[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 16, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H5995-H5996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL FOREST SMALL TRACTS ACT AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2015

  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1214) to amend the Small Tracts Act to expand the authority 
of the Secretary of Agriculture to sell or exchange small parcels of 
National Forest System land to enhance the management of the National 
Forest System, to resolve minor encroachments, and for other purposes, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1214

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``National Forest Small Tracts 
     Act Amendments Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY FOR SALE OR EXCHANGE OF SMALL 
                   PARCELS OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND.

       (a) Increase in Maximum Value of Small Parcels.--Section 3 
     of Public Law 97-465 (commonly known as the Small Tracts Act; 
     16 U.S.C. 521e) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph 
     (1) by striking ``$150,000'' and inserting ``$500,000''.
       (b) Additional Conveyance Purposes.--Section 3 of Public 
     Law 97-465 (16 U.S.C. 521e) is further amended--
       (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``which are--'' and inserting ``which involve any one of the 
     following:'';
       (2) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking ``parcels'' and inserting ``Parcels''; and
       (B) by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting a 
     period;
       (3) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by striking ``parcels'' the first place it appears and 
     inserting ``Parcels''; and
       (B) by striking ``; or'' at the end and inserting a period;
       (4) in paragraph (3), by striking ``road'' and inserting 
     ``Road''; and
       (5) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
       ``(4) Parcels of 40 acres or less which are determined by 
     the Secretary to be physically isolated, to be inaccessible, 
     or to have lost their National Forest character.
       ``(5) Parcels of 10 acres or less which are not eligible 
     for conveyance under paragraph (2), but which are encroached 
     upon by permanent habitable improvements for which there is 
     no evidence that the encroachment was intentional or 
     negligent.
       ``(6) Parcels used as a cemetery, a landfill, or a sewage 
     treatment plant under a special use authorization issued by 
     the Secretary. In the case of a cemetery expected to reach 
     capacity within 10 years, the sale, exchange, or interchange 
     may include, in the sole discretion of the Secretary, up to 
     one additional acre abutting the permit area to facilitate 
     expansion of the cemetery.''.
       (c) Disposition of Proceeds.--Section 2 of Public Law 97-
     465 (16 U.S.C. 521d) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``The Secretary is authorized'' and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(a) Conveyance Authority; Consideration.--The Secretary 
     is authorized'';
       (2) by striking ``The Secretary shall insert'' and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(b) Inclusion of Terms, Covenants, Conditions, and 
     Reservations.--The Secretary shall insert'';
       (3) by striking ``convenants'' and inserting ``covenants''; 
     and
       (4) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(c) Disposition of Proceeds.--
       ``(1) Deposit in sisk fund.--The net proceeds derived from 
     any sale or exchange conducted under the authority of 
     paragraph (4), (5), or (6) of section 3 shall be deposited in 
     the fund established by Public Law 90-171 (commonly known as 
     the Sisk Act; 16 U.S.C. 484a).
       ``(2) Use.--Amounts deposited under paragraph (1) shall be 
     available to the Secretary until expended for--
       ``(A) the acquisition of land or interests in land for 
     administrative sites for the National Forest System in the 
     State from which the amounts were derived;
       ``(B) the acquisition of land or interests in land for 
     inclusion in the National Forest System in that State, 
     including land or interests in land which enhance 
     opportunities for recreational access;
       ``(C) the performance of deferred maintenance on 
     administrative sites for the National Forest System in that 
     State or other deferred maintenance activities in that State 
     which enhance opportunities for recreational access; or
       ``(D) the reimbursement of the Secretary for costs incurred 
     in preparing a sale conducted under the authority of section 
     3 if the sale is a competitive sale.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. McClintock) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. 
Dingell) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1214 would amend the Small Tracts Act to allow for 
the sale of small, isolated, federally owned parcels outside of the 
main body of a national forest as well as parcels encumbered with 
certain special uses such as cemeteries. The management

[[Page H5996]]

of these isolated and encumbered parcels takes considerable resources 
away from the core mission of the Forest Service. Proceeds from the 
sale of these parcels would be deposited into a Sisk Act fund and may 
be used for deferred maintenance, acquisition of lands for 
administrative sites or recreational access, or to reimburse the Forest 
Service for administrative costs in preparing the sales.
  The U.S. Forest Service has a challenging mission. Enabling it to 
develop a more manageable land base is simply good government, which is 
why this bill has such broad-based support.
  I also want to thank Chairman Conaway of the Agriculture Committee 
for his assistance in expediting this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                                         House of Representatives,


                               Committee on Natural Resources,

                                     Washington, DC, June 5, 2015.
     Hon. K. Michael Conaway,
     Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: On April 30, 2015, the Committee on 
     Natural Resources ordered reported without amendment H.R. 
     1214, the National Forest Small Tracts Act Amendments Act of 
     2015, by unanimous consent. The bill was referred primarily 
     to the Committee on Natural Resources, with an additional 
     referral to the Committee on Agriculture.
       I ask that you allow the Committee on Agriculture to be 
     discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it 
     may be scheduled by the Majority Leader. This discharge in no 
     way affects your jurisdiction over the subject matter of the 
     bill, and it will not serve as precedent for future 
     referrals. In addition, should a conference oh the bill be 
     necessary, I would support your request to have the Committee 
     on Agriculture represented on the conference committee. 
     Finally, I would be pleased to include this letter and any 
     response in the bill report filed by the Committee on Natural 
     Resources to memorialize our understanding.
       Thank you for your consideration of my request, and for 
     your continued strong cooperation between our committees.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Rob Bishop,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                     Committee on Agriculture,

                                     Washington, DC, June 5, 2015.
     Hon. Rob Bishop,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing concerning H.R. 1214, the 
     National Forest Small Tracts Act Amendments Act of 2015. It 
     is my understanding that, on April 30, 2015, the Committee on 
     Natural Resources ordered the bill reported without amendment 
     and by unanimous consent.
       This legislation contains provisions within the Committee 
     on Agriculture's Rule X jurisdiction. As a result of your 
     having consulted with the Committee and in order to expedite 
     this bill for floor consideration, the Committee on 
     Agriculture will forego action on the bill. This is being 
     done on the basis of our mutual undemanding that doing so 
     will in no way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the 
     Committee on Agriculture with respect to the appointment of 
     conferees, or to any future jurisdictional claim over the 
     subject matters contained in the bill or similar legislation.
       I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming 
     this understanding, and would request that you include a copy 
     of this letter and your response in the Committee Report and 
     in the Congressional Record during the floor consideration of 
     this bill. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
           Sincerely,
                                               K. Michael Conaway,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1214 amends the Small Tracts Act to provide the 
Forest Service with more flexibility to sell or exchange small parcels 
of national forest land. This increased flexibility will allow the 
Forest Service to identify opportunities where the sale or exchange of 
small parcels of land will increase efficiency and improve the overall 
integrity and health of our national forests.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Amodei, the sponsor of this 
legislation, for working with the Forest Service to update this bill so 
that it could be supported by both sides of the aisle.
  Mr. Speaker, I support adoption of H.R. 1214.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Amodei), my good friend and Nevada 
neighbor, the author of this bill.
  Mr. AMODEI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you Madam Ranking 
Member. I also want to thank the chairman of the full committee as well 
as my cosponsors in this measure: Mr. Polis from Colorado, Mr. Shimkus 
from Illinois, and Mr. Jones from North Carolina.
  So as not to risk snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, I will 
be brief. I would like to say that this was my idea and it is a 
wonderful thing, but this represents taking care of business that has 
been knocking around for probably a decade or more as far as the Forest 
Service is concerned. We are not moving the frontier into national 
forests; we are simply giving them the ability to administratively 
dispose of those lands that have become not attached to the national 
forest and have no management or land use characteristics with respect 
to the managing of a national forest.

                              {time}  1545

  The other thing I want to point out is that it will allow them the 
ability to dispose of well into six figures' worth of acres, 
potentially, over the next few years, much more than last year, which 
was almost nothing.
  The most interesting thing is that the resources generated by this 
will stay with the Forest Service for use under their various charges 
as opposed to disappearing into that sometimes black hole in space, 
referred to as the ``United States Treasury.''
  I urge nationwide bipartisan support.
  Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge all Members to support 
this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would urge the adoption of the 
bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1214, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________