To provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of National Forest System land in the George Washington National Forest in Alleghany County, Virginia, that contains the cemetery of the Central Advent Christian Church and an adjoining tract of land located between the cemetery and road boundaries.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3454, bipartisan legislation which will authorize the conveyance by the Forest Service to the Central Advent Christian Church in Alleghany County, Virginia of a small parcel of land containing a cemetery currently operated by the church. The church and the land in question are located in my Congressional District.

For 66 years, the Central Advent Christian Church has been operating its cemetery through a Special Use permit granted by the U.S. Forest Service. The historic cemetery contains more than 300 graves, two- thirds of which are located on land owned by the U.S. Forest Service. In recent years, maintenance of this land has become difficult for the Forest Service, taking valuable staff time to remove discarded flowers and other items.

It is the desire of the families of those buried in the cemetery, the members of Central Advent Christian Church and the Forest Service that the cemetery be transferred into church ownership, and the bill before the House takes the entirely appropriate step of authorizing the conveyance.

This measure authorizes the transfer of the 6.08 acres constituting the cemetery and a small additional tract, which would otherwise be landlocked by this transfer, to the church. The total amount of land to be conveyed to the church will not exceed 8 acres. Conveyance of the property will be contingent on the completion of a survey acceptable to the Forest Service at the church's expense.

I appreciate the efforts of Chairman Peterson and his staff as well as my colleague from Virginia, Mr. Goodlatte, in working with me on this legislation, and I thank Mr. Goodlatte, who also represents a portion of Alleghany County, for cosponsoring the bill with me. H.R. 3454 enjoys bipartisan support in the House and its passage would benefit both the Forest Service and the members of the Central Advent Christian Church.

I urge approval of the measure.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3454) to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of National Forest System land in the George Washington National Forest in Alleghany County, Virginia, that contains the cemetery of the Central Advent Christian Church and an adjoining tract of land located between the cemetery and road boundaries.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support today of H.R. 3454. This bill, sponsored by Mr. Boucher from Virginia, would convey property in the George Washington National Forest to the Central Advent Christian Church of Alleghany County, Virginia. The parcel will consist of no more than 8 acres, and included in this parcel will be a cemetery encompassing approximately 6 acres.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3454 requires that the church accept the property at the time of the conveyance in an ``as is'' condition. The exact acreage and legal description of the properly to be conveyed will be determined in a survey of USDA's approval. USDA will also set additional terms and conditions in connection with the conveyance of the property.

The United States Forest Service has acknowledged that this particular tract of forest land is difficult to manage. Owning a cemetery tract is inconsistent with the Forest Service mission, which is why they have attempted to sell this property several times without success. I understand the Central Advent Christian Church has already been doing basic maintenance on the cemetery grounds. Conveying this land to the church would enable them to make more significant repairs to the property. This effort deserves congressional support.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I also rise today in support of H.R. 3454 which our distinguished ranking member on the Agriculture Committee (Mr. Goodlatte) has cosponsored with Congressman Boucher. H.R. 3454 requires the U.S. Forest Service to convey, without consideration, 8 acres of the George Washington National Forest in Alleghany County, Virginia, to the Central Advent Christian Church. The conveyance includes a 6-acre cemetery and 2 additional acres between the cemetery and Interstate 64.

While typically the Forest Service would sell this property under existing authority, they did not receive any bids when they attempted to sell it. Clearly, the Forest Service should not be in the business of owning a cemetery, particularly that has been managed by the community church since 1941 under a special use permit. The church has tried to acquire the property, but for financial and other reasons has been unsuccessful.

The cemetery also creates some management problems for the agency, since there is a fair amount of maintenance associated with it.

This conveyance makes sense for the Federal Government and for the community church. It will allow the Forest Service to focus on the land Congress intended the agency to manage.

I urge adoption of this bipartisan legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to express strong support for H.R. 3454, which I've cosponsored with my colleague Mr. Boucher. H.R. 3454 would authorize the U.S. Forest Service to convey roughly 8 acres of the George Washington National Forest in Alleghany County, Virginia, to the Central Advent Christian Church.

These 8 acres contain a 6 acre cemetery and 2 acres between the cemetery and the adjoining interstate. The cemetery has been managed by the Church since 1941, under a special use permit, with no fees.

It's frustrating to me that limited federal dollars are being spent to manage this property that is clearly not in line with the mission of the Forest Service. That's why I've cosponsored this legislation. This bill will help relinquish the Forest Service of this responsibility so they can focus on the lands that our forefathers intended them to manage.

Several times, the Forest Service has attempted to sell this property but to no avail. The local community church lacks the resources to purchase the property. While I would of course prefer that we sell the land, I believe it is in the federal government's interest to convey the land to the Church rather than spending additional resources on it.

I urge adoption of this important legislation.