[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 22, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H6612-H6613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    AUTHORIZING EARLY REPAYMENT OF CONSTRUCTION COSTS TO BUREAU OF 
                              RECLAMATION

  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4562) to authorize early repayment of obligations to the 
Bureau of Reclamation within the Northport Irrigation District in the 
State of Nebraska.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4562

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

     SECTION 1. EARLY REPAYMENT OF CONSTRUCTION COSTS.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 213 of the 
     Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390mm), any 
     landowner within the Northport Irrigation District in the 
     State of Nebraska (referred to in this section as the 
     ``District'') may repay, at any time, the construction costs 
     of project facilities allocated to the landowner's land 
     within the District.
       (b) Applicability of Full-Cost Pricing Limitations.--On 
     discharge, in full, of the obligation for repayment of all 
     construction costs described in subsection (a) that are 
     allocated to all land the landowner owns in the District in 
     question, the parcels of land shall not be subject to the 
     ownership and full-cost pricing limitations under Federal 
     reclamation law (the Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388, 
     chapter 1093), and Acts supplemental to and amendatory of 
     that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.), including the Reclamation 
     Reform Act of 1982 (13 U.S.C. 390aa et seq.).
       (c) Certification.--On request of a landowner that has 
     repaid, in full, the construction costs described in 
     subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall provide 
     to the landowner a certificate described in section 213(b)(1) 
     of the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 
     390mm(b)(1)).
       (d) Effect.--Nothing in this section--
       (1) modifies any contractual rights under, or amends or 
     reopens, the reclamation contract between the District and 
     the United States; or
       (2) modifies any rights, obligations, or relationships 
     between the District and landowners in the District under 
     Nebraska State law.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Montana (Mr. Daines) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Montana.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

[[Page H6613]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Montana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 4562, sponsored by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), 
allows farmers to repay accelerated or lump sums of capital debt owed 
to the Bureau of Reclamation.

                              {time}  1645

  In many cases throughout the West, current Federal law does not allow 
landowners to make such early repayments on Federal irrigation 
projects. These outdated Federal hurdles are similar to a bank 
prohibiting a homeowner from paying his or her mortgage early.
  Congressman Smith's bill removes the Federal Bureau of Reclamation 
repayment prohibition for individual landowners within the Northport 
Irrigation District. In return for such payments, these farmers will no 
longer be subject to the acreage limitations and the paperwork 
requirements in the Reclamation Reform Act.
  According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill could 
generate up to $440,000 in Federal revenue. The bill is based on two 
recent precedents that passed in both Republican- and Democrat-
controlled houses, and today, we should continue those efforts by 
adopting this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. HOLT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. HOLT. H.R. 4562 would authorize landowners served by the 
Northport Irrigation District to prepay the remaining portion of 
construction costs allocated to them for the North Platte Project.
  In exchange, the landowners who pay will no longer be subject to 
Federal acreage limitations and other requirements associated with the 
Reclamation Reform Act.
  I believe no one from the minority intends to oppose this 
legislation.
  With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Smith), also a former member of the Natural Resources 
Committee.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Natural Resources 
Committee for moving this bill and also to the gentleman from Montana 
for his remarks.
  Under Federal reclamation law, irrigation districts which receive 
water from a Bureau of Reclamation facility must repay their portion of 
the capital costs of the water project, typically under long-term 
contracts.
  I introduced this bill to provide members of the Northport Irrigation 
District early repayment authority under their dated reclamation 
contract. The contract in question is more than 60 years old and 
continues to subject landowners to burdensome reporting requirements 
and acreage limitations without generating revenue to the Federal 
Government.
  Allowing producers within the district to pay off their portion of 
the contract means the government will receive funds perhaps otherwise 
uncollected and the landowners will be relieved of costly constraints 
which threaten family-owned operations.
  For example, at a Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee 
hearing earlier this year, one member of the irrigation district 
testified the acreage limitation will prohibit parents who own land in 
the district from passing down or selling farmland to sons and 
daughters who also own land in the same district.
  As Mr. Daines mentioned, similar legislation has passed under 
bipartisan majorities and, according to the CBO, could generate as much 
as $440,000 in Federal revenue.
  This is a straightforward bill which would make a big difference to 
some family farmers in Nebraska.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman is ready to close, I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge approval 
of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Montana (Mr. Daines) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 4562.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________