[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 18, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H5340-H5341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONVEYANCE OF REVERSIONARY INTEREST OF UNITED STATES IN CERTAIN LANDS 
                  TO CLINT INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 860) to provide for the conveyance of the reversionary 
interest of the United States in certain lands to the Clint Independent 
School District, El Paso County, Texas.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 860

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

     SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTY.

       (a) Conveyance.--Subject to section 2, the Secretary of 
     State shall execute and file in the appropriate office such 
     instrument as may be necessary to release the reversionary 
     interest of the United States in the land referred to in 
     subsection (b).
       (b) Land Described.--The land described in this subsection 
     consists of Tracts 4-B, 5, and 7, Block 14, San Elizario 
     Grant, County of El Paso, State of Texas.

     SEC. 2. TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

       The release under section 1 shall be made upon condition 
     that the Clint Independent School District in the County of 
     El Paso, State of Texas, use any proceeds received from the 
     disposal of such land for public educational purposes.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Ackerman) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 860, a bill to provide for the 
conveyance of the reversionary interest of the United States in certain 
lands to the Clint Independent School District of El Paso County, 
Texas.
  In 1940, the Clint District School received 20 acres of land that the 
United States Government had obtained by treaty with Mexico. The 
Department of State retained reversionary interests in the parcel. 
Because of legislation passed in 1957, Clint was able to trade the land 
for another piece of land in which the U.S. Government also had a 
reversionary interest. The Clint School District still owns that piece 
of land.
  During the 105th Congress, Congressman Reyes introduced legislation, 
a similar bill to the one before us, which would have provided for the 
conveyance of the reversionary interest of the United States in this 
land to the Clint Independent School District. This legislation became 
public law number 105-169 on April 24, 1998, but a drafting error led 
to the misidentification of the land in question and thus rendered this 
public law obsolete. This bill before us, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 860, 
corrects that error.
  Mr. Speaker, because the land in question still lies outside of 
Clint's boundaries, regulations prevent the school district from 
developing it. H.R. 860 will allow Clint to sell its land in

[[Page H5341]]

order to buy property within its district boundaries that can be used 
for public educational purposes.

                              {time}  1615

  This legislation has been approved by the State Department and 
approved by the House International Relations Committee and I urge its 
passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, and 
yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the gentlewoman from Florida 
for all of her efforts. I want to especially single out the hard work 
of my good friend and colleague from Texas, Silvestre Reyes, for his 
steadfast efforts to help the Clint Independent School District improve 
the quality of education for its students.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill seeks to correct a technical error in 
legislation which the 105th Congress passed. That legislation should 
have relinquished the Federal Government's reversionary interest in a 
tract of land that is owned by the Clint Independent School District.
  Unfortunately, the wrong coordinates for the land were included in 
the bill. This bill, H.R. 860, completes the transfer of property 
rights for the school district so that it can proceed with a planned 
sale of the land.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of our colleagues to support H.R. 860.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the author of the 
bill, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes).
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from New York for 
yielding me time, and my good friend from Florida, the gentlewoman, for 
her support in this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 860, a bill to provide 
for the conveyance of reversionary interests of the United States in 
certain lands in my district of El Paso County, Texas to the Clint 
Independent School District.
  The passage of H.R. 860 comes on the heels of an interesting footnote 
in our history. In 1940, Clint Independent School District received 20 
acres of land that the United States Government had obtained from 
Mexico through the Convention of February 1, 1933.
  In the treaty, the two governments agreed to cooperate in the 
construction and maintenance of the Rio Grande Rectification Project, 
which ultimately straightened and reinforced 155 miles of river 
boundary flowing through the increasingly developed El Paso, Texas-
Juarez, Chihuahua area.
  In addition to helping provide a more stable international boundary, 
the project also helped occasional flooding in that region. After 
giving the land to the school district, the Department of State 
retained reversionary interest in the parcel. In 1957 Federal statutes 
gave Clint Independent School District the ability to trade that piece 
of land for another, which it did, acquiring a separate parcel in which 
the United States had also retained reversionary interest.
  Today, Clint Independent School District still owns that one piece of 
land. Unfortunately, because the land in question lies outside of 
Clint's boundaries, district regulations prevent the school district 
from developing it.
  H.R. 860 will allow Clint to sell its land in order to buy property 
within its own district boundaries. All proceeds from such a sale must 
and will be used for public educational purposes. This legislation has 
been approved by the State Department and reported favorably by the 
House International Relations Committee. Of the nine school districts 
in El Paso County, Clint is the largest in square mileage, encompassing 
a diverse area in the fast-growing east El Paso County.
  The district itself is one of the most rapidly expanding in Texas, 
with an estimated student population of 9,000-plus, a figure that is 
expected to double within the next 5 years.
  All together, the district has 12 campuses, three high schools, two 
middle schools, one junior high school and six elementary schools. This 
bill will afford Clint the ability to help keep pace with its growth 
and help the district provide its students a high-quality educational 
experience.
  I would like to thank the chairman and ranking member of the House 
International Relations Committee, Mr. Hyde of Illinois and Mr. Lantos 
of California, as well as my friend from New York and my friend from 
Florida, for reporting this beneficial piece of legislation out of 
their committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank our leader, Ms. Pelosi, and 
minority whip, Mr. Hoyer for their support and assistance in bringing 
this bill to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 
860.
  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Wamp). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 860.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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