[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 29, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H10006-H10007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ALLOWING FOR PREPAYMENT OPTION FOR UINTAH WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT 
                                CONTRACT

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2950) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to allow for 
prepayment of repayment contracts between the United States and the 
Uintah Water Conservancy District, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2950

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

     SECTION 1. PREPAYMENT OF CERTAIN REPAYMENT CONTRACTS BETWEEN 
                   THE UNITED STATES AND THE UINTAH WATER 
                   CONSERVANCY DISTRICT.

       The Secretary of the Interior shall allow for prepayment of 
     the repayment contract no. 6-05-01-00143 between the United 
     States and the Uintah Water Conservancy District dated June 
     3, 1976, and supplemented and amended on November 1, 1985, 
     and on December 30, 1992, providing for repayment of 
     municipal and industrial water delivery facilities for which 
     repayment is provided pursuant to such contract, under terms 
     and conditions similar to those used in implementing section 
     210 of the Central Utah Project Completion Act (Public Law 
     102-575), as amended. The prepayment--
       (1) shall result in the United States recovering the net 
     present value of all repayment streams that would have been 
     payable to the United States if this Act was not in effect;
       (2) may be provided in several installments to reflect 
     substantial completion of the delivery facilities being 
     prepaid, and any increase in the repayment obligation 
     resulting from delivery of water in addition to the water 
     being delivered under this contract as of the date of 
     enactment of this Act;
       (3) shall be adjusted to conform to a final cost allocation 
     including costs incurred by the Bureau of Reclamation, but 
     unallocated as of the date of the enactment of this Act that 
     are allocable to the water delivered under this contract;
       (4) may not be adjusted on the basis of the type of 
     prepayment financing used by the District; and
       (5) shall be made such that total repayment is made not 
     later than September 30, 2019.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair now 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, H.R. 2950, as amended, would allow a water 
district in central Utah to pay off the debt it owes to the Federal 
Government early. The bill, sponsored by Congressman Jim Matheson of 
Utah, has broad bipartisan support.
  I ask my colleagues to support passage of this important legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of this legislation. This bill 
would allow the Uintah Water Conservancy District to prepay its 
contractual commitment to the U.S. Treasury. This prepayment will bring 
much-needed funds to the Federal Treasury over a 10-year period.
  Unfortunately, current Federal law does not allow most water 
districts with Federal water contracts to prepay their balances. This 
is similar to prohibiting a homeowner from prepaying a mortgage loan. 
Congress must enact a law each time a water district wants to prepay 
its balance on a Bureau of Reclamation project.
  For this reason, Water and Power Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom 
McClintock has indicated that he may author general legislation to 
allow more water districts to prepay their contracts without 
congressional approval. That would mean that water districts are not 
saddled with longer-term debts and taxpayers will benefit.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. 
Matheson), the author of this legislation, such time as he may consume.
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, I would really like to thank Chairman 
Rahall for moving this bill so quickly, and folks on both sides of the 
aisle on the Resources Committee have been very helpful in moving this 
bill.
  As was discussed, this legislation will allow the Uintah Water 
Conservancy District to better use its resources to prepay its debt to 
the Federal Government.
  Rural counties in Utah--the second-most arid State in the Nation--
have a significant need for water that has only increased over time. 
The water in Uintah County is utilized by both municipalities, 
irrigators, and manufacturing industries. This bill will move us 
towards greater assurance of the development of water supplies in that 
part of our State.
  I will just point out the Uintah Water Conservancy District has 
operated and maintained both the Vernal and Jensen units of the Central 
Utah Project since 1956. It has been around for a long time, and the 
debt that the county would like to prepay, which is the subject of this 
legislation, was incurred to construct a water project that is part of 
the original Central Utah Project.
  Now, the district has always made its payments on time, but we have a 
circumstance now where its capability and its financing create a 
situation where it makes economic sense for it to prepay its debt; and, 
interestingly enough, at the same time, the CBO scores this as a 
positive for the Federal Government as well. So this is one of those 
classic win-wins, where a local water conservancy district can prepay 
its debt and do right by its constituents, and it also assists the 
Federal Government in terms of a positive score from CBO in terms of 
how it affects the Federal finances as well.
  As was mentioned, the bill has broad bipartisan support. I do want to 
thank everyone on both sides of the aisle--both members and staff on 
the Resources Committee--for helping us with this.
  I would add one other point that the gentleman from Virginia 
mentioned. It is unfortunate that we have to do a bill every time to 
allow for this type of prepayment. This is pretty common sense, and a 
decision in the private sector gets made all the time. And so I would 
encourage the effort to try to come up with a broader piece of 
legislation that will allow us to look at this issue in a more 
extensive way.
  I encourage passage of the bill.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support this very 
important piece of legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H10007]]

  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. 2950, 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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