Congressional Record, Volume 153 Issue 193 (Monday, December 17, 2007)

[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 193 (Monday, December 17, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H15474-H15475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

GEORGE WASHINGTON NATIONAL FOREST LAND CONVEYANCE

Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 3454) to provide for the conveyance of a small
parcel of National Forest System land in the George Washington National
Forest in Alleghany County, Virginia, that contains the cemetery of the
Central Advent Christian Church and an adjoining tract of land located
between the cemetery and road boundaries.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 3454

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

SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE, CENTRAL ADVENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH
CEMETERY AND ADJOINING TRACT, GEORGE WASHINGTON
NATIONAL FOREST, ALLEGHANY COUNTY, VIRGINIA.

(a) Conveyance Required.--The Secretary of Agriculture
shall convey, without consideration, to the Central Advent
Christian Church of Alleghany County, Virginia (in this
section referred to as the ``recipient''), all right, title,
and interest of the United States in and to a parcel of real
property in the George Washington National Forest, Alleghany
County, Virginia, consisting of not more than 8 acres,
including a cemetery encompassing approximately 6 acres
designated as an area of special use for the recipient, and
depicted on the Forest Service map showing tract G-2032c and
dated August 20, 2002, and the Forest Service map showing the
area of special use and dated March 14, 2001.
(b) Condition of Conveyance.--The conveyance under
subsection (a) shall be subject to the condition that the
recipient accept the real property described in such
subsection in its condition at the time of the conveyance,
commonly known as conveyance ``as is''.
(c) Description of Property.--The exact acreage and legal
description of the real property to be conveyed under
subsection (a) shall be determined by a survey satisfactory
to the Secretary. The cost of the survey shall be borne by
the recipient.
(d) 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
Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms.
Foxx) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.
Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support today of H.R. 3454. This bill,
sponsored by Mr. Boucher from Virginia, would convey property in the
George Washington National Forest to the Central Advent Christian
Church of Alleghany County, Virginia. The parcel will consist of no
more than 8 acres, and included in this parcel will be a cemetery
encompassing approximately 6 acres.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3454 requires that the church accept the property
at the time of the conveyance in an ``as is'' condition. The exact
acreage and legal description of the properly to be conveyed will be
determined in a survey of USDA's approval. USDA will also set
additional terms and conditions in connection with the conveyance of
the property.
The United States Forest Service has acknowledged that this
particular tract of forest land is difficult to manage. Owning a
cemetery tract is inconsistent with the Forest Service mission, which
is why they have attempted to sell this property several times without
success. I understand the Central Advent Christian Church has already
been doing basic maintenance on the cemetery grounds. Conveying this
land to the church would enable them to make more significant repairs
to the property. This effort deserves congressional support.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I also rise today in support of H.R. 3454
which our distinguished ranking member on the Agriculture Committee
(Mr. Goodlatte) has cosponsored with Congressman Boucher. H.R. 3454
requires the U.S. Forest Service to convey, without consideration, 8
acres of the George Washington National Forest in Alleghany County,
Virginia, to the Central Advent Christian Church. The conveyance
includes a 6-acre cemetery and 2 additional acres between the cemetery
and Interstate 64.
While typically the Forest Service would sell this property under
existing authority, they did not receive any bids when they attempted
to sell it. Clearly, the Forest Service should not be in the business
of owning a cemetery, particularly that has been managed by the
community church since 1941 under a special use permit. The church has
tried to acquire the property, but for financial and other reasons has
been unsuccessful.
The cemetery also creates some management problems for the agency,
since there is a fair amount of maintenance associated with it.
This conveyance makes sense for the Federal Government and for the
community church. It will allow the Forest Service to focus on the land
Congress intended the agency to manage.
I urge adoption of this bipartisan legislation.
Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3454,
bipartisan legislation which will authorize the conveyance by the
Forest Service to the Central Advent Christian Church in Alleghany
County, Virginia of a small parcel of land containing a cemetery
currently operated by the church. The church and the land in question
are located in my Congressional District.
For 66 years, the Central Advent Christian Church has been operating
its cemetery through a Special Use permit granted by the U.S. Forest
Service. The historic cemetery contains more than 300 graves, two-
thirds of which are located on land owned by the U.S. Forest Service.
In recent years, maintenance of this land has become difficult for the
Forest Service, taking valuable staff time to remove discarded flowers
and other items.
It is the desire of the families of those buried in the cemetery, the
members of Central Advent Christian Church and the Forest Service that
the cemetery be transferred into church ownership, and the bill before
the House takes the entirely appropriate step of authorizing the
conveyance.

[[Page H15475]]

This measure authorizes the transfer of the 6.08 acres constituting
the cemetery and a small additional tract, which would otherwise be
landlocked by this transfer, to the church. The total amount of land to
be conveyed to the church will not exceed 8 acres. Conveyance of the
property will be contingent on the completion of a survey acceptable to
the Forest Service at the church's expense.
I appreciate the efforts of Chairman Peterson and his staff as well
as my colleague from Virginia, Mr. Goodlatte, in working with me on
this legislation, and I thank Mr. Goodlatte, who also represents a
portion of Alleghany County, for cosponsoring the bill with me. H.R.
3454 enjoys bipartisan support in the House and its passage would
benefit both the Forest Service and the members of the Central Advent
Christian Church.
I urge approval of the measure.
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I wish to express strong support for H.R.
3454, which I've cosponsored with my colleague Mr. Boucher. H.R. 3454
would authorize the U.S. Forest Service to convey roughly 8 acres of
the George Washington National Forest in Alleghany County, Virginia, to
the Central Advent Christian Church.
These 8 acres contain a 6 acre cemetery and 2 acres between the
cemetery and the adjoining interstate. The cemetery has been managed by
the Church since 1941, under a special use permit, with no fees.
It's frustrating to me that limited federal dollars are being spent
to manage this property that is clearly not in line with the mission of
the Forest Service. That's why I've cosponsored this legislation. This
bill will help relinquish the Forest Service of this responsibility so
they can focus on the lands that our forefathers intended them to
manage.
Several times, the Forest Service has attempted to sell this property
but to no avail. The local community church lacks the resources to
purchase the property. While I would of course prefer that we sell the
land, I believe it is in the federal government's interest to convey
the land to the Church rather than spending additional resources on it.
I urge adoption of this important legislation.
Ms. FOXX. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota. 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 Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3454.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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