[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 122 (Tuesday, September 24, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6493-H6494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TUPELO, OKLAHOMA, LAND CONVEYANCE
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5109) to direct the Secretary of Energy to convey a parcel
of land at the facility of the Southwestern Power Administration in
Tupelo, Oklahoma, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 5109
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE, TUPELO, OKLAHOMA.
(a) Conveyance Required.--Except as required by subsection
(d), the Secretary of Energy shall convey, at fair market
value, to Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Incorporated, all
right, title, and interest of the United States in and to a
parcel of land, and any improvements thereto, consisting of
approximately 6.3 acres of the facility of the Southwestern
Power Administration in Tupelo, Oklahoma, for use in economic
development within the service area of the Tri-County Indian
Nations Community Development Corporation.
(b) Description of Parcel.--The exact acreage and
description of the parcel to be conveyed under subsection (a)
shall be determined by a survey that is satisfactory to the
Secretary and to Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Incorporated.
(c) Conditions of Conveyance.--As conditions of the
conveyance under subsection (a), the Secretary shall require
that Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Incorporated--
(1) agree to honor the terms of any lease of the parcel or
portion thereof that is in existence on the date of the
conveyance; and
(2) agree to bear the costs of the conveyance, including
the cost of the survey required by subsection (b) and the
appraisal required by subsection (f).
(d) Easement.--Under the terms of the conveyance of the
parcel under subsection (a), the Secretary shall retain an
easement to the parcel for the purpose of maintaining a
sewage connection to the electrical substation and lagoon
facility located adjacent to the parcel. Such easement shall
include telephone and telegraph rights.
(e) Undepreciated Value.--The Southwestern Power
Administration is authorized to remove the undepreciated
value of the facilities conveyed under subsection (a) from
its repayable investment obligation.
(f) Valuation of Land To Be Conveyed.--The fair market
value of the land to be conveyed under subsection (a) shall
be determined by an appraisal acceptable to the Secretary
that is conducted by an appraiser agreed upon by the
Secretary and Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Incorporated,
and conducted in accordance with--
(1) the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property
Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601; Public Law
91-646);
(2) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land
Acquisition; and
(3) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 5109, authored by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watkins),
authorizes the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Southwestern
Power Administration, to convey a 6.3 acre parcel of land in Tupelo,
Oklahoma. The conveyance will be at fair market value. The parcel has
three buildings on the site: an office building, an open-ended garage,
and a storage building. The Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, which
currently leases the parcel on a temporary basis, plans to begin
incubator businesses utilizing the land and facilities to be
transferred.
The bill is noncontroversial and will help bring economic development
to one of the poorest counties in the State. I urge its adoption.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 5109 is a simple fair market value conveyance of a small parcel
of land and facilities in Tupelo, Oklahoma. We have no objection to the
bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watkins).
Mr. WATKINS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah
(Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), my
classmate, by the way, for their action on H.R. 5109.
[[Page H6494]]
This is my district. I worked a number of years ago with putting
together a facility, working with the Southwest Power Administration,
which is no longer being used and is being leased out. This is
transferring it to Rural Enterprises, which manages about a dozen
business industrial incubators in my district and in the State of
Oklahoma, in order to help build jobs and the economy.
I might just add that Coal County, where this is located, is a 25
percent or more poverty area with a high rate of underemployment and
unemployed. This could be a stimulus that would help us try to
diversify and build jobs. I just want to thank the gentleman from Utah
and the gentleman from West Virginia for their great work.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5109, legislation that
would transfer a building owned by the Department of Energy under the
control of the Southwest Power Administration in Tupelo, Oklahoma to
Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit economic
development organization.
The Tupelo facility was built for use by the Southwest Power
Administration in the mid 1980's and was actively used until 1999.
Since then the building has been vacant. The Southwest Power
Administration has asked me to help them transfer the building to a
group that will put it to good use. I have worked with the Southwest
Power Administration to draft this legislation so that we can use this
vacant building to help build economic and job opportunities for our
citizens. Rural Enterprises currently leases the building and plans to
use it as a business incubator.
Tupelo, Oklahoma is a small community in rural Coal County, Oklahoma.
According to the U.S. Census data Coal County has 25% of the population
below the poverty level and 35% of children live in poverty. For many
years I have worked to create greater economic job opportunities for
the future children and grandchildren of my district. I know this
transfer will allow for Rural Enterprises to put the facility into
active use as a business and industrial Incubator which will in turn
build jobs which this community desperately needs.
Rural Enterprises is a non-profit group that has experience managing
business incubators. They are presently operating incubators in 10
communities in the rural areas of my state. One of the incubators run
by Rural Enterprises is in Bennington, Oklahoma. This incubator for
several years housed a company that made hammer dulcimers. The hammer
dulcimer company brought about 10 jobs to a small town of about 200
people. Within the last two years this company graduated from the
incubator, and moved their business to a more spacious location. These
musical instruments have been sold all over the world.
Mr. Speaker, I believe with the passage of H.R. 5109 we can repeat
the successes we have had with other incubators. This bill will allow
for the transfer a currently vacant building to a group that will put
it into good use as a business incubator.
I ask for the support of my colleagues and urge passage of H.R. 5109.
Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 5109, 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.
____________________