[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 140 (Thursday, September 20, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S11856]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH:
  S. 2072. A bill to authorize Western States to make selections of 
public land within their borders in lieu of receiving 5 percent of the 
proceeds of the sale of public land lying within said States as 
provided by their respective enabling Acts; to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce The Action Plan 
for Public Land and Education Act of 2007. This bill would restore some 
balance to the way education is funded in many of the western States, 
where a large proportion of public land is owned by the Government. 
This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture to grant a small portion of these Federal 
lands to the states so they can generate the much needed education 
revenue.
  I wonder how many of my colleagues know that 10 of the 12 States with 
the largest pupil-per-teacher ratios are in the West? These 10 western 
States also have the lowest growth in per-pupil expenditures. And these 
ratios will only grow worse as growth in the West continues to out-pace 
the rest of the country. In fact, three of the fastest growing counties 
are in Utah.
  I would like to take a moment to discuss how the west has gotten into 
this situation. Let us take a look at Utah's history, which began when 
in July of 1894, the State Enabling Act was approved. This act allowed 
``the People of Utah to form a Constitution and State Government, and 
to be admitted into the Union.''
  However, Section 9 of the enabling act sets forth that ``five percent 
of the proceeds of the sales of public lands lying within said State, 
which shall be sold by the United States subsequent to the admission of 
said State into the Union . . . shall be paid to the said State, to be 
used as a permanent fund, the interest of which only shall be expended 
for the support of the common schools within said State.''
  The Federal Government never followed through on its promise. Our 
bill, the APPLE Act, S. 2072, would direct the Government to deliver on 
that promise.
  The Government's lack of follow-through on its promise is only 
exacerbated by the lack of a sales tax base in the west. Sales tax 
revenue, as we all know is generated on private lands. On average, the 
Federal Government owns 52 percent of the land located in the 13 
western States, while the remaining States average just 4 percent 
Federal land ownership. Federal ownership in Utah is about 65 percent, 
second only to Nevada.
  The problem is that sales tax is not being collected on these Federal 
lands, and public education is funded largely through sales tax 
revenues.
  Some may say that the west's education funding deficit is due to a 
lack of commitment or effort by the States. This is not true.
  The fact is that allocations to public education, by percentage, in 
the West matches or exceeds the rest of the Nation. In fact, western 
States pay on average 11.1 percent of their personal income to State 
and local taxes, whereas residents of the remaining States pay 10.9 
percent.
  I urge my colleagues to lend their support to addressing the west's 
education funding shortfall by helping me to pass the Action Plan for 
Public Land and Education Act of 2007.
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