[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15] [House] [Page 21894] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]PROVIDING FOR CONCURRENCE BY HOUSE WITH AMENDMENT IN SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 150, EDUCATION LAND GRANT ACT Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 621) providing for the concurrence by the House with an amendment in the Senate amendment to H.R. 150. The Clerk read as follows: H. Res. 621 Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution the House shall be considered to have taken from the Speaker's table the bill H.R. 150, with the Senate amendment thereto, and to have concurred in the Senate amendment with the following amendment: In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the amendment of the Senate, insert the following: SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Education Land Grant Act''. SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. (a) Authority To Convey.--Upon application, the Secretary of Agriculture may convey National Forest System lands for use for educational purposes if the Secretary determines that-- (1) the entity seeking the conveyance will use the conveyed land for a public or publicly funded elementary or secondary school, to provide grounds or facilities related to such a school, or for both purposes; (2) the conveyance will serve the public interest; (3) the land to be conveyed is not otherwise needed for the purposes of the National Forest System; and (4) the total acreage to be conveyed does not exceed the amount reasonably necessary for the proposed use. (b) Acreage Limitation.--A conveyance under this section may not exceed 80 acres. However, this limitation shall not be construed to preclude an entity from submitting a subsequent application under this section for an additional land conveyance if the entity can demonstrate to the Secretary a need for additional land. (c) Costs and Mineral Rights.--A conveyance under this section shall be for a nominal cost. The conveyance may not include the transfer of mineral rights. (d) Review of Applications.--When the Secretary receives an application under this section, the Secretary shall-- (1) before the end of the 14-day period beginning on the date of the receipt of the application, provide notice of that receipt to the applicant; and (2) before the end of the 120-day period beginning on that date-- (A) make a final determination whether or not to convey land pursuant to the application, and notify the applicant of that determination; or (B) submit written notice to the applicant containing the reasons why a final determination has not been made. (e) Reversionary Interest.--If at any time after lands are conveyed pursuant to this section, the entity to whom the lands were conveyed attempts to transfer title to or control over the lands to another or the lands are devoted to a use other than the use for which the lands were conveyed, without the consent of the Secretary, title to the lands shall revert to the United States. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen). Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. On June 8, 1999, the House passed H.R. 150, the Education Land Grant Act, by voice vote. Since that time, the bill was amended in the other body. However, the committee nor the author are agreeable to the amendments. Thus, this resolution strips the Senate amendments and inserts the original text as passed by the House. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 150 is a good piece of legislation that will help school children in rural communities throughout the country. I commend the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) for his hard work on this bill. The Education Land Grant Act was designed to alleviate a problem that many small western communities face. These towns are often hemmed in by government-owned lands such as BLM land, Indian reservations, national forests, State land and now all over the West national monuments, national parks, et cetera. Since so much of the land base in these areas is nontaxable government land, they often find it difficult to afford school facilities. H.R. 150 was designed to help these towns and cities surrounded by or adjacent to Forest Service land. They would be able to buy parcels of land for school facilities from the Forest Service at nominal cost. We have the opportunity to provide communities across our great Nation with the ability to purchase public lands to facilitate the education of our youth. This is a good cause and a great idea. H.R. 150 is simply legislation that resolves an extremely difficult problem for rural school districts. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first of all I certainly want to commend my good friend the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth), the chief sponsor of this bill. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 621 would have the effect of returning to the Senate the House-passed language in the bill H.R. 150, the Education Land Grant Act. The House originally passed this measure in June of last year and the Senate subsequently took up the bill and sent it back to the House in April of this year with an amendment. The Senate amendment is a significant change in the purpose and scope of H.R. 150 as passed by this body. There are a number of serious problems with the Senate amendment in terms of policy and its application. Whereas the House bill was narrowly focusing on making land available for schools, the Senate amendment greatly expands the authorized purposes, includes new detailed language on the transfers and reverters as well as making a number of other changes in the bill. It is our understanding that the administration strongly opposes the language of the Senate amendment. Given the problems with the Senate amendment, we do not object to disagreeing with the Senate language and returning the bill to the Senate with the original House-passed provisions. Mr. Speaker, again I want to commend my friend from Arizona for this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth), the author of this bill. Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah for yielding me this time. I would also ask the indulgence of those who join us this evening as I battle a bit of a cold. {time} 2300 Mr. Speaker, tonight before us is an important bipartisan bill that will help school districts around the country by allowing those districts to apply for conveyances of small tracts of Forest Service land at a nominal cost for the purposes of building, renovating or expanding school facilities. Currently, only school districts near Bureau of Land Management lands can apply for conveyances under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, and modeled after that act this legislation simply adds Forest Service lands to the equation. It is worth noting, as my colleagues have before me, that H.R. 150 unanimously passed this House by a recorded vote with 420 of us in attendance voting yes; not a single voice, not a single vote, Mr. Speaker, in opposition in June of last year. By unanimous consent, as was mentioned earlier, Mr. Speaker, the Senate passed an amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 150 and while this was a bipartisan agreement, objections have been raised. They were enumerated by my good friend, the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega). Therefore, by disagreeing to the Senate amendments to H.R. 150, we can send the House-passed bill back to the Senate in the form of H. Res. 621 and send it directly to the President after the other body passes the legislation. To recount, this new Education Land Grant Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to convey Forest Service lands for educational purposes if certain conditions are met. First, the entity seeking the conveyance must use the land for a public or publicly funded elementary or secondary school. Second, the conveyance must serve the public interest. Third, the land conveyed cannot be environmentally sensitive land and cannot be otherwise needed for purposes of the national forest system. Finally, the total acreage to be conveyed cannot exceed the amount reasonably necessary for the proposed use. Furthermore, our new Education Land Grant Act limits the amount of acreage to be conveyed to 80 acres. It also provides that conveyances under this legislation shall be for a nominal cost using the guidelines of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, which allows for conveyances or transfers to be made at $10 per acre. The bill would require expedited review of applications by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to acknowledge receipt of an application within 14 days of receiving it. A final determination about whether to convey the land must be made within 120 days, unless the Secretary submits a written notice to the applicant explaining the delay. Mr. Speaker, ofttimes rural school districts cannot afford the costs of buying land and building new school facilities. In fact, in the 104th Congress, I introduced legislation which was signed into law that helped one of these aforementioned financially strapped school districts, the Alpine School District in Eastern Arizona. This district desperately needed new facilities. However, they could not afford the cost of acreage which was estimated to be approximately one quarter of a million dollars, as well as the cost of new school facilities. This legislation seeks to set up a national mechanism for school districts to apply to the Agriculture Secretary for Forest Service land without having to come to Congress every year to pass legislation for their particular school district. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, part and parcel of the exercise tonight is perhaps to an onlooker, Mr. Speaker, a crazy quilt of small applications or conveyances of land. The beauty of the new Education Land Grant Act is to offer a uniform mechanism that can be used. Mr. Speaker, I would point out that although it is of special interest in the rural West, it is important to note that this legislation would help school districts in 44 of our 50 States. The Constitution gives our Congress authority in article IV, section 3 when it states that Congress shall have the power to dispose of and make needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other properties belonging to the United States. I mention the conditions unique to the West. It has been part and parcel of discussion on earlier legislation tonight. Private land in the West is extremely expensive, and while it is true most federally controlled land is located in the western States, we also confront a problem there: Rapidly growing populations. In fact, Arizona, Utah and Nevada have the three fastest growing States in the Nation. With less and less private land on which to build schools and other facilities, the West will increasingly need to find new solutions to growth problems. The Education Land Grant Act provides one of the ways we can alleviate some of these concerns and at the same time help our children receive the education they need and deserve. Not only is there rapid growth in the West but nationwide. As has been part of the discussion on this floor and in other venues, many school districts find themselves financially strapped. We have the opportunity tonight, in the tradition of Justin Smith Morrill, who consulted with then candidate Abraham Lincoln, in the election campaign of 1860, for an Education Land Grant Act that allowed for conveyances of land for the construction and establishment of institutions of higher learning in the agricultural and mechanical arts, in that tradition that Lincoln made the centerpiece of his campaign for the presidency and, of course, a terrible war intervened and his assassination. Ultimately, the Morrill Land Grant Act was signed into law. Indeed, from the vantage of time we see how important that was to higher education in this country. Mr. Speaker, tonight we again have the opportunity to stand and deliver, and though it is virtually ignored by the fourth estate, in retrospect, Mr. Speaker, this legislation is of great importance because it enables local districts to free up their precious resources to help teachers teach and help children learn. Certainly despite our many differences, as we take a look at the political calendar we can agree on that basic mission. In the tradition of original passage last year, unanimous passage by this House, I would ask this House again to support this legislation now by calling for passage of H. Res. 621 so that this new Education Land Grant Act can become reality, so that we can streamline this process for the greater good of all America's children in our finest traditions. Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 621. The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________