[House Report 112-613]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-613

======================================================================



 
                EDWIN L. MECHEM UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

                                _______
                                

   July 19, 2012.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Mica, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3742]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 3742) to designate the United 
States courthouse located at 100 North Church Street in Las 
Cruces, New Mexico, as the ``Edwin L. Mechem United States 
Courthouse'', having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose of the Legislation.......................................     1
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Legislative History and Consideration............................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     2
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     3
Advisory of Earmarks.............................................     3
Federal Mandate Statement........................................     4
Preemption Clarification.........................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     4
Applicability to the Legislative Branch..........................     4
Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation.......................     4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     4

                         PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION

    H.R. 3742 would designate the United States courthouse 
located at 100 North Church Street in Las Cruces, New Mexico, 
as the ``Edwin L. Mechem United States Courthouse''.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 3742 would designate the United States courthouse 
located at 100 North Church Street in Las Cruces, New Mexico, 
as the ``Edwin L. Mechem United States Courthouse''.
    Born in Alamogordo, New Mexico in 1912, Judge Mechem 
attended local schools until transferring to the University of 
Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he received a degree in law. He 
then returned to New Mexico to practice in Las Cruces and 
Albuquerque.
    From 1942 to 1945, he served as an agent with the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation and from 1947 to 1948, he served as a 
member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. Judge Mechem 
was elected Governor of New Mexico four times: in 1950, 1952, 
1956, and 1960. Upon the death of United States Senator Dennis 
Chavez, Judge Mechem was appointed United States Senator to 
serve out the remainder of Senator Chavez's term until November 
1964. And, in 1970, he was appointed by President Richard Nixon 
as a federal judge for the U.S. District Court of New Mexico. 
He served from 1970 to 1982 and took senior status from 1982 
until his death in 2002.

                                HEARINGS

    No hearings were held on H.R. 3742.

                 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY AND CONSIDERATION

    On December 20, 2011, Representative Stevan Pearce 
introduced H.R. 3742, a bill to designate the United States 
courthouse located at 100 North Church Street in Las Cruces, 
New Mexico, as the ``Edwin L. Mechem United States 
Courthouse''.
    On June 7, 2012, the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure met in open session, and ordered the bill 
reported favorably to the House by voice vote with a quorum 
present.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives 
requires each committee report to include the total number of 
votes cast for and against on each record vote on a motion to 
report and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter, 
and the names of those members voting for and against. There 
were no record votes taken in connection with consideration of 
H.R. 3742, or ordering the bill reported. A motion to order 
H.R. 3742 reported favorably to the House was agreed to by 
voice vote with a quorum present.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

               NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the 
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is 
included in this report.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3742 from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 11, 2012.
Hon. John L. Mica,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed the following legislation ordered reported by the 
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on June 7, 
2012:
           H.R. 3742, a bill to designate the United 
        States courthouse located at 100 North Church Street in 
        Las Cruces, New Mexico, as the ``Edwin L. Mechem United 
        Courthouse'' and
           H.R. 4347, a bill to designate the United 
        States courthouse located at 709 West 9th Street in 
        Juneau, Alaska, as the ``Robert Boochever United States 
        Courthouse.''
    CBO estimates that enacting those pieces of legislation 
would have no significant impact on the federal budget and 
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    The bills contain no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                      Douglas W. Elmendorf,
                                                          Director.

                    PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to 
designate the United States courthouse located at 100 North 
Church Street in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as the ``Edwin L. 
Mechem United States Courthouse''.

                          ADVISORY OF EARMARKS

    Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list 
of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited 
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of 
rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. No 
provision in the bill includes an earmark, limited tax benefit, 
or limited tariff benefit under clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of 
rule XXI.

                       FEDERAL MANDATE STATEMENT

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the ``Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act'' (P.L. 104-4).

                        PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 3742 does not 
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this 
legislation.

                APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (P.L. 104-1).

               SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF LEGISLATION

Section 1. Findings

    Section 1 states the findings of the legislation.

Section 2. Designation

    Section 2 designates the United States courthouse located 
at 100 North Church Street in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as the 
``Edwin L. Mechem United States Courthouse''.

Section 3. References

    Section 3 indicates that any reference in a law, map, 
regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 
States to the courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be 
deemed to be a reference to the ``Edwin L. Mechem United States 
Courthouse''.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    H.R. 3742 makes no changes in existing law.

                                  
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