[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 86 (Monday, June 1, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H3586-H3587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    AUTHORIZING EARLY REPAYMENT OF CONSTRUCTION COSTS TO BUREAU OF 
                              RECLAMATION

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 404) 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. 404

       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 
Utah (Mr. Bishop) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, 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. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  As we begin the debate on this particular bill, I am pleased that the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith) is here with us to introduce this 
very effective and important bill.
  I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Smith) to explain his legislation.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. I thank my colleague from Utah for yielding.
  Under Federal reclamation law, irrigation districts which receive 
water from a Bureau of Reclamation facility typically repay their 
portion of the capital costs of water projects under long-term 
contracts.
  Under its current contract and current law, Northport is exempt from 
annual capital repayment if this carriage fee exceeds $8,000 per year. 
Given that the carriage fee has greatly exceeded this amount every year 
since the 1950s, Northport's capital repayment debt has been stagnant 
at over $923,000 since 1952.
  So long as the debt endures, landowners are subject to burdensome 
reporting requirements and acreage limitations, and no leverage is 
generated for the Federal Government.
  I introduced this bill to provide members of the Northport Irrigation 
District early repayment authority under their dated reclamation 
contract.
  Allowing producers within the Northport Irrigation District to pay 
off their portion of the contract means the government will receive 
funds otherwise uncollected, and landowners will be relieved of costly 
constraints which threaten family-owned operations.
  For example, at a Water, Power, and Oceans Subcommittee hearing last 
year, one member of the Northport district testified that acreage 
limitations will prohibit parents who own land in the district from 
passing down or even selling farmland to sons and daughters who also 
own land in the same district.
  As the chairman 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 very simple bill which would make a big difference to some 
family farmers in western Nebraska.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 404 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 acreage 
limitations and other requirements associated with the Reclamation 
Reform Act.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in support of this good bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  This bill is an excellent piece of legislation that solves a problem 
that should never have existed in the first place.
  It is curious that in many cases throughout the West, the current 
Federal law does not allow a landowner to make an early repayment on 
Federal irrigation projects. It is an outdated law and a hurdle that is 
silly. It is similar to a bank prohibiting a homeowner from paying off 
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 those payments, though, these 
farmers will no longer be subject to the acreage limitation and the 
paperwork requirements imposed by the Reclamation Reform Act.
  This bill will accelerate revenue coming into the Treasury. It is 
based on two recent precedents that passed in both Republican- and 
Democrat-controlled Houses. Today, we are trying to continue those 
efforts by adopting this particular bill.

[[Page H3587]]

  With that, Mr. Speaker, 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. 404.
  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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