[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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