Montana Cemetery Act of 2008

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3702) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana, to Jefferson County, Montana, for use as a cemetery, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

H.R. 3702 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to convey approximately 9.67 acres of land in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana, to Jefferson County, MT for use as a cemetery. The parcel to be conveyed to Jefferson County is currently being used for these same purposes, and is known as ``Elkhorn Cemetery.'' The conveyance will provide land to accommodate all known grave sites and any additional sites that may be outside of the concentration of known graves.

The bill also provides for the continued protection of the historic and cultural values associated with the property.

Mr. Speaker, we have no objections, and it is time to put this bill to rest.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I was unable to participate in the following votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: June 17, 2008: rollcall vote No. 414, on motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended--H.R. 2964--To amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to treat nonhuman primates as prohibited wildlife species under that Act, to make corrections in the provisions relating to captive wildlife offenses under that Act, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``nay''; rollcall vote No. 415, on motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended--H.R. 3702--Montana Cemetery Act of 2007--I would have voted ``aye''; rollcall vote No. 416, on motion to suspend the rules and pass, as amended--H. Res. 1275--Honoring the life of Timothy John Russert, Jr., public servant, political analyst, and author--I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, on June 17, 2008, I was unable to cast my votes on H.R. 2964, H.R. 3702, and H. Res. 1275, and wish the record to reflect my intentions had I been able to vote.

Had I been present for rollcall No. 414 on suspending the rules and passing H.R. 2964, the Captive Primate Safety Act, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall No. 415 on suspending the rules and passing H.R. 3702, the Montana Cemetery Act, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for rollcall No. 416 on suspending the rules and passing H. Res. 1275, Honoring the life of Timothy John Russert, Jr., public servant, political analyst, and author, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, on the legislative day of June 17, 2008, I was unavoidably detained in returning to Washington, DC. As a result, I did not cast votes on rollcalls 414, 415, 416.

Had I been here, I would have voted:

``Yea'' on rollcall 414, a motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 2964, the Captive Primate Safety Act;

``Yea'' on rollcall 415, a motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 3702, the Montana Cemetery Act;

``Yea'' on rollcall 416, a motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 1275, honoring the life of Timothy John Russert, Jr., public servant, political analyst, and author.

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

The gentlelady from Guam has adequately explained this bill. I'd like to commend congressman Denny Rehberg and his staff for their diligence in this particular bill; grateful for all for allowing the conveyance of this 10 acres of excess Forest Service land to the community of Jefferson County, MT to be used as their cemetery.

I join the gentlelady from Guam in saying that I am glad that we can finally put this issue to rest in peace.

I yield back the balance of my time.