[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 149 (Tuesday, December 9, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H8897-H8898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RELEASE OF RESTRICTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND LIMITATIONS ON THE USE, 
 ENCUMBRANCE, CONVEYANCE, AND CLOSURE OF THE ST. CLAIR REGIONAL AIRPORT

  Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(S. 2759) to release the City of St. Clair, Missouri, from all 
restrictions, conditions, and limitations on the use, encumbrance, 
conveyance, and closure of the St. Clair Regional Airport.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 2759

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

     SECTION 1. RELEASE OF RESTRICTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND 
                   LIMITATIONS ON THE USE, ENCUMBRANCE, 
                   CONVEYANCE, AND CLOSURE OF THE ST. CLAIR 
                   REGIONAL AIRPORT.

       (a) In General.--The United States, acting through the 
     Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, shall 
     release the City of St. Clair, Missouri, from all 
     restrictions, conditions, and limitations on the use, 
     encumbrance, conveyance, and closure of the St. Clair 
     Regional Airport, as described in the most recent airport 
     layout plan approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, 
     to the extent such restrictions, conditions, and limitations 
     are enforceable by the Administrator.
       (b) Limitation.--The release under subsection (a) shall not 
     be executed before the City of St. Clair, or its designee, 
     transfers to the Department of Transportation of the State of 
     Missouri--
       (1) the amounts described in subsection (c), to be used for 
     capital improvements within the meaning of airport 
     development (as defined in section 47102(3) of title 49, 
     United States Code) and consistent with the obligations of 
     the Department of Transportation of the State of Missouri 
     under the State block grant program of the Federal Aviation 
     Administration; and
       (2) for no consideration, all airport and aviation-related 
     equipment of the St. Clair Regional Airport owned by the City 
     of St. Clair and determined by the Department of 
     Transportation of the State of Missouri to be salvageable for 
     use.
       (c) Amounts Described.--The amounts described in this 
     subsection are the following:
       (1) An amount equal to the fair market value for the 
     highest and best use of the St. Clair Regional Airport 
     property determined in good faith by an independent and 
     qualified real estate appraiser on or after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (2) An amount equal to the unamortized portion of any 
     Federal development grants other than land paid to the City 
     of St. Clair for use at the St. Clair Regional Airport, which 
     may be paid with, and shall be an allowable use of, airport 
     revenue notwithstanding section 47107 or 47133 of title 49, 
     United States Code.
       (3) An amount equal to the airport revenues remaining in 
     the airport account for the St. Clair Regional Airport as of 
     the date of the enactment of this Act and otherwise due to or 
     received by the City of St. Clair after such date of 
     enactment pursuant to sections 47107(b) and 47133 of title 
     49, United States Code.
       (d) Requirement To Remove Runway Lighting System.--The 
     Federal Aviation Administration shall remove the runway end 
     indicator lighting system at St. Clair Regional Airport.
       (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed to limit the applicability of--
       (1) the requirements and processes under section 46319 of 
     title 49, United States Code;
       (2) the requirements under the National Environmental 
     Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
       (3) the requirements and processes under part 157 of title 
     14, Code of Federal Regulations; or
       (4) the public notice requirements under section 
     47107(h)(2) of title 49, United States Code.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Gibbs) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GIBBS. 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 S. 2759.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 2759 releases the city of St. Clair, Missouri, from 
all restrictions, conditions, and limitations on the use, encumbrance, 
conveyance, and closure of the St. Clair Regional Airport.
  The bill will require the city to pay fair market value for the 
airport property to the Missouri Department of Transportation, repay 
the unamortized value of Federal grants to the Missouri Department of 
Transportation, and transfer any remaining revenue to the Missouri 
Department of Transportation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish my Republican colleagues were not rushing to 
consider this bill without more deliberation. The other body just 
passed this bill last week. We have had no hearings on the bill, no 
committee meetings, no markups.
  I understand that several general aviation groups have expressed 
concerns about the bill, and I would have liked the opportunity to hear 
from them and study their specific reservations.
  Each of the Nation's federally-assisted airports is part of a 
system--a national system--that is greater than the sum of its parts. 
The Federal Government invests $3.35 billion a year in airport 
improvements because each airport in the system not only drives 
economic growth, but also is a safe harbor for a pilot in distress.
  For those reasons, the general rule is that we invest in airports, 
not close them; nevertheless, I understand that the airport in St. 
Clair, Missouri, which this bill would allow to close, presents some 
unique circumstances.
  Although the Federal Government has invested almost $1.1 million in 
the

[[Page H8898]]

airport since 1963, the airport has not received a Federal grant since 
2006 when it received $300,000. There are now only about eight aircraft 
movements at the airport a day. Community leaders believe that there 
are simply higher and better uses for the airport land.
  Based on these extraordinary circumstances, this bill would allow the 
city of St. Clair to close the airport and would release the city from 
its obligations as a recipient of Federal airport improvement funds, 
provided the city transfers remaining grant funds and the market value 
of the land to the Missouri Department of Transportation.
  While I have serious reservations about the precedent that this bill 
could set, I recognize the unique situation in this particular case. 
Going forward, I urge my colleagues to think long and hard about what 
it means for our national system of airports when we start permitting 
airports to shut down without working through the Federal Aviation 
Administration's administrative process.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Luetkemeyer).
  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2759. 
This bill, introduced by Senators McCaskill and Blunt from Missouri, 
authorizes the closure of the St. Clair Regional Airport in St. Clair, 
Missouri, once all obligations to Federal taxpayers have been repaid. 
St. Clair is a small town of 4,700 in my district, about 50 miles 
southwest of St. Louis.
  The city has operated an airport since the sixties, but in the past 
decade, a consensus within the community has been reached that the 
airport should be closed and the land utilized as part of a larger 
economic development plan for the region. This effort has broad support 
in the city of St. Clair from the mayor, the city council, the school 
board, the fire district, and the local chamber of commerce.
  The only thing holding up this plan is the continued reluctance of 
Federal regulators to give the go-ahead. The city approached the 
Missouri Department of Transportation in 2008 and the FAA in 2012, 
seeking closure of the airport, but the FAA keeps moving the goalposts, 
giving itself multiple extensions and leaving this small town confused 
and frustrated, with no end in sight.
  As a small business owner myself from a town even smaller than St. 
Clair, I can tell you that red tape from Federal regulators is one of 
the biggest obstacles to economic growth in small communities. This 
legislation provides a simple fix to what has become an unnecessarily 
complicated issue in this community's attempt to provide growth 
opportunities in its area.
  I should note that there are three other general aviation airports 
within a 30-mile radius of St. Clair, and the Missouri Department of 
Transportation has indicated the closure of the airport will not have 
an adverse effect on aviation in Missouri.
  Under the bill, in order for the city to qualify for the release from 
the FAA, it must transfer amounts previously used for the airport's 
capital improvements toward the improvement of other general aviation 
facilities in the area. Under S. 2759, taxpayers will be made whole, 
and the city will be permitted to move forward with new economic 
development plans.
  S. 2759 is bipartisan and has passed the Senate unanimously. Mr. 
Chairman, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this important 
legislation so we can take a step forward in cutting through this red 
tape for the people of St. Clair, Missouri.
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge my colleagues to join me 
in supporting this important piece of legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gibbs) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, S. 2759.
  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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