizona (in this section 
     referred to as the ``School District''), all right, title, 
     and interest of the United States in and to a parcel of real 
     property, including any improvements thereon, consisting of 
     approximately 30 acres located in the Apache National Forest, 
     Apache County, Arizona, and further delineated as follows: 
     North \1/2\ of Northeast \1/4\ of Southeast \1/4\ of section 
     14, Township 5 North, Range 30 East, Gila and Salt River 
     meridian, and North \1/2\ of South \1/2\ of Northeast \1/4\ 
     of Southeast \1/4\ of such section.
       (2) The exact acreage and legal description of the real 
     property to be conveyed under paragraph (1) shall be 
     determined by a survey satisfactory to the Secretary. The 
     cost of the survey shall be borne by the School District.
       (b) Condition of Conveyance.--The conveyance made under 
     subsection (a) shall be subject to the condition that the 
     School District use the conveyed property for public school 
     facilities and related public school recreational purposes.
       (c) Right of Reentry.--The United States shall retain a 
     right of reentry in the property to be conveyed. if the 
     Secretary determines that the conveyed property is not being 
     used in accordance with the condition in subsection (b), the 
     United States shall have the right to reenter the conveyed 
     property without consideration.
       (d) Encumbrances.--The conveyance made under subsection (a) 
     shall be subject to all encumbrances on the property existing 
     as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (e) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may 
     require such additional terms and conditions in connection 
     with the conveyance under subsection (a) as the Secretary 
     considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United 
     States.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Doolittle] and the gentleman from California [Mr. 
Miller] each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California [Mr. Doolittle].
  (Mr. DOOLITTLE asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3547, introduced by Mr. 
Hayworth, which would convey 30 acres of land on the Apache National 
Forest in Apache County, AZ to the Alpine Elementary School District. 
The school district needs the land to construct school facilities and 
related playing fields. The school district is willing to purchase the 
lands; however, the cost is prohibitive.
  Eighty-five percent of Apache County is federally controlled land. As 
a result, school district budgets must rely heavily on their 25-percent 
share of receipts from national forest timber harvests, designation by 
law for local schools and roads. Unfortunately, appeals and litigation 
have halted all logging in Arizona, and as a result the Alpine 
Elementary School District's revenues have fallen sharply. Without this 
conveyance, the school district would not be able to afford to 
construct any facilities after acquiring the land.
  H.R. 3547 stipulates that the land can only be used for school 
facilities. In addition, the school district will bear the costs of 
performing a survey to determine the exact acreage and legal 
description of the property.
  The Subcommittee of National Parks, Forests and Lands amended H.R. 
3547 to revise the acreage description and clarify the Federal 
Government's interest in the property. It was amended again by the 
Committee on Resources at the request of the administration to change 
the Federal interest to a right of reentry if the property is no longer 
used for public school facilities or related recreational purposes.
  I urge the Members of the House to support the school children of 
Apache County by supporting Mr. Hayworth's reasonable bill, H.R. 3547. 
Once Congress enacts this legislation, the Alpine School District will 
have the ability to construct the school facilities that these children 
need and deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  When this bill was originally introduced, there were some concerns, 
but the committee has amended the legislation to address those, to 
address those concerns, and we have no objection to this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3547 would authorize the conveyance of certain 
national forest lands in

[[Page H9972]]

the State of Arizona to the Alpine Elementary School District 7 for use 
as a school and for school-related recreational facilities.
  Although there were initially several concerns with the bill, H.R. 
3547 was amended by the Resources Committee to address these issues. 
The changes made to the bill by the committee bring the bill in line 
with similar measures previously considered by the House. As a result 
we have no objection to this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Doolittle] that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3547, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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