[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.
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