Coffman Cove Administrative Site Conveyance Act of 2008

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Rahall for scheduling this noncontroversial bill for floor consideration today.

H.R. 831 will provide for the conveyance of approximately 12 acres of surplus Forest Service land to the city of Coffman Cove, Alaska. The 12-acre parcel sits in the middle of town adjacent to the site of a new Inter-Island Ferry Terminal that the city hopes to use to help spur economic growth. In addition to being an obstacle to the ferry terminal and any new economic development in the city's downtown, the location of the parcel makes it difficult and inefficient for the Forest Service to manage. As such, the conveyance provided for in this bill would benefit both the city and the Forest Service, and according to the Congressional Budget Office, it will do so at little or no cost to the taxpayer.

To give you some background, Mr. Speaker, Coffman Cove is a small, isolated community with about 200 residents that developed around a Tongass National Forest logging camp and work site. While the timber industry and the jobs it once provided in the region have largely disappeared, the community remains, and opportunities for economic growth and expansion are limited by the fact that it is surrounded on all sides by the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest. I don't expect to change that anytime soon, but I think it is more than reasonable to convey 12 acres of surplus Federal land located within the community's economic center.

Mr. Speaker, this bill provides a fair and commonsense solution to a problem. The tiny parcel of land is of no use to the Forest Service and it is an impediment to the growth and economic well-being of an isolated community surrounded by a National Forest larger than the State of West Virginia. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 831.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 831 introduced by our distinguished colleague, Don Young, conveys approximately 12 acres of National Forest System land to the City of Coffman Cove. The City of Coffman Cove, Alaska, is a small community with about 200 residents that developed around the Tongass National Forest logging camp and work site. The 12-acre Forest Service site is now in the middle of town, and a new ferry terminal is planned for an adjacent parcel. The location of most of the Forest Service site makes it difficult and inefficient for the Forest Service to manage and an obstacle to the future development and design of the city's downtown. Conveyance of the Forest Service site would benefit both the Forest Service and the city in this regard.

In short, this noncontroversial bill simply conveys to Coffman Cove a small parcel of Forest Service land for which the Forest Service has no use. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 831) to provide for the conveyance of certain Forest Service land to the city of Coffman Cove, Alaska, 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 resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, the pending measure was introduced by the ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young).

The bill would direct the U.S. Forest Service to convey a 12-acre administrative site in the middle of Coffman Cove, Alaska to that city.

The land under discussion is in the center of the town near a new ferry terminal. This conveyance will help the city's efforts to diversify its economic base.

Additionally, the location of the site has been difficult for the Forest Service to manage.

I support passage of H.R. 831.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield back.

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

Madam Speaker, I was not able to be present for three rollcall votes on Tuesday, April 22.

If I had been present I would have voted as follows: rollcall No. 205, on passage of H. Res. 981--Recognizing March 6, 2008, as the first-ever World Glaucoma Day, established to increase awareness of glaucoma, which is the second leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States and worldwide, Representative Baldwin--Energy and Commerce--I would have voted ``yea.''

Rollcall No. 206, on passage of H.R. 5151--Wild Monongahela Act: A National Legacy for West Virginia's Special Places--I would have voted ``yea.''

Rollcall No. 207, on passage of H.R. 831--Coffman Cove Administrative Site Conveyance Act--I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, April 22, 2008, I was not present for three votes. Please let the record show that had I been here, I would have voted: ``Yea'' on H. Res. 981--Recognizing March 6, 2008, as the first-ever World Glaucoma Day, established to increase awareness of glaucoma, which is the second leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States and worldwide; ``yea'' on H.R. 5151-- Wild Monongahela Act: A National Legacy for West Virginia's Special Places; and ``yea'' on H.R. 831--Coffman Cove Administrative Site Conveyance Act.