[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 20 (Monday, February 6, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S868-S869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. KAINE:
  S. 331. A bill to remove the use restrictions on certain land 
transferred to Rockingham County, Virginia, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, this bill has a complex backstory, but it 
serves a simple purpose--to allow a small daycare facility in Virginia 
to undertake routine repairs and maintenance.
  For more than 20 years, the Plains Area Day Care Center in Broadway, 
VA, has served children from moderate-income families in Rockingham 
County. This facility sits on a 3-acre parcel that was once Federal 
land before the National Park Service conveyed it to Rockingham County 
in 1989

[[Page S869]]

under the Federal Lands to Parks Program. The county in turn leases 
this land to the center for $1 per year, with a contract that runs 
through the year 2027.
  The center is in need of repairs and maintenance, including a new 
roof; however, it has had difficulty in securing private financing for 
these activities because of the complex land ownership structure--
Federal land conveyed conditionally to a county and leased to a private 
company. Due to Virginia's status as a Dillon Rule State, Rockingham 
County cannot execute a loan either.
  This bill would specify that the 1989 land conveyance is transferred 
in fee simple, with no further use restrictions. I appreciate the goal 
of the Federal Lands to Parks Program to preserve land as open space, 
particularly after having overseen the preservation of 400,000 acres of 
open space in Virginia during my time as Governor of the Commonwealth. 
There are no plans to develop the open space on this site, only to fix 
the daycare center building--a former Forest Service garage that has 
been on the site since before its transfer from Federal ownership.
  My Virginia colleague, Congressman Bob Goodlatte, has introduced 
companion legislation in the House of Representatives. During the 114th 
Congress, this bill was passed unanimously through the full House as a 
standalone; reported favorably without opposition by the Senate Energy 
and Natural Resources Committee; and adopted by unanimous consent to be 
included in the Senate's bipartisan Energy bill. Unfortunately, it fell 
just short of final passage.
  This is a small modification that simply removes unnecessary 
bureaucratic hurdles and allows the daycare center to continue doing 
what it has been doing for 25 years. I am pleased to partner with 
Congressman Goodlatte in this commonsense, bipartisan effort.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. COTTON:
  S. 332. A bill to restrict funding for the Preparatory Commission for 
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 332

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

     SECTION 1. RESTRICTION ON FUNDING FOR THE PREPARATORY 
                   COMMISSION FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR-TEST-
                   BAN TREATY ORGANIZATION.

       (a) Statement of Policy.--Congress declares that United 
     Nations Security Council Resolution 2310 (September 23, 2016) 
     does not obligate the United States or impose an obligation 
     on the United States to refrain from actions that would run 
     counter to the object and purpose of the Comprehensive 
     Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
       (b) Restriction on Funding.--
       (1) In general.--No United States funds may be made 
     available to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive 
     Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.
       (2) Exception.--The restriction under paragraph (1) shall 
     not apply with respect to the availability of United States 
     funds for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty 
     Organization's International Monitoring System.

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