[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 4, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1192-H1193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AUTHORIZING SECRETARY OF INTERIOR TO LEASE LANDS IN VIRGIN ISLANDS
NATIONAL PARK
Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1143) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease
certain lands in Virgin Islands National Park, and for other purposes,
as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1143
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(2) RUE.--The term ``RUE'' means the retained use estate
entered into by the Jackson Hole Preserve and the United
States on September 30, 1983.
(3) Park.--The term ``park'' means Virgin Islands National
Park.
(4) CBI.--The term ``CBI'' means CBI Acquisitions, LLC.
(5) Resort.--The term ``Resort'' means Caneel Bay Resort on
the island of St. John in Virgin Islands National Park.
SEC. 2. LEASE AGREEMENT.
(a) Authorization.--The Secretary may enter into a lease
agreement with CBI governing the use of property for the
continued management and operation of the Resort.
(b) Additional Lands.--Any lease entered into pursuant to
this Act shall include the property covered by the RUE and
any associated property owned by CBI donated to the National
Park Service.
(c) Terms.--The lease agreement authorized under subsection
(a) shall--
(1) require that operations and maintenance of the Resort
are conducted in a manner consistent with the preservation
and conservation of the resources and values of the Park as
well as the best interests of the Resort;
(2) be for the minimum number of years practicable to
enable the lessee to secure financing for any necessary
improvements to the Resort, taking into account the financial
obligations of CBI, but in any event shall not exceed 40
years;
(3) prohibit any transfer, assignment or sale of the lease
or otherwise convey or pledge any interest in the lease
without prior written notification to and approval by the
Secretary;
(4) prohibit any increase in the number of guest
accommodations available at the Resort;
(5) prohibit any increase in the overall size of the
Resort;
(6) prohibit the sale of partial ownership shares or
timeshares in the Resort;
(7) be designed to facilitate transfer of all property
covered by the lease to Federal administration upon
expiration of the lease; and
(8) include any other provisions determined by the
Secretary to be necessary to protect the Park and the public
interest.
(d) Appraisals.--The Secretary shall require appraisals to
determine the fair market value of all property covered by
the RUE and any property, including the value, if any, of the
surrendered term of the RUE, owned by CBI to be donated, or
otherwise conveyed, to the National Park Service. Such
appraisals shall be conducted pursuant to the Uniform
Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisition.
(e) Compensation.--
(1) In general.--The lease authorized by this Act shall--
(A) require payment to the United States of the property's
fair market value rent, taking into account the value of any
associated property transferred by CBI as well as the value,
if any, of the surrendered term of the RUE;
(B) include a provision--
(i) allowing recalculation of the amount of the payment
required under this subsection, at the request of the
Secretary or CBI, in the event of extraordinary unanticipated
changes in conditions anticipated at the time the lease was
finalized; and
(ii) providing for binding arbitration in the event the
Secretary and CBI are unable to agree upon an adjustment to
the payment in these circumstances.
(2) Distribution.--Eighty percent of the payment to the
United States required by this subsection shall be available
to the Secretary, without further appropriation, for
expenditure within the Park. The remaining twenty percent
shall be deposited in the Treasury.
(3) Applicability of certain law.--Section 321 of the Act
of June 30, 1932 (40 U.S.C. 1302), relating to the leasing of
buildings and property of the United States, shall not apply
to the lease entered into by the Secretary pursuant to this
Act.
SEC. 3. RETAINED USE ESTATE.
As a condition of the lease, CBI shall relinquish to the
Secretary all rights under the RUE and transfer, without
compensation, ownership of improvements covered by the RUE to
the United States.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop)
will each control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West Virginia.
General Leave
Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from West Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend our distinguished colleague
from the Virgin Islands, a valuable member of our Committee on Natural
Resources and the chairwoman of our Insular Affairs Subcommittee, Donna
Christensen, for sponsoring the pending legislation, H.R. 1143.
The bill would authorize the National Park Service to continue its
successful relationship with Caneel Bay Resort, ensure that park
resources are protected, and allow the resort to undertake needed
maintenance and improvement programs that will benefit visitors to
Virgin Islands National Park and the Caneel Bay Resort well into the
future.
Congresswoman Christensen deserves our thanks for her work in
ensuring that visitor services at Virgin Islands National Park are
available and that resources are protected.
I fully support passage of the pending bill and urge its adoption by
the House today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on H.R. 1143 and
yield myself such time as I may consume.
This has been adequately explained by Chairman Rahall. We support
this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlelady from the Virgin Islands, Dr. Christensen.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. I thank the chairman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in, of course, strong support of H.R. 1143,
legislation I introduced to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
enter into a new arrangement, a lease with the owners of Caneel Bay
Resort in my congressional district.
I want to also thank Chairman Rahall as well as Chairman Grijalva for
not only supporting the passage of this bill, but for traveling to my
district to see for themselves the importance of Caneel Bay to the
island and to the people of St. John.
Mr. Speaker, Caneel Bay traces its roots to Laurence Rockefeller's
coming to the island of St. John in 1952. He purchased the then-
existing resort facilities and also acquired more than 5,000
surrounding acres to protect the area. In 1956, he donated the
additional land to create the Virgin Islands National Park. At the same
time, he created Caneel Bay Resort, comprising 170 acres, which
continues to complement and to be environmentally consistent with the
natural beauty of the park's setting.
Mr. Rockefeller subsequently decided to transfer the land underlying
Caneel Bay to the National Park Service, while retaining the
improvements and continuing the Caneel Bay operations. He accomplished
this through the execution of a series of unique agreements generally
known as a retained use estate, or RUE.
H.R. 1143 became necessary because the RUE is slated to expire in
2023, and its current owners require more than the remaining 15 years
to provide the capital and long-term financing necessary to reverse the
decline of the facilities over the years and to return it to the
grandeur and stature that it deserves.
[[Page H1193]]
Mr. Speaker, other than the Virgin Islands National Park, Caneel Bay
Resort is perhaps the single most important entity to the tourism-based
economy of St. John, and it's also important to the economy of the
Virgin Islands in general. It is not an exaggeration to say that Caneel
Bay helped to establish the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Island of St.
John in particular, as a major tourist destination point, playing a
prominent role in the island's economic renaissance of the mid-1900s.
{time} 1415
Since its founding in October of 1956, it has been and remains a
paradise of choice for generations of families, many of whom return
every year.
It's also the largest employer on St. John, employing approximately
475 workers, many of whom spend their entire career spanning two or
three decades, and some even more than that as employees of Caneel.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Natural Resources
staff director, Jim Zoia, and the staff of the National Parks, Forest
and Public Lands Subcommittee, in particular former staff director Rick
Healy and current staff director Dave Watkins, for their hard work in
making it possible for H.R. 1143 to be on the floor today. I also want
to thank the full committee ranking member, Don Young, and subcommittee
ranking member, Rob Bishop, and their staffs for their support as well.
I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this bill, which is
very important to the economy of the Virgin Islands.
Mr. RAHALL. 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 West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1143, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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