Hibben Center Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support S. 643, the Hibben Center Act. S. 643 is identical to H.R. 3258, a bill that I introduced on November 7, 2003 and that was favorable reported by the House Resources Committee on September 9, 2004.

For six centuries, massive prehistoric structures lay untouched in a remote area of northwestern New Mexico. Chaco Canyon was the home of many indigenous southwestern peoples from between A.D. 850 and 1250. The Pueblo peoples of New Mexico, the Hopi of Arizona, and the Navajo consider Chaco Canyon to be part of their ancestral homelands.

In recognition of its significance, President Theodore Roosevelt designated Chaco Canyon a national monument in 1907 and Congress changed the park's designation to a national historical park in 1980.

The University of New Mexico (UNM) has participated in exploring, preserving, and documenting Chaco Canyon's extensive archaeological sites since Chaco Canyon National Monument was founded in 1907. In 1949,

UNM deeded its lands in Chaco Canyon National Monument to the United States Government in exchange for continued rights to conduct scientific research in the area. Since then, UNM and the National Park Service (NPS) have been partners in researching and reserving the Chaco Canyon collection.

S. 643 is an authorization bill, allowing the NPS to spend money away from Park Service lands for this collection. Specifically, this bill will allow the Park Service to design and construct a museum, storage facility, and workspace in the Hibben Archaeological Research Center on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Funding for this project has already been appropriated in the National Park Service Line Item Construction Program 5-year budget, for funding in FY 2006. This project will require no additional or new money from Congress.

Continuing the longstanding relationship with UNM, the shell of the Hibben Center and academic spaces have already been built by UNM with an area unfinished for the Park Service to build out for its Chaco Collection if Congress authorizes it.

Additionally, there will be no ongoing operational costs for the Park Service because UNM has agreed to be responsible for 100 percent of the ongoing utilities, maintenance, and operation costs associated with the project.

Over 5 million artifacts excavated from Chaco Canyon are stored at UNM. Unfortunately, they are currently housed in three substandard facilities that have water pipes that leak on the collection; inadequate or non-existent security and fire protection systems; and no environmental controls. In one instance, the tin roofing was blown off a storage facility exposing artifacts to leaking tar.

A primary component of the project is to create a single storage facility for the artifacts that will provide enhanced security, environmental controls such as proper temperature and humidity levels, and a fire detection and suppression system. In addition to storing the Chaco Canyon collection, the Hibben Center will provide Chacoan descendents, researchers, and students a single location from which to access artifacts, archives, and data collections.

In closing, I would like to thank Chairman Pombo and Subcommittee Chairman Radanovich for a their work on this bill and for moving this bill through the House Resources Committee. I urge swift passage of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4808 and would like to thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Pombo) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Ranking Member Rahall), the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich), the subcommittee chairman, and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), the ranking member, for working with me on this important legislation and for moving it expeditiously. I also appreciate the bipartisan support from the Committee on Resources members in reaching a compromise that is reflected in this legislation.

The need for Congress to pass H.R. 4808 arose when a munitions storage bunker was built at Holloman Air Force Base in 1997 and 1998. Holloman Air Force Base serves both the United States' and the German Air Force's training and readiness functions, with Holloman being the home to the F-117 stealth fighter. The Holloman air-to-ground training ranges consist of 1,385,262 acres, almost exclusively in Federal land, and air-to-air training ranges provide 8,352,878 acres of airspace for national security and training. The total military training routes at Holloman Air Force Base is 8,657,964 acres, which includes DOD, DOI, USDA and private lands.

Without an explosive clear zone, Holloman Air Force Base is unable to fully utilize the designed capacity of the bunker, and it adversely impacts the storage quantity of munitions required for training and operations. This directly impacts the ability of Holloman Air Force Base to fully meet its mission of training, readiness, and national security, as well as training our NATO partner, Germany. The cost to replace the munitions storage area is estimated by the Air Force to be $40 million.

The problem is the proposed explosive clear zone encroaches on private property. The Federal Government originally sought to take the private property through condemnation, leaving little choice but for the property owners to vigorously defend their private property rights. This bill resolves the issue and protects both private property and the investment made by the Air Force, and would simply exchange Federal lands in close proximity to ranch boundaries.

Mr. Speaker, this bill reverses a history of over 50 years of the Federal Government either coercing, cajoling, or confiscating property from the landowners. I am proud that the 2nd District has so much land to offer to the Federal Government. I will tell my colleagues that we should not continue to get it through confiscation.

I would like to thank the committee staff members, both minority and majority, for working with my staff member Matt Meagher over the weekend, through the nights, and through very difficult hurdles to solve this bill. This bill protects our national security, saves the taxpayers a minimum $40 million, protects private property, guarantees the Federal Government will receive value for value given, and is fair to all the parties concerned.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4808.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 643) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of New Mexico, to construct and occupy a portion of the Hibben Center for Archaeological Research at the University of New Mexico, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

S. 643, as amended by the Committee on Resources, would authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of New Mexico, to construct and occupy a portion of the Hibben Center for Archaeological Research at the University of New Mexico.

The gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) has authored the House companion bill, H.R. 3258, and we are amending the Senate version to reflect the contents of her bill.

This important project is the latest in a longstanding partnership between the university and the National Park Service and would significantly benefit the research and curation of the archaeological collections of the National Park Service currently being stored at the university. The gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) should be commended for her tireless work on behalf of her constituents.

I urge adoption of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4808) to provide for a land exchange involving private land and Bureau of Land Management land in the vicinity of Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, for the purpose of removing private land from the required safety zone surrounding munitions storage bunkers at Holloman Air Force Base, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce), the author of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to the consideration of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.