[House Report 105-168]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-168
_______________________________________________________________________


 
         WENATCHEE NATIONAL FOREST IN CHELAN COUNTY, WASHINGTON

                                _______
                                

  July 8, 1997.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 822]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 822) to facilitate a land exchange involving private land 
within the exterior boundaries of Wenatchee National Forest in 
Chelan County, Washington, 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. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT, WENATCHEE NATIONAL FOREST, WASHINGTON.

    The boundary of the Wenatchee National Forest in Chelan County, 
Washington, is hereby adjusted to exclude section 1 of Township 23 
North, Range 19 East, Willamette Meridian.

                          purpose of the bill

    The purpose of H.R. 822 is to facilitate a land exchange 
involving land within the exterior boundaries of Wenatchee 
National Forest in Chelan County, Washington.

                  background and need for legislation

    H.R. 822 would help expedite an administrative land 
exchange of 640 acres of private property with the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM). The private land is currently within the 
boundaries of the Wenatchee National Forest; however, it is 
located approximately one mile from the National Forest proper. 
In 1938 this land was donated by Chelan County, Washington to 
the National Forest System and, years later, traded to a 
private party. Exchange of the land, however, did not remove 
the National Forest boundary. This resulted in a section of 
private land with a Forest Service boundary around it. The 
current land owner desires to exchange this land with the BLM 
which has adjacent land holdings. However, since the land has a 
National Forest boundary surrounding it, the BLM cannot acquire 
this land as title would be retained by the Forest Service 
under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 
Sec. 1716(c)). The Forest Service does not have the authority 
to remove the boundary, although the agency states that the 640 
acres is no longer needed, and that the old boundary does not 
contribute to the management of the Wenatchee National Forest. 
The BLM desires to acquire the land parcel to consolidate its 
holdings which are adjacent to the private land. For this 
exchange to occur, the Forest Service boundary running between 
these parcels must be removed by act of Congress.

                            committee action

    H.R. 822 was introduced on February 25, 1997, by 
Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands. On May 20, 
1997, the Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 822, where the 
Administration, represented by Mr. W. Hord Tipton, Assistant 
Director of Energy and Minerals, BLM, testified in opposition 
to the bill as introduced but indicated that it would support 
an amendment to remove the National Forest boundary to allow 
the exchange to take place administratively. On June 19, 1997, 
the Subcommittee met to mark up H.R. 822. An amendment in the 
nature of a substitute, which would remove the National Forest 
boundary line, was offered by Subcommittee Chairman James V. 
Hansen (R-UT), and adopted by voice vote. The bill was then 
ordered favorably reported, as amended, to the Full Committee. 
On June 25, 1997, the Full Resources Committee met to consider 
H.R. 822. No additional amendments were offered. The bill was 
then ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives 
by voice vote.

            committee oversight findings and recommendations

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   constitutional authority statement

    Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact H.R. 822.

                        cost of the legislation

    Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 822. However, clause 7(d) of that rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     compliance with house rule xi

    1. With respect to the requirement 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, H.R. 
822 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in or 
tax expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enacting H.R. 822 could affect revenues to the federal 
government (by reducing offsetting receipts from federal lands 
later proposed for exchange), but the effect on the federal 
budget would be ``insignificant.''
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 822.
    3. With respect to the requirement of 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, the 
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 822 
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, July 3, 1997.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 822, a bill to 
facilitate a land exchange involving private land within the 
exterior boundaries of Wenatchee National Forest in Chelan 
County, Washington.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Victoria V. 
Heid.
            Sincerely,
                                          Paul Van de Water
                                   (For June E. O'Neill, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 822--A bill to facilitate a land exchange involving private land 
        within the exterior boundaries of Wenatchee National Forest in 
        Chelan County, Washington

    CBO estimates that enacting this bill would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Because H.R. 822 
could affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
apply, but any such effects would likely be insignificant. H.R. 
822 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 and would 
impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    H.R. 822 would adjust the boundaries of the Wenatchee 
National Forest to exclude about 640 acres of private land so 
as to facilitate a land exchange between the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) and the owner of the privately held land. 
Under current law, any lands that lie inside the boundaries of 
any unit of the National Forest System immediately become part 
of that unit when they are acquired by the Secretary of the 
Interior by exchange. Therefore, if BLM acquired private 
property within the area described by the bill, that land would 
automatically become part of the Wenatchee National Forest, 
which is administered by the U.S. Forest Service. Enacting H.R. 
822 would facilitate the land exchange by adjusting the 
boundaries of the Wenatchee National Forest to exclude the 
private land, thereby allowing BLM to manage the land under its 
own authority once the land is acquired by the federal 
government.
    According to BLM, the agency has not yet determined which 
federal lands it would use in the exchange. If BLM exchanged 
federal land that is currently generating any income to the 
government, then implementing the exchange as a result of 
enacting H.R. 822 would affect direct spending by reducing 
offsetting receipts. Because BLM has not specified which 
federal land it will use in the exchange, however, CBO has no 
basis for predicting whether enacting H.R. 822 would affect 
direct spending. We expect that any such effects would be 
insignificant.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Victoria V. 
Heid. This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    H.R. 822 contains no unfunded mandates.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, H.R. 822 would make no changes in existing law.