[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 112 (Monday, July 8, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H4468-H4470]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ACCELERATING APPRAISALS AND CONSERVATION EFFORTS ACT
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5443) to establish a policy regarding appraisal and
valuation services for real property for a transaction over which the
Secretary of the Interior has jurisdiction, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
[[Page H4469]]
H.R. 5443
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 ``Accelerating Appraisals and
Conservation Efforts Act'' or the ``AACE Act''.
SEC. 2. APPRAISAL AND VALUATION SERVICES FOR REAL PROPERTY.
(a) License, Certification Requirement.--A covered
appraiser needs to be licensed or certified in only 1 State
to perform appraisal or valuation services for real property
in any State for a transaction over which the Secretary has
jurisdiction.
(b) Use of Non-Federal Covered Appraisers.--If the
Secretary uses a non-Federal covered appraiser to perform
appraisal or valuation services for real property for a
transaction described in subsection (a), the Secretary--
(1) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use a non-
Federal covered appraiser who is a certified general real
property appraiser licensed in a State in which the real
property that is the subject of the transaction is located;
and
(2) may only use a non-Federal covered appraiser who is a
certified general real property appraiser licensed in a State
other than one in which the real property that is the subject
of the transaction is located if a non-Federal covered
appraiser described in paragraph (1) is, as determined by the
Secretary--
(A) unavailable to complete an assignment within a
reasonable period of time;
(B) not assignment qualified; or
(C) not cost competitive.
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this section, and annually thereafter for at
least the following 4 years, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report that includes the following:
(1) A comparison using quantitative data of--
(A) the number of requests for appraisal and valuation
services received by the Department during the reporting
period and the number of requests for such services received
by the Department in each of the 5 years before the reporting
period; and
(B) the amount of time required for the Department to
complete a request for appraisal or valuation services before
the date of the enactment of this section and after the date
of the enactment of this section.
(2) A qualitative assessment of the impact of subsection
(a) in providing flexibility to the Secretary when
contracting with non-Federal covered appraisers.
(3) Recommendations, if any, for congressional action that
could help the Department operate more efficiently or
overcome challenges with respect to timely completion of
requests for appraisal or valuation services while ensuring
the independence, impartiality, and objectivity of such
services.
(4) An overview of the workforce of the Department with
regard to appraisal and valuation services provided by the
Department, including hiring and staffing during the
reporting period with respect to employees and contractors of
the Department.
(5) A complete list of cases in which the authority granted
under section 2 of this Act was used during the reporting
period, describing for each case the specific criteria used
to satisfy the conditions of this Act.
(d) Statutory Clarifications.--
(1) Applicability of relevant laws and regulations.--Except
as provided in paragraph (3), nothing in this section shall
be interpreted to affect the application of any Federal or
State law or regulation to a non-Federal covered appraiser
with regard to the performance by such non-Federal covered
appraiser of appraisal and valuation services for real
property.
(2) Jurisdiction requirement.--Nothing in this section
shall be interpreted to authorize a non-Federal covered
appraiser to perform appraisal and valuation services for
real property in a State in which such non-Federal covered
appraiser is not licensed or certified to perform such
services except to the extent that such services are
performed for a transaction over which the Secretary has
jurisdiction.
(3) Nonapplicability of certain relevant laws and
regulations.--Any provision of a Federal or State law or
regulation enacted before the date of the enactment of this
section that requires a covered appraiser to be licensed or
certified in a specific State to perform appraisal or
valuation services for real property in that State shall not
apply to any transaction over which the Secretary has
jurisdiction.
(e) Public Availability.--Not later than 90 days after the
enactment of this Act, the text of all policies (including
any successor policies), including reference manuals,
guidance documents, handbooks, standard operating procedures,
and statements of policy specific to the scoping,
contracting, and review of appraisals performed for the
Department by Federal or non-Federal covered appraisers,
shall be made publicly available online and provided upon
request.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered appraiser.--The term ``covered appraiser''
means a State-licensed or -certified real property appraiser.
(2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of the Interior.
(3) Reporting period.--The term ``reporting period'' means
the 1-year period before the date on which a report is
submitted under subsection (c).
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(5) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and each territory and
possession of the United States.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Lee) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H.R. 5443, the bill now under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5443, legislation offered by
Representatives Lee and Joyce. This bill would allow appropriately
credentialed non-Federal appraisers to perform appraisal and valuation
services for the Department of the Interior regardless of whether they
are licensed or certified in a particular State.
This has been a longstanding practice for Federal appraisers.
However, non-Federal appraisers must be credentialed in the State where
they are conducting valuation or appraisal services. This disparity has
led, in part, to an appraisal backlog that prevents the Department of
the Interior from fulfilling its responsibilities to convey, exchange,
or dispose of land in a timely manner.
The Committee on Natural Resources has heard numerous concerns about
the length and complexity of Federal land transactions throughout this
Congress, including the cumbersome appraisal process. This process
affects communities that wish to take over Federal land for economic or
conservation purposes, as well as sportsmen and -women who seek to
consolidate checkerboard land ownership to allow for greater public
access.
This bill will address inefficient bureaucratic bottlenecks without
jeopardizing the integrity of the valuation and appraisal process.
Under this legislation, all appraisals must still be conducted in
accordance with applicable standards found in the Uniform Appraisal
Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and the Uniform Standards of
Professional Appraisal Practice.
This is good, bipartisan legislation that will remedy inefficiencies
and improve land management. I would like to commend Representatives
Lee and Joyce for their efforts on this bill and thank them for
engaging the committee early in the legislative process.
Mr. Speaker, I support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Ms. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chair of the committee for his
leadership.
Today, I am pleased that the House is considering the Accelerating
Appraisals and Conservation Efforts Act, known as the AACE Act, my
bipartisan, bicameral bill to cut red tape for everyone who relies on
the Federal Government to buy, sell, or transfer public land.
It will speed up appraisals and approvals for Nevada housing projects
and cut governmental red tape that drives up housing costs. Outdoor
enthusiasts will be able to enjoy the public lands they have fought to
preserve, and it will allow for better and faster infrastructure to
power our communities.
The U.S. Department of the Interior oversees hundreds of millions of
acres of public lands nationwide. Its Bureau of Land Management alone
stewards roughly 70 percent of the lands in my home State of Nevada.
Before the Department of the Interior is able to buy, sell, lease,
trade, or conduct any type of land-related transaction, it must first
make sure that these activities are done at fair market value to
protect the public trust.
However, while full-time Federal appraisers are able to work quickly
and easily across State lines, the private appraisers on whom the
Department of the Interior must now rely to satisfy the growing demands
on the agency can only work in specific States or territories in which
they are individually credentialed.
This is slowing progress across the country on a range of
conservation,
[[Page H4470]]
economic, housing, and infrastructure goals, all dependent on the
Department of the Interior's ability to complete land transactions
promptly.
My bipartisan AACE Act would help alleviate and prevent appraisal
bottlenecks by building upon a decades-old precedent of limited license
reciprocity for appraisers established under the Bush-Quayle
administration.
It would enable the Department of the Interior to contract with
private appraisers who are appropriately credentialed in one State to
perform appraisal valuation services on the Department of the
Interior's behalf in any State.
Importantly, it would also require the Department of the Interior to
continue to prioritize working with local appraisers, unlocking the
enhanced flexibility provided by the bill only when no assignment-
qualified or cost-competitive local appraisers are available.
In short, this legislation would maximize DOI's efficiency without
spending a single additional dollar of taxpayers' money. It better
positions America's principal land management agency to complete land
transactions of all kinds more effectively and efficiently, ensuring
that the Federal Government can deliver on these critical projects
without getting in its own way.
That is why the bill has the support of Republican and Democratic
Members of Congress, Senators, and Governors. It is also supported by
the DOI and organizations ranging from Conservation Lands Foundation to
Trout Unlimited to the Nevada Housing Coalition and the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce. It benefits everyone, from conservationists to developers,
who all find themselves waiting at the back of the same Federal
appraisals line.
{time} 1645
I thank my colleague and good friend, Representative Dave Joyce, for
writing this much-needed legislation with me to provide a simple,
bipartisan solution to a simple, bipartisan problem.
I thank Senator Catherine Cortez Masto for championing this
commonsense legislation in the Senate. It is essential that we pass the
bill in this Congress so we can get it to the President's desk without
delay and deliver as soon as possible on the lands projects that
Americans need.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and
I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge my colleagues to
support my legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, in a previous career having been licensed
to do appraisals and having studied the Uniform Standards of
Professional Appraisal Practice and been tested on that, I am glad to
say that this legislation doesn't exempt appraisers from having to
abide by those standards. It just streamlines the process on Federal
land so that appraisals can happen in a more timely manner.
This bipartisan bill will improve the management of hundreds of
millions of acres of land and is a commonsense solution to make
government more efficient. We need that.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the 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 Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5443, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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