[House Report 104-216]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                                       
104th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    104-216
_______________________________________________________________________


 
        BOUNDARY ALTERATION, TALLADEGA NATIONAL FOREST, ALABAMA

_______________________________________________________________________


 July 31, 1995.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______


Mr. Roberts, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1874]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
  The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1874) to modify the boundaries of the Talladega National 
Forest, Alabama, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as 
amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. EXPANSION OF TALLADEGA NATIONAL FOREST.

  (a) Boundary Modification.--The exterior boundaries of the Talladega 
National Forest is hereby modified to include the following described 
lands:
           Huntsville Meridian, Township 17 South, Range 8 East, 
        Section 34, NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\, and S\1/2\NW\1/4\, Cleburne 
        County, containing 399.40 acres, more or less.
          Huntsville Meridian, Township 13 South, Range 9 East, Section 
        28, SE\1/4\, Calhoun County, containing 160.00 acres, more or 
        less.
  (b) Administration.--(1) Subject to valid existing rights, all 
Federal lands described under subsection (a) are hereby added to and 
shall be administered as part of the Talladega National Forest, and the 
Secretary of the Interior shall transfer, without reimbursement, 
administrative jurisdiction over such lands to the Secretary of 
Agriculture.
  (2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the validity 
of or the terms and conditions of any existing right-of-way, easement, 
lease, license, or permit on lands transferred by subsection (a), 
except that such lands shall be administered by the Forest Service. 
Reissuance of any authorization shall be in accordance with the laws 
and regulations generally applying to the Forest Service, and the 
change of jurisdiction over such lands resulting from the enactment of 
this Act shall not constitute a ground for the denial of renewal or 
reissuance of such authorization.
                           brief explanation

    This legislation authorizes the Secretary of Interior to 
transfer 399.40 acres, more or less in Huntsville Meridian, 
Township 17 South Range 8 East, Section 34 NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\, 
and S\1/2\NW\1/4\, Cleburne County. Also this legislation 
authorizes the transfer of 160.00 acres more or less in 
Huntsville Meridian, Township 13 South Range 9 East, Section 
28m SE\1/4\, Calhoun County.

                            purpose and need

    Currently this land is being administered by the Forest 
Service, but is within the Bureau of Land Management. The 
purpose of the transfer is to make the administration of the 
land more efficient. It is the understanding of the Committee 
on Agriculture that this transfer will in no way abrogate any 
valid existing claims on these lands.

                           section by section

    Section 1(a).--Authorizes the expansion of the boundaries 
of the Talladega National Forest, Alabama by incorporating 
399.40 acres located in Cleburne County, and 160 acres in 
Calhoun County.
    Section 1(b)(1).--Provides that the additional acres are to 
be administered as part of the Talladega National Forest, 
subject to valid existing rights. This section also authorizes 
the Secretary of the Interior to make the transfer.
    Section 1(b)(2).--Provides that the bill does not affect 
the validity of terms of any existing right-of-way, easement, 
lease, license, permit on acres transferred, except that such 
acres are to be administered by the Forest Service. Reissuance 
of any authorization is to be in accordance with the laws and 
regulations applying to the Forest Service. The change of 
jurisdiction over these acres is not grounds for the denial of 
a renewal or reissuance of an authorization.

                        committee consideration

I. Hearings

    The Subcommittee on Resource Conservation, Research, and 
Forestry held a hearing on H.R. 1874 on July 13, 1995 to 
receive testimony from the bill's sponsor, the Honorable Glenn 
Browder from Alabama. A representative from the United States 
Forest Service also testified on the bill.

II. Full committee consideration

    Pursuant to notice, the Committee on Agriculture met on 
July 18, 1995, and Chairman Roberts called the business meeting 
to order to consider H.R. 1874, a bill modifying the boundaries 
of the Talladega National Forest, Alabama. Mr. Allard, Chairman 
of the Subcommittee on Resource Conservation, Research, and 
Forestry was recognized to explain the bill.
    Mr. Allard requested unanimous consent to offer a 
substitute bill to be considered as original text. The bill was 
adopted by voice vote and ordered to be reported to the House 
with the recommendation that the bill, as adopted, do pass.

                   reporting the bill--rollcall votes

    In compliance with clause 2(l)(2) of rule XI of the House 
of Representatives, H.R. 1874, was reported, as amended, with a 
quorum actually present. There was no motion or request for a 
recorded vote.
                        administration position

    The Administration supports H.R. 1874, to modify the 
boundaries of the Talladega National Forest, Alabama.

          budget act compliance (section 308 and section 403)

    The provisions of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of Rule XI of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (relating to estimates of new 
budget authority, new spending authority, or new credit 
authority, or increased or decreased revenues or tax 
expenditures) are not considered applicable. The estimate and 
comparison required to be prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under clause 2(l)(3)(C) of Rule XI 
of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 403 of 
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 submitted to the Committee 
prior to the filing of this report are as follows:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 28, 1995.
Hon. Pat Roberts,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 1874, a bill to modify the boundaries of the 
Talladega National Forest, Alabama, as ordered reported by the 
House Committee on Agriculture on July 18, 1995. CBO expects 
that enacting this bill would result in no significant costs to 
the federal government and in no cost to state or local 
governments. Because the bill would not affect direct spending 
or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
    H.R. 1874 would transfer about 460 acres from the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM), which is within the Department of the 
Interior, to the Forest Service, which is within the Department 
of Agriculture. The two tracts of BLM land that would be 
transferred lie within and adjacent to existing Forest Service 
land. BLM has no other land in the vicinity.
    The properties currently do not generate any offsetting 
receipts, and the Forest Service has no plans to use the 
transferred land in ways that would generate any additional 
offsetting receipts. Therefore, transfer of this land would not 
affect direct spending. The transfer also would not 
significantly affect the agencies' costs for managing lands in 
their jurisdiction.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Victoria V. 
Heid.
            Sincerely,
                                              James L. Blum
                                   (For June E. O'Neill, Director).
                     inflationary impact statement

    Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that 
enactment of H.R. 1874, as amended, will have no inflationary 
impact on the national economy.

                          oversight statement

    No summary of oversight findings and recommendations made 
by the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight under 
clause 2(l)(3)(D) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives was available to the Committee with reference 
to the subject matter specifically addressed by H.R. 1874, as 
amended.
    No specific oversight activities other than the hearings 
detailed in this report were conducted by the Committee within 
the definition of clause 2(b)(1) of Rule X of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives.