[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 172 (Thursday, December 5, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H7567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

           By Mr. GOSAR:
       H.R. 3661.
       Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant 
     to the following:
       Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2.
       The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all 
     needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or 
     other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in 
     this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any 
     Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
       Currently, the federal government owns approximately 29 
     percent of all land in the United States. The U.S. 
     Constitution specifically addresses the relationship of the 
     federal government to these lands. Article IV, Sec. 3, Clause 
     2--the Property Clause--gives Congress full authority over 
     federal property including the National Park System. The U.S. 
     Supreme Court has described Congress's power to legislate 
     under this Clause as ``without limitation.'' This bill falls 
     squarely within the express Constitutional power set forth in 
     the Property Clause.