[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 107 (Monday, August 3, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H6914-H6915]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1415
  LAND CONVEYANCE IN CARSON AND SANTA FE NATIONAL FORESTS, NEW MEXICO

  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the 
Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 434) to provide for the conveyance 
of small parcels of land in the Carson National Forest and the Santa Fe 
National Forest, New Mexico, to the village of El Rito and the town of 
Jemez Springs, New Mexico.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Senate amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE, SANTA FE NATIONAL FOREST, NEW 
                   MEXICO.

       (a) Conveyance of Property.--Within 60 days of enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture (herein ``the 
     Secretary'') shall convey to the town of Jemez Springs, New 
     Mexico, subject to the terms and conditions under subsection 
     (c), all right, title, and interest of the United States in 
     and to a parcel of real property (including any improvements 
     on the land) consisting of approximately one acre located in 
     the Santa Fe National Forest in Sandoval County, New Mexico.
       (b) Description of Property.--The exact acreage and legal 
     description of the real property conveyed under subsection 
     (a) shall be determined by a survey satisfactory to the 
     Secretary. The cost of the survey shall be borne by the town 
     of Jemez Springs.
       (c) Terms and Conditions.--
       (1) Notwithstanding exceptions of application under the 
     Recreation and Public Purposes Act (43 U.S.C. 869(c)), 
     consideration for the conveyance described in subsection (a) 
     shall be--
       (A) an amount that is consistent with the Bureau of Land 
     Management special pricing program for Governmental entities 
     under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act; and,
       (B) an agreement between the Secretary and the town of 
     Jemez Springs indemnifying the Government of the United 
     States from all liability of the Government that arises from 
     the property.
       (2) The lands conveyed by this Act shall be used for the 
     purposes of construction and operation of a fire substation. 
     If such lands cease to be used for such purposes, at the 
     option of the United States, such lands will revert to the 
     United States.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Jones) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones).
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. JONES asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 434, introduced by former Congressman 
Bill Richardson, the current Ambassador to the United Nations, would 
revise a land conveyance from the Forest Service to Jemez Springs, New 
Mexico. I support the desire of the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. 
Redmond) to see that Jemez Springs attains one acre of land within the 
town in order to construct a fire substation.
  It is my understanding that in 1993 the Jemez National Recreation 
Area was carved out of the Santa Fe National Forest. This transformed 
Jemez Springs from an obscure little village located in the Santa Fe 
National Forest to a little community hosting over 1 million visitors 
annually. I applaud Jemez Springs for cooperating and assisting the 
Forest Service in answering the numerous fire calls throughout the 
area. Without much imagination my colleagues can see how such increased 
activities would cause significant problems for any community.
  The Senate amended and passed H.R. 434 by unanimous consent. I urge 
my colleagues to support H.R. 434.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)

[[Page H6915]]

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I want to express my personal 
commendation to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) for his 
leadership in managing these pieces of legislation now before the 
House.
  Mr. Speaker, I will not object to the passage of this legislation, 
but I want to note for the record that the Forest Service has 
objections to language which has been included by the other body. 
Specifically, the Senate amendment would subject this land conveyance 
to the Recreation and Public Purposes Act process. H.R. 434, as 
reported by the committee and passed by the House, would have provided 
for an equal value exchange of lands pursuant to routine Forest Service 
law and procedures.
  H.R. 434, as amended by the Senate, provides for a one-acre 
conveyance to the town of Jemez Springs, New Mexico, of land from the 
Santa Fe National Forest. The land is to be used for the public purpose 
of a fire station. The bill also contains a reverter clause providing 
that if the land is not used for a fire station it will revert to the 
United States.
  Mr. Speaker, if this bill provided for a general application of the 
Recreation and Public Purposes Act to all national forest lands, I 
would strongly oppose it. But since H.R. 434 is limited to a one-acre 
parcel of land in one New Mexico community, I will not object to the 
Senate amendment. I view this, however, to be a limited and unique 
circumstance and not as a precedent for future conveyances of Forest 
Service lands.
  I urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Redmond).
  Mr. REDMOND. Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of H.R. 434, as was 
introduced by former Congressman Bill Richardson, now Ambassador to the 
United Nations.
  Mr. Speaker, the history of the Jemez Mountains Recreation Area dates 
back to the early 1990's when it was carved out by Congress as a 
special recreation area for the American people. As a result of 
declaring the Jemez Mountains a recreation area, we have an additional 
one million people that now travel through the tiny village of 350 to 
450 people, a little village called Jemez Springs. This little village 
is the closest village that can respond to emergency and disaster, 
whether it be fire, whether it be first aid emergency for those million 
visitors that come through the Jemez Springs area. This is the village 
of first response in time of crisis.
  I believe that the village is well within its limits by asking for 
merely one acre of land on which to build a modern fire station so that 
they can respond to the emergency needs of the American people as the 
American people visit the Jemez Recreation Area. The Federal Government 
owns over 28 million acres in the State of New Mexico, and I believe 
that yielding one acre to a village of 350 people who are the first 
individuals to respond in times of crisis to the visitors of the Jemez 
Recreation Area is well within reason.
  I understand that there is objection to this. This objection on 
behalf of the Forest Service I believe is unreasonable. The Forest 
Service does not always have a good reputation of being a good neighbor 
in New Mexico. I would encourage them to wholeheartedly embrace the 
transfer of the one acre to Jemez Springs to begin to build bridges 
with the people of northern New Mexico.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to note for the Record that former Congressman 
Bill Richardson was a very distinguished member of our Committee on 
Resources, and I think, also to my good friend from New Mexico, that 
former Ambassador Bill Richardson to the United Nations is now the new 
Secretary of Energy. It was just confirmed last Friday by the other 
body.
  I want to commend my good friend the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. 
Redmond) for following up this piece of legislation, and I just want to 
note that and commend him for allowing us to bring this piece of 
legislation now for consideration, and again I urge my colleagues to 
support this bill and thank my colleague again from North Carolina for 
his management of these pieces of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. JONES. 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 North Carolina (Mr. Jones) that the House suspend the 
rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 434.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendment was 
concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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