[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 49 (Monday, March 31, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1785-H1786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   UTAH NATIONAL GUARD READINESS ACT

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 3651) to require the conveyance of certain public land 
within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, to support the training 
and readiness of the Utah National Guard, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3651

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Utah National Guard 
     Readiness Act''.

     SEC. 2. LAND CONVEYANCE, CAMP WILLIAMS, UTAH.

       (a) Conveyance Required.--Not later than 120 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
     Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management, shall 
     convey, without consideration, to the State of Utah all 
     right, title, and interest of the United States in and to 
     certain lands comprising approximately 431 acres, as 
     generally depicted on a map entitled ``Proposed Camp Williams 
     Land Transfer'' and dated March 7, 2008, which are located 
     within the boundaries of the public lands currently withdrawn 
     for military use by the Utah National Guard and known as Camp 
     Williams, Utah, for the purpose of permitting the Utah 
     National Guard to use the conveyed land as provided in 
     subsection (c).
       (b) Revocation of Executive Order.--Executive Order 1922 of 
     April 24, 1914, as amended by section 907 of the Camp W.G. 
     Williams Land Exchange Act of 1989 (title IX of Public Law 
     101-628; 104 Stat. 4501), shall be revoked, only insofar as 
     it affects the lands identified for conveyance to the State 
     of Utah under subsection (a).
       (c) Reversionary Interest.--The lands conveyed to the State 
     of Utah under subsection (a) shall revert to the United 
     States if the Secretary of the Interior determines that the 
     land, or any portion thereof, is sold or attempted to be 
     sold, or that the land, or any portion thereof, is used for 
     non-National Guard or non-national defense purposes. Any 
     determination by the Secretary of the Interior under this 
     subsection shall be made in consultation with the Secretary 
     of Defense and the Governor of Utah and on the record after 
     an opportunity for comment.
       (d) Hazardous Materials.--With respect to any portion of 
     the land conveyed under subsection (a) that the Secretary of 
     the Interior determines is subject to reversion under 
     subsection (c), if the Secretary of the Interior also 
     determines that the portion of the conveyed land contains 
     hazardous materials, the State of Utah shall pay the United 
     States an amount equal to the fair market value of that 
     portion of the land, and the reversionary interest shall not 
     apply to that portion of the land.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule the gentleman from 
Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Hawaii.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days 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 
gentleman from Hawaii?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 3651 was introduced by the ranking member on the 
National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee, Representative 
Bishop. The legislation directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey 
certain identified public lands to the State of Utah for use by the 
Utah National Guard. The land would revert to the United States should 
it ever cease to be used by the National Guard.
  Madam Speaker, I want to commend my colleague and friend, 
Representative Bishop, for his leadership in this matter and his 
willingness to work with the committee to resolve issues raised in 
earlier consideration of the legislation. I am sure that I speak for 
Chairman Rahall in that regard, and most certainly his fellow members 
on the Resources Committee. Therefore, I have no objection to the 
passage of H.R. 3651; and, in fact, enthusiastically endorse it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 3651, the Utah National Guard Readiness Act, was cosponsored by 
the entire Utah delegation. There are only three of us, but we all 
agreed. So Mr. Matheson, Mr. Cannon, and I are sponsoring this bill, as 
requested by the Adjutant General of the Utah National Guard as well as 
the Governor of the State of Utah, in order to address the long-term 
growing pains of the National Guard at their Camp Williams 
headquarters.
  The Utah National Guard has run out of State-controlled land on which 
to expand and build and support its vital national guard and national 
defense missions.
  The lands transferred under this act are already withdrawn from 
military use by the Guard from the Bureau of Land Management. So 
placing the land in the State's name for use by the National Guard will 
allow for the consolidation of ownership patterns in the critical 
headquarters area, and allow the State of Utah to bond for future Guard 
facilities in a more streamlined and cost-effective manner.
  I thank the chairman of our committee, Mr. Rahall, and his staff, for 
working on this bill and moving it forward. I also thank the 
subcommittee chairman, Mr. Grijalva, for his assistance and that of the 
subcommittee professional staff.
  In this day and age, we are asking the National Guardsmen to do more

[[Page H1786]]

and more heavy lifting for our Nation's defense and in deploying 
overseas in armed conflict. At the same time, we are asking them to 
also be on the frontlines in protect the homeland, and also to be there 
for our States and communities in times of emergency or natural 
disasters. We ask a lot of them, and they deliver.
  This bill will allow our Utah National Guard to support its future 
mission growth in meeting these challenges. It is a small thing for us 
to be able to help them down the road in meeting their obligations. I 
thank my colleagues for consideration of this bill, and I strongly urge 
its adoption.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Madam Speaker, as a member of the Armed Services 
Committee, and as chairman of the Air Land Subcommittee of that 
committee, I particularly want to commend Mr. Bishop for his remarks 
regarding the National Guard deployments and our obligations to them. 
And in recognition of that, I would like his remarks to be incorporated 
as my own with regard to his bill. With his permission I would like to 
do that.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. I think the gentleman from Hawaii could have done 
it much more artfully than I did, but I will be happy to allow him to 
do that.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3651, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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