[House Report 117-434]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                    {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                    {       117-434

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



 
             WIND RIVER ADMINISTRATIVE SITE CONVEYANCE ACT

                                _______
                                

 July 26, 2022.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Grijalva, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 5093]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 5093) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to 
transfer certain National Forest System land in the State of 
Washington to Skamania County, Washington, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 5093 is to direct the Secretary of 
Agriculture to transfer certain National Forest System land in 
the State of Washington to Skamania County, Washington.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 5093 would authorize the United States Forest Service 
(USFS) to convey a 23.4-acre portion of the Wind River Nursery 
to Skamania County, Washington. The nursery is located in the 
Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and Congress previously 
authorized a land exchange that included a large portion of the 
nursery in 2001. The conveyance authorized by this bill will 
complete the transfer and place the entire Wind River property 
under the stewardship of the county.
    The conveyance is directed to be made by a quitclaim deed, 
subject to a right-of-way and restrictive easement reservation 
for the protection of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail 
and completed in accordance with USFS conveyance requirements. 
In addition, the county will not be required to pay for the 
land; however, the county must maintain the lands and related 
infrastructure pursuant to federal standards regarding the 
preservation of historic property, or ownership will revert to 
the United States. This is a standard provision typically 
included in public purpose conveyances of this nature.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 5093 was introduced on August 24, 2021, by 
Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA). The bill was 
referred solely to the Committee on Natural Resources, and 
within the Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Forests, and Public Lands. On March 1, 2022, the Subcommittee 
held a hearing on the bill. On April 6, 2022, the Natural 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee 
was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were 
offered. The bill was adopted and ordered favorably reported to 
the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the 
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure: 
hearing by the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and 
Public Lands held on March 1, 2022.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

      COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 22, 2022.
Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5093, the Wind 
River Administrative Site Conveyance Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani 
Shankaran.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    H.R. 5093 would direct the Forest Service to convey 23 
acres of federal land in Skamania County, Washington, without 
consideration and subject to valid existing rights, if the 
county requests to acquire the land. For this estimate, CBO 
assumes that the county, which currently leases the federal 
land from the Forest Service, would submit such a request.
    Although the conveyance could occur under existing 
authorities, CBO expects that the county will continue to lease 
the property under current law, though in recent years, the 
agency has waived lease payments. Those payments are recorded 
in the budget as offsetting receipts, or reductions in direct 
spending, and are available for the Forest Service to spend 
without further appropriation. Using information from the 
Forest Service, CBO estimates that any future lease payments 
will total less than $50,000 annually and will be spent soon 
after their collection. Under H.R. 5093, the agency would forgo 
those payments and the associated spending; thus, the net 
effect on direct spending would be negligible.
    Under the bill, the county would pay the closing costs of 
the conveyance. CBO estimates that any costs incurred by the 
Forest Service to conduct a land survey and other reviews would 
be insignificant; any spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani 
Shankaran. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goals and 
objectives of this bill are to direct the Secretary of 
Agriculture to transfer certain National Forest System land in 
the State of Washington to Skamania County, Washington.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    According to CBO, this bill contains no unfunded mandates 
as defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of 
the federal government known to be duplicative of another 
program.

                  APPLICABILITY TO 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.

               PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing 
law.

        SUPPLEMENTAL, MINORITY, ADDITIONAL, OR DISSENTING VIEWS

    None.

                                  [all]