Congressional Record, Volume 154 Issue 49 (Monday, March 31, 2008)

[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within the boundaries of the public lands currently withdrawn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.

____________________