[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 146 (Monday, September 15, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H8054-H8058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             NOAA LAND SALE

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill

[[Page H8055]]

(H.R. 5350) to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to sell or exchange 
certain National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration property 
located in Norfolk, Virginia, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5350

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

     SECTION 1. SALE OR EXCHANGE OF NOAA PROPERTY IN NORFOLK, 
                   VIRGINIA.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce may sell or 
     exchange to the City of Norfolk, Virginia, in accordance with 
     chapter 13 of title 40, United States Code, real property 
     under the administrative jurisdiction of the National Oceanic 
     and Atmospheric Administration (in this section referred to 
     as ``NOAA''), including land and improvements thereon, 
     located at 538 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia, consisting of 
     approximately 3.78 acres, if the Secretary--
       (1) determines that the conveyance is in the best interests 
     of NOAA and the Federal Government; and
       (2) has provided prior notification to the Committee on 
     Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate.
       (b) Consideration.--
       (1) In general.--For any conveyance under this section the 
     Secretary shall require the City of Norfolk to provide 
     consideration to the United States that is not less than the 
     fair market value of the property conveyed by the United 
     States.
       (2) Form.--Consideration under this subsection may include 
     any combination of--
       (A) cash or cash equivalents;
       (B) other property (either real or personal); and
       (C) consideration in-kind, including--
       (i) provision of space, goods, or services of benefit to 
     NOAA including construction, repair, remodeling, or other 
     physical improvements of NOAA property;
       (ii) maintenance of NOAA property;
       (iii) provision of office, storage, or other useable space; 
     or
       (iv) relocation services associated with conveyance of 
     property under this section.
       (3) Determination of fair market value.--The Secretary 
     shall determine fair market value for purposes of paragraph 
     (1) based upon a highest- and best-use appraisal of the 
     property conveyed under subsection (a) conducted in 
     conformance with the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 
     Professional Appraisal Practice.
       (c) Use of Proceeds.--Amounts received under subsection 
     (b)(2)(A) by the United States as proceeds of any conveyance 
     under this section shall be available to the Secretary, 
     subject to appropriation, for--
       (1) activities related to the operations of, or capital 
     improvements, to NOAA property; or
       (2) relocation and other costs associated with the sale or 
     exchange.
       (d) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may 
     require such additional terms and conditions in connection 
     with the conveyance of property by the United States under 
     subsection (a) as the Secretary considers appropriate to 
     protect the interest of the United States, including the 
     recoupment of any profit the City of Norfolk may realize 
     within three years after the date of conveyance to the City 
     due to resale of the property
       (e) Termination.--The authority granted to the Secretary 
     under subsections (a) and (b) shall terminate at the end of 
     the 24-month period beginning on the date of enactment of 
     this Act if no contract for sale or exchange under subsection 
     (a) has been entered into by the City of Norfolk and the 
     United States.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Guam.


                             General Leave

  Ms. BORDALLO. 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 bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Guam?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5350 is noncontroversial legislation introduced by 
our colleague from Virginia, Congressman Bobby Scott, to authorize the 
Secretary of Commerce and the City of Norfolk, Virginia, to negotiate 
and complete a conveyance of Federal property located in the city that 
is under the control of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration. The purpose of this fair market value conveyance would 
be to enable the city to fulfill its plans for the economic 
redevelopment of the Fort Norfolk waterfront area.
  I commend my colleague from Virginia, Congressman Bobby Scott, for 
his tireless efforts to assist the City of Norfolk as it revitalizes 
its downtown waterfront core. This legislation also was approved by our 
colleagues on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The 
helpful revisions offered by Chairman Henry Waxman and his staff will 
protect the interests of NOAA and ensure that any future conveyance is 
consistent with standard terms of terms and conditions found in similar 
General Services administration contracts.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Democrat bill manager has I think sufficiently 
explained the particulars of this bill. I understand the parties 
involved in the land sale or exchange and the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration and the City of Norfolk support the bill and 
its passage today. I think it is also an exceptional bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the author of the bill.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5350, a bill authorizing the 
Secretary of Commerce to sell or exchange certain National Ocean and 
Atmospheric Administration property in the City of Norfolk, Virginia. 
At the request of the City of Norfolk, I introduced this legislation in 
February of this year, along with my colleague from Virginia's Second 
Congressional District, Thelma Drake, who also represents part of the 
City of Norfolk.
  Over the last decade, the City of Norfolk has experienced tremendous 
economic growth. Downtown Norfolk has reemerged as the urban center of 
the Hampton Roads region through revitalization and new commercial and 
residential development.
  For several decades, NOAA has been an important Federal partner in 
downtown Norfolk's development. NOAA's Atlantic Marine Operations 
Center and NOAA's Chesapeake Bay office are both located downtown in an 
area referred to as the Fort Norfolk district, which is one of the last 
remaining undeveloped waterfront areas of downtown Norfolk.
  Nearly a decade ago, the city recognized the strategic location of 
the Fort Norfolk district for development and revitalization and the 
city began discussions about its desire to purchase a parcel of 
property from NOAA located at 538 Front Street, directly across from 
NOAA's primary Norfolk facility. NOAA currently uses the property for 
storage and staff space for the Norfolk field operations office of 
NOAA's National Geodetic Survey. These discussions stalled when NOAA 
ascertained that congressional authorization was required to proceed.
  H.R. 5350 simply authorizes, but does not require, the Secretary of 
Commerce to sell or exchange the NOAA property located at 538 Front 
Street in Norfolk to the City of Norfolk. The bill clearly states that 
NOAA may only sell or exchange the property if the Secretary of 
Commerce determines that the conveyance would be in the best interests 
of the Federal Government. The bill also requires that the property be 
sold at a value not less than the fair market value, as determined by 
the Federal Government.
  The bill does not delineate or support any particular agreement or 
contract. The details of any future agreement between NOAA and the City 
of Norfolk would have to be worked out. This legislation would simply 
permit that process to move forward, and if a mutually agreeable 
contract is decided upon, this land sale or exchange would allow 
Norfolk to continue its tremendous economic growth by developing the 
land for commercial and residential purposes. The authority granted to 
the Secretary of Commerce to enter into this agreement with the City of 
Norfolk will expire 2 years after the date of enactment of H.R. 5350.

[[Page H8056]]

  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairwoman of the Fisheries 
Subcommittee, Ms. Bordallo, and the ranking member, Mr. Brown, as well 
as the Natural Resources Committee chairman, Mr. Rahall, and ranking 
member, Mr. Young, for getting this bill to the floor.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation that 
protects both the interests of the Federal Government and the citizens 
of Norfolk.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I once again commend the author of this particular bill. 
I think this is a good bill that has worked its way through. We have 
one of our Members, Representative Drake, who is on her way up here, 
from her district which is on the coast of Virginia, driving up in a 
very crowded parkway trying to get here as well, illustrating several 
of the problems that we face in this country, one of which is what do 
you do with that land off the coast of Virginia, as well as the entire 
coast of the United States, to try and help solve the problem of our 
parkways and driveways and highways, our freeways, as people are trying 
to go from one destination to another, especially with the 
overwhelmingly destructive high cost of gasoline that we have now.
  A lot of people talk about these things as if what the Republicans 
have been saying is we simply want to drill now and drill everywhere, 
as if that were the only solution that we present to the situation. It 
is not the only solution. In fact, there are many who have said that 
you can't drill your way out of the problem.
  We have found already by past efforts that you can't tax your way out 
of this problem of energy.

                              {time}  1430

  We can't regulate our way out. We can't ignore our way out. Drilling 
is not the only solution, but it has to be part of the real solution if 
we, indeed, are going to find something that helps the people of the 
United States.
  We have lived, after 30 years now, and have seen the results of this 
much time of government regulation of our sources of energy. It is 
government rationing of our resources that has caused us to be in a 
situation where we are today, to the point that some people even 
seriously talk about having gas stamps again, which once again 
illustrates how the government truly is the cause of the problem, 
because it is the government that is doing the rationing and the 
regulation.
  Drilling is an essential part. Drilling off the coast of Virginia, 
drilling off the entire Outer Continental Shelf is an important part, 
but it is not the only solution to our problem. We must have revenues 
that can be available to build alternative forms of energy. The 
royalties that could come from those offshore drillings, as well as 
onshore drillings, could be that solution if they were tied together 
into one comprehensive approach to it.
  We failed to realize that the infrastructure we have in this country 
does not meet the needs of energy for its citizens. We do not have the 
capacity for moving energy from one part of this country to another.
  We have forgotten for too long our refinery needs, our electrical 
grid needs, our corridor needs, to the point that we now are in a 
significant problem. That has to be solved if, indeed, we are going to 
meet the needs of American citizens.
  We need to start reemphasizing conservations and rewarding Americans, 
not forcing Americans and mandating Americans, but rewarding Americans 
for their effort to help meet this problem by means of conservation. 
But none of the issues I have just mentioned, ticked off by itself, is 
a solution.
  All of them have to be there at the same time, which is why, if we 
really are going to meet the needs of Americans in this problem of 
excessive cost of energy, it has to be an all-of-the-above solution.
  We must drill in all of the Outer Continental Shelf, as we must drill 
in Alaska, as we must explore the trillions of barrels of oil found in 
oil shale in the States of Wyoming, Colorado and my home State of Utah. 
We must look at clean, coal technology, nuclear technology, oil shale, 
natural gas. We must ensure that States are a partner with us.
  The idea that the United States can actually do any of this without 
sharing the royalties is an insult to the States of this Nation. 
Already, we have insulted them in this particular Congress when we took 
the existing split of royalties, which is 50/50, and decided 
unilaterally, without their consent, to change that to a 52/48 so that 
we got to keep 52 percent, and we allowed the States to have 48 
percent, taking away millions of dollars that they had been counting 
on, that they had been using, to meet the needs of their citizens.
  All of those issues have been there. If we now decide to come up to 
this floor with a solution that is not all of the above, that only 
looks at drilling in one part of this country and not all, that does 
not look at the infrastructure needs, does not look at the alternative 
needs, does not look at the other kinds of fossil fuel needs. It does 
not come up with conservation requirements that we have to have. It is 
going to be the same heavy hand of government, which has already 
brought us to the situation we have right now, where it is the 
government that is causing, by our actions over the past 30 years, 
nothing short of rationing of the resources that we have.
  There are three great bills that have been presented, one we have 
asked a vote for on this floor, the American Energy Act. I have to 
admit there is another one the western States representatives got 
together, the Americans for American Energy Act. There is a bipartisan 
act sometimes called the Peterson-Abercrombie bill, 20 Members of this 
Congress, a bipartisan group, have all asked to be discussed on the 
floor.
  All three of those are a comprehensive all-of-the-above approach. 
None of those have been allowed to have a hearing, to have a markup, to 
have discussions, or to have a vote on this floor. Yet today we are 
told that sometime this week the bill written in secret will be brought 
to this floor, like Moses coming down from Mount Sinai, and will be 
given to us as the law.
  That process is a fraud. That resulting bill will be a fraud. 
Anything that takes anything off the table will be a fraud. Anything 
that does not allow an all-of-the-above approach will be a fraud. We 
will not do what we are supposed to do when we come here to this body, 
which is, in addition to passing good bills like the one in front of 
us, but also solving the problem of American citizens.
  We are not doing that. We are derelict in our responsibilities, and 
we need to change that.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the other side for their views and agree that 
we should consider energy legislation, and we will.
  The difference is that when the Democratic majority brings up 
legislation this week, we will make very sure that the oil companies 
that are drilling for America's resources are held accountable. I would 
like to repeat that, accountable.
  The gentleman raised the issue of government regulations. What 
regulations?
  Last week we heard from the Inspector General and the GAO that the 
very office in charge of regulating the oil companies and the royalty-
in-kind program were not doing their job, and here are some of the 
examples.
  The Lakewood Marketing Group, a group of government employees who 
were in charge of selling the public's oil and gas at the highest price 
possible were, instead, were concerned with partying, dining, attending 
golf and ski junkets and a lot more.
  There was a Mr. Gregory W. Smith, the head of the royalty-in-kind 
program, who was also doing illegal things.
  One of the top officials at the Minerals Management Service arranged 
for her assistant to be able to retire and then win a lucrative 
contract with the agency for his new consulting firm. Not only did the 
assistant help write the contract before leaving MMS, but another top 
MMS official in charge of overseeing that contract later retired and 
joined the consulting firm.
  On top of these serious ethical violations, we also learned from 
three Government Accountability Office, GAO,

[[Page H8057]]

reports, that MMS is not carrying out its most fundamental mission, 
making sure the American taxpayer gets a fair return for the use of the 
public's oil and gas resources.
  There is an inadequate Federal royalty system. The GAO found that the 
United States, one of the safest and most lucrative areas to operate, 
receives one of the smallest shares of oil and gas revenues in the 
entire world. Not only that, the Interior Department does not even 
evaluate how the United States compares to other countries, to ensure 
we remain competitive while still keeping the taxpayers from being 
cheated.
  There is no diligent development, despite industry false claims that 
they are diligently developing the 68 million acres of Federal land 
they hold leases on. GAO found that over a 10-year period, only 6 
percent of nearly 48,000 onshore Federal oil leases were actually 
drilled. While States and private landowners use a number of strategies 
such as shorter lease terms to encourage faster production and 
payments, the Federal Government lets the industry sit on valuable 
resources for years.
  There is sloppy royalty collection. The GAO found that the Department 
of Interior utterly fails in providing certainty that companies are 
paying the royalties that they owe the American people. Due to an 
inadequate computer system, a reliance on company self-reported data 
and an insufficient number of field inspections, these reports indicate 
that this administration has been absolutely derelict in its duty to 
the American people and that serious reforms are needed to the Federal 
oil and gas royalty program.
  This, then, should be a part and parcel of any energy legislation to 
ensure that American interests are represented in American resources, 
and that will be part of our energy bill on the floor this week.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume 
to the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Granger).
  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, last week on Thursday we finished our week 
and our voting. Like most Members of the House here, I went back home 
to my district in Fort Worth, Texas, and there I spent the weekend 
talking to people, listening to people, receiving telephone calls. The 
question was, time and time again, Kay, what are they doing about 
energy? The answer was nothing.
  In addressing this crisis and the solutions to this energy crisis, a 
key to increasing the American production of energy is to increase our 
refinery capacity.
  As you know, it has been over 30 years since a new refinery was built 
in the United States. The refineries we do have are operating at near 
capacity, but we are not able to keep up with consumer demand.
  The United States consumed over 15 million barrels per day of 
petroleum products in the year 2004, and consumption is expected to 
increase to nearly 26.1 million barrels per day by 2025. That's why 
increasing refinery capacity is a key piece of the American Energy Act.
  Through many innovations, technology has changed a lot since the last 
U.S. refinery was built in 1976. We should use the advances we have 
made over the years to build new state-of-the-art facilities that can 
refine the oil and gas that we need. We need to cut the red tape that 
has prohibited us from moving forward.
  That is why I am proud of my colleagues, Heather Wilson and Joe 
Pitts, who have legislation, the American Energy Act, that would take 
the necessary steps to remove the bureaucratic roadblocks that have 
hampered new efforts to build new refinery facilities. Our country has 
the resources and the space available to increase our capacity and to 
do so in environmentally safe ways.
  An important part of our plan to increase our refinery capacity is 
using closed military installations to build new refineries. These 
bases provide the space we need to build refinery infrastructure 
quickly and get more refineries online as soon as possible.
  We have seen the impact of Mother Nature on our refinery 
infrastructure. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc on our 
refineries. During the current hurricane season, as much as 25 percent 
our Nation's refinery capacity has been taken offline in the wake of 
these terrible storms in Texas and along the gulf coast. We could 
greatly reduce the impact of these service interruptions if we had more 
refineries in this country.
  I completely understand increasing our refinery capacity is not the 
only answer to the energy crisis. I understand the need to look to the 
future toward alternatives, such as solar and wind. My home State of 
Texas is doing just that. But in the short-term, increasing our 
refinery capacity will give us the time to improve and increase these 
alternative forms of energy.
  Until we are able to rely more on these energy sources, we need to 
boost the source of energy that has powered this Nation in the 21st 
century. That's why I call on this body and the Democrats in this body 
for a vote, an up-or-down vote on the American Energy Act, a 
comprehensive solution that has the support of the American people.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate, once again, our 
opportunity to talk about the many needs we have dealing with the 
environment and dealing with the energy situation that is so critical 
to Americans at this particular time.
  I appreciate the gentlelady from Guam bringing up a problem that is, 
indeed, a problem, that we have known about since 2006. I am glad that 
the majority party has finally decided to hold hearings, after 2 long 
years, on that particular issue. I would hope that this week we can 
actually get to the bottom of that and make sure it never happens 
again.
  But the issue of that has nothing to do with the fact that we are 
still rationing, through our actions, the opportunity of dealing with 
the resources that we do have.
  Why, in Chukchi Sea, in February of 2008, were 487 leases allowed and 
immediately there were 487 lawsuits that took place? Why, in New Mexico 
in the spring of this year, were onshore drilling leases allowed, and 
immediately they were stopped because of lawsuits that are going 
forward?
  Why, in my State, where we are ready to move forward with oil-shale 
production on private lands, was it stopped because of actions by this 
House that denied any funding going forward to move that process to its 
completion?
  It is our actions that have actually been the regulatory stranglehold 
on moving this Nation forward, and those are the things that need to be 
completed. Hopefully, in the bill being written in secret that will be 
presented at some time, these actions will be addressed, these problems 
will be addressed.
  These roadblocks will be addressed, but so far in the talking points 
that have leaked out, none of that seems to be even a topic of 
conversation. Yet if we indeed are going to solve all of the problems 
with an all-of-the-above solution, it has to be part of our discussion.

                              {time}  1445

  I have no additional speakers on this bill and would yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I again urge all Members to support the 
bill.
  Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be standing today in support 
of H.R. 5350, legislation that I sponsored along with Congressman Bobby 
Scott, which authorizes the sale or exchange of a specific tract of 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) property located 
in Norfolk, Virginia. The sale of this NOAA land is something the City 
of Norfolk has been working on since 2005. I am proud that this 
legislation is being considered today, as it will have a significant 
impact on the economic development of Norfolk.
  Over thirty years ago, the federal government purchased 3.78 acres of 
land located at 538 Front Street in Norfolk for $47,300. From this time 
forward, this prime, waterfront location has remained under-utilized--
when the original intention for this land was to be the future site of 
NOAA's regional headquarters.
  Allowing the City of Norfolk to purchase this land for fair market 
value gives Norfolk a new area to continue redevelopment efforts that 
will foster job growth and economic opportunities for citizens in 
Hampton Roads. As Norfolk has experienced substantial economic growth 
since the time of the original purchase, I appreciate that this sale 
will finally be permitted

[[Page H8058]]

to further ensure Norfolk's future economic development efforts.
  I am grateful for Representative Scott's work on helping to bring 
this bill to the floor, as well as the work of the Committee on Natural 
Resources and I look forward to the great benefit this redevelopment 
effort will have for the people of Hampton Roads.
  Ms. BORDALLO I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5350, 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, I object to the vote on the ground 
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum 
is not present.
  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.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________