[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17686-17688]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   LOS PADRES FOREST LAND CONVEYANCE

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 129) to authorize the conveyance of certain National Forest 
System lands in the Los Padres National Forest in California, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 129

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

     SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE AUTHORITY, LOS PADRES NATIONAL 
                   FOREST, CALIFORNIA.

       (a) Conveyance Authority.--Subject to valid existing 
     rights, the Secretary of Agriculture may convey to the White 
     Lotus Foundation all right, title, and interest of the United 
     States in and to the real property within the Los Padres 
     National Forest in California described in subsection (b).
       (b) Description of Property.--The real property subject to 
     conveyance under this Act is certain land located in Santa 
     Barbara County, California, consisting of approximately 5 
     acres, as shown on the map titled ``San Marcos Pass 
     Encroachment for Consideration of Legislative Remedy'', dated 
     June 1, 2009.
       (c) Survey.--The exact acreage and legal description of the 
     real property to be conveyed under this Act shall be 
     determined by a survey satisfactory to the Secretary.
       (d) Valuation.--Any appraisal of the real property to be 
     conveyed under this Act shall conform to the Uniform 
     Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions, and the 
     appraisal shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary.
       (e) Consideration.--Consideration for conveyance of real 
     property under this Act shall be in an amount not less than 
     the appraised fair market value.

[[Page 17687]]

       (f) Treatment of Proceeds.--The gross proceeds from the 
     conveyance of real property under this Act shall be deposited 
     in the fund established by Public Law 90-171 (commonly known 
     as the ``Sisk Act''; 16 U.S.C. 484a). The amount so deposited 
     shall be available to the Secretary, without further 
     appropriation, for expenditure in the Los Padres National 
     Forest.
       (g) Pre-existing Rights.--As a condition of the conveyance 
     authorized under subsection (a), the Secretary shall require 
     the White Lotus Foundation to continue to allow existing 
     access to any roadway that may be conveyed by this Act.
       (h) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may 
     require such additional terms and conditions in connection 
     with the conveyance under this Act as the Secretary considers 
     appropriate to protect the interests of the United States.
       (i) Survey and Administrative Costs.--The White Lotus 
     Foundation shall pay the reasonable costs of survey, 
     appraisal, and any other administrative costs associated with 
     the conveyance.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Brown) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Guam.


                             General Leave

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Guam?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 129 was introduced by our colleague 
from California, Representative Elton Gallegly. The bill would 
authorize the Forest Service to sell 5 acres of land within the Los 
Padres National Forest to resolve an encroachment issue. A portion of a 
small business owned by the White Lotus Foundation sits on 5 acres of 
the national forest. The 5 acres in question are separated from the 
majority of the forest by a road. The foundation was unaware of the 
encroachment when it purchased the land. Under the terms of the 
legislation, the White Lotus Foundation will be responsible for all the 
costs associated with the conveyance, including any necessary reviews 
under the National Environmental Policy Act.
  Mr. Speaker, we support passage of this measure.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. BROWN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  H.R. 129 corrects a problem resulting from the way a small section of 
the Los Padres National Forest boundary crosses an old road. This road 
provides the only access to property owned by the White Lotus 
Foundation. This bill authorizes the Secretary to sell five acres to 
the foundation and requires that the sale be accomplished at no cost to 
the taxpayers.
  I support the bill and reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BROWN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from California, the author of the bill, Mr. Gallegly.
  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the 
gentlelady from Guam (Ms. Bordallo), my good friend, for her work on 
this; and I rise today in strong support of H.R. 129.
  This bill would authorize the Forest Service to convey a small parcel 
of land on the perimeter of the Los Padres National Forest to a 
nonprofit organization, the White Lotus Foundation. In 1983, the White 
Lotus Foundation inherited property in the hills above Santa Barbara, 
California, on the border of Los Padres National Forest. After 
operating in the location for over 25 years, the Forest Service sent a 
letter to the White Lotus Foundation notifying them of a parcel that 
was 0.05 acres, just a few actual square feet, of encroachment on the 
Forest Service land. It required them to remove all encroachments by 
December 31, 2008, or they would begin enforcement action.
  The encroachment in question is located on a loop of the only road 
that allows White Lotus and the rest of the public access to and from 
the White Lotus property. Due to the steep topography, the foundation 
has no other reasonable alternatives.
  The loop lies on flat ground which was held for the purpose of 
providing space for equipment storage for fire and flood emergencies 
and provided access to a water pump and other necessary equipment. 
There is no other flat ground on which to move these items, and without 
this space, the foundation would be forced to cease operations.
  My legislation will not cost the taxpayers a single penny. The White 
Lotus Foundation will pay for the land, the survey, and all 
administrative costs. There are no exemptions from NEPA or other 
environmental laws. The land in question is not protected by wilderness 
or any other specifically designated area.
  Finally, my legislation does not even mandate this land be conveyed. 
It merely allows the Forest Service to convey the land and to determine 
the amount to be conveyed; meaning, if the Forest Service does not feel 
this land conveyance is in its best interest, it does not have to sell 
any Federal land to the White Lotus Foundation.
  In closing, I want to thank the chairman, Chairman Rahall, Ranking 
Member Mr. Hastings, for allowing this legislation to be considered 
today; and I urge support of this legislation, H.R. 129.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests of time and 
would inquire of the minority whether they have additional speakers.
  Mr. BROWN of South Carolina. I think we have one more speaker.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BROWN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Broun.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Mr. Brown from 
South Carolina, for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation and want to remind 
the American public, Mr. Speaker, if I could speak to them, that we 
have a tremendous Federal debt and deficit that's growing every moment 
that this Congress is in session.
  We have a tremendous amount of resources all across this country in 
forests, in Federal property; and I believe we must be good stewards of 
our environment. It's absolutely critical. In fact, we are charged from 
a biblical perspective to be good stewards of our environment, and I am 
a conservationist of the first order. In fact, I began my political 
activism being involved in the conservation movement. I'm a life member 
of many conservation movements such as the Wild Sheep Foundation, the 
Safari Club International, where I was a political action vice 
president, political affairs vice president for Safari Club 
International. I'm a member of Quail Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, and I 
can go on and on. So my conservation credentials are very numerous.
  But we have Federal property all over this country where the Federal 
Government is not managing it properly. The Park Service can't take 
care, by their own admission, of the Federal National Park System 
today. The Forest Service does a much better job than the Park Service 
does in managing its properties. But we have national forests all over 
this country that have timber growing. It's a renewable resource.
  Mr. Speaker, we can handle some of this Federal deficit and debt by 
starting to manage these Federal properties in a more responsible, 
scientific manner that will not harm the environment, will not harm the 
properties, will not harm--actually will help the wildlife.
  So, Mr. Speaker, as I rise to support this legislation, I ask this 
House, I ask this Congress, I ask the American people to start 
demanding good management practices of our natural resources, and 
that's going to include good, responsible wildlife management; that's 
going to include considering hunting on all Federal properties as a 
management tool which is absolutely critical in proper wildlife 
management.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I do rise in support of this legislation. I assume 
that it will

[[Page 17688]]

pass, and I hope that it does. But we need to look beyond that and 
start being good stewards of our environment, and we have not been.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BROWN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support this bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 129, 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. BROUN of Georgia. 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 and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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