[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 86 (Monday, June 17, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H3664-H3665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONVEYANCE OF LAND TO CORRECT ERRONEOUS SURVEY, COCONINO NATIONAL 
                            FOREST, ARIZONA

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 862) to authorize the conveyance of two small parcels of 
land within the boundaries of the Coconino National Forest containing 
private improvements that were developed based upon the reliance of the 
landowners in an erroneous survey conducted in May 1960.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 862

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

     SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF LAND TO CORRECT ERRONEOUS SURVEY, 
                   COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST, ARIZONA.

       (a) Conveyance Authorized.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
     may convey by quitclaim deed all right, title, and interest 
     of the United States in and to the two parcels of land 
     described in subsection (b) to a person or legal entity that 
     represents (by power of attorney) the majority of landowners 
     with private property adjacent to the two parcels. These 
     parcels are within the boundaries of the Coconino National 
     Forest and contain private improvements that were developed 
     based upon the reliance of the landowners in an erroneous 
     survey conducted in May 1960.
       (b) Description of Land.--The two parcels of land 
     authorized for conveyance under subsection (a) consist of 
     approximately 2.67 acres described in the Bureau of Land 
     Management's Survey Plat titled Subdivision and Metes and 
     Bounds Surveys in secs. 28 and 29, T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Gila 
     and Salt River Meridian, approved February 2, 2010, as 
     follows:
       (1) Lot 2, sec. 28, T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Gila and Salt River 
     Meridian, Coconino County, Arizona.
       (2) Lot 1, sec. 29, T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Gila and Salt River 
     Meridian, Coconino County, Arizona.
       (c) Consideration.--
       (1) Amount of consideration.--As consideration for the 
     conveyance of the two parcels under subsection (a), the 
     person or legal entity that represents (by power of attorney) 
     the majority of landowners with private property adjacent to 
     the parcels shall pay to the Secretary consideration in the 
     amount of $20,000.
       (2) Deposit.--The Secretary shall deposit the consideration 
     received under this subsection in a special account in the 
     fund established under Public Law 90-171 (commonly known as 
     the Sisk Act; 16 U.S.C. 484a).
       (3) Use.--The deposited funds shall be available to the 
     Secretary, without further appropriation and until expended, 
     for acquisition of land in the National Forest System.
       (d) Revocation of Orders.--Any public orders withdrawing 
     any of the Federal land from appropriation or disposal under 
     the public land laws are revoked to the extent necessary to 
     permit conveyance of the Federal land under subsection (a).
       (e) Withdrawal of Federal Land.--Subject to valid existing 
     rights, the Federal land authorized for conveyance under 
     subsection (a) is withdrawn from all forms of entry and 
     appropriation under the public land laws, location, entry, 
     and patent under the mining laws, and operation of the 
     mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws until the date 
     which the conveyance is completed.
       (f) Other Terms and Conditions.--The conveyance authorized 
     by subsection (a) shall be subject only to those surveys and 
     clearances as needed to protect the interests of the United 
     States.
       (g) Duration of Authority.--The authority provided under 
     this section shall terminate three years after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Bishop) and the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands 
(Mr. Sablan) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill corrects a survey error made in the 1960s. The 
landowners will be required to pay $20,000 for these two parcels.
  I want to commend my colleague, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick, for her 
leadership on this issue. And at this time, I yield as much time as she 
may consume to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Kirkpatrick).
  Mrs. KIRKPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, imagine waking up one day to learn 
that your property really isn't yours. In fact, that's exactly the 
situation that a group of residents in my district find themselves in.
  They didn't cause the problem. Over 40 years ago it was created 
because of a land survey that simply got it wrong. For years, even 
decades, they've lived on their property, they've maintained it, 
they've invested in it, only to find that their property is within the 
boundaries of the United States Forest Service.
  Now, this has been a real economic hardship for these folks. Today we 
have an opportunity to solve this for them.
  I thank Congressman Gosar and his staff for the opportunity to work 
together on behalf of the people of Arizona. Our bill, H.R. 862, has a 
simple, commonsense conveyance which returns this land to its rightful 
owners and removes this economic hardship that has been hanging over 
them for so long.
  We are pleased that the bill has bipartisan support, that it passed 
out of Natural Resources with a unanimous vote. And I urge my 
colleagues to join us today to support H.R. 862, because these people 
have been living in limbo for way too long.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. At this time, I yield as much time as he may 
consume

[[Page H3665]]

to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar), someone who is clearly a 
better gentleman than I am.
  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the time and 
her teamwork on this public lands initiative.
  But I am very frustrated that it even is necessary for us to re-
introduce this legislation. It shouldn't take years and an act of 
Congress to right a wrong. Last year, the House overwhelmingly passed 
this bill by a vote count of 421-1. Unfortunately, it was the victim of 
partisan gridlock in the United States Senate and was not sent to the 
President before the end of the 112th Congress.
  I see this initiative as unfinished business from the last Congress; 
and I hope, together, we can get this across the finish line very 
quickly this year.
  H.R. 862 is a commonsense solution to an incomprehensible Federal 
land situation in northern Arizona. In 1960, the Federal Government 
conducted a survey in which several acres of the United States Forest 
Service land were misidentified as private property.
  It was not until 2007, when the Federal Government contracted another 
private survey, that the mistakes were realized, and the residents of 
the Mountainaire neighborhood were informed of these errors.
  Until the 2007 survey, many of these residents have maintained these 
parcels and developed them as their own for years and, in some cases, 
decades. In essence, the Federal Government seized lands the residents 
had maintained, developed, and paid taxes on for years.
  Questions associated with the land ownership have plummeted property 
values in the neighborhood and prevented a number of owners from 
selling their homes. On some of those parcels, the revised boundary 
goes practically through portions of the residents' homes or backyards.
  To fix the untenable situation, we reintroduced H.R. 862. The bill 
simply authorizes the Forest Service to convey all rights, titles, and 
interests to approximately 2.67 acres of the Coconino National Forest 
to the homeowners for a small fee, using an estimation process Congress 
utilized in another land exchange in the same northern Arizona county 
from the 109th Congress, Public Law No. 109-110.
  The Forest Service does not want to own these people's living rooms, 
and the property owners certainly do not want to share their homes or 
their yards with the Forest Service. This bill is a no-brainer, 
reported out of the Natural Resources Committee by unanimous consent.
  I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation and 
relieve some northern Arizonans of this financially burdensome 
situation.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, when the House acts this way, it's some of 
the most brightest, proudest moments for me--that I am a part of this 
House when Congress, when Members of this House do something to right a 
wrong. And in this case, not just right a wrong, but because of a 
survey and a mistake by surveyors in the 1960s, these homeowners are 
now even willing to put up their own money and buy a piece of property 
that they thought they always owned.
  This is a proud moment, and I support the bill, Mr. Speaker.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, this is one situation that is just 
unbelievable that the situation exists. It is unbelievable that it 
takes legislation to solve this type of a problem.
  And I want to thank Mr. Gosar, as well as Mrs. Kirkpatrick from 
Arizona, for working together to try and solve this problem that should 
never have existed in the first place.
  It's a good bill. I urge support.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 862.
  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, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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