To provide for the conveyance of certain Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Nevada to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and for other purposes.

I rise in support of this bill. I like the land transfer aspects of this bill because it's important when we can use Federal lands to address a pressing need, unlike the cap-and-tax energy bill, which tried to address a woody biomass provision which would allow excess wood of decayed trees to be used in the renewable fuel standard. That was one provision of many provisions which really identified the failure of the national energy tax and the cap-and-trade bill.

Now, I have promised to continue to come down to the floor to talk about the failed policy of that bill, the bipartisan ``no'' vote of that bill, and basically about the concerns that I have of my miners in southern Illinois, and really the attack on fossil fuels in this country.

If you have a raceway and a speedway, they are the epitome of either the renewable fuels, as some of the high-speed dragsters are actually ethanol-based fuels, or the technology and the efficiency of reusing fossil fuels in the ability to really compete and improve fossil fuels--the basic foundation of a thriving economy and something that shouldn't be attacked; it should be incentivized.

So, this bill that allows for the transfer of Federal lands for a good process, it also speaks of how we need to look at other uses of Federal land, especially the woody biomass provisions, to say they ought to get renewable credits.

When you have Federal lands that are privately managed and you use the forestry aspects, those wood products get a renewable fuel credit. But those, based upon this energy bill, do not get the renewable credit.

So that was part of the failure of the bill, and that's why, really, the bipartisan vote on the cap-and-tax bill was a strong bipartisan ``no'' vote and primarily for other reasons which talked about Illinois coal miners in the last energy bill--1,200 coal miners from southern Illinois.

So what is our response to the energy needs that we have in this country? It's basically an all-of-the-above process, using woody biomass from our Federal lands, which gets the same credit as privately forested areas. It's also addressing the Outer Continental Shelf provisions; allowing oil and gas exploration; using those revenues to move to renewable technologies--wind and solar; addressing coal and electricity generation from coal. Also, liquid fuels from that. That is a diversified energy portfolio. And of course the provisions of biofuels, which is what we address in the woody biomass provisions.

I would just remind my colleagues and friends we had a very great debate and a tough vote two weeks ago, but this debate is not going to end. We're going to continue to talk about the effects of raising energy taxes in a time of economic downturn, and the provisions that have been passed in this Chamber, the bipartisan vote, was in opposition to that bill. And we will continue to talk on the floor about that failed policy.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 409) to provide for the conveyance of certain Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Nevada to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 409, introduced by Congressman Dean Heller, would provide for the conveyance of certain Bureau of Land Management land in Nevada to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for use as a parking lot.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosts NASCAR and other racing events and can draw as many as 100,000 racing fans to these races. For several years now, the Speedway has been looking for options to expand its parking and accommodate the growing number of fans attending this event.

H.R. 409 would require the conveyance of 115 acres of Bureau of Land Management land to the owners of the Speedway specifically for expansion of the parking lot. This land is adjacent to the land owned by the Speedway which is already used for a parking lot.

The bill further provides that the land be withdrawn from public land, mining, and mineral leasing laws and must be used only as a parking lot. I would add that the Bureau of Land Management supports this conveyance.

We have no objections to H.R. 409, and I urge its adoption by the House today.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 409 directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway 115 acres adjacent to the Speedway at fair market value. The Speedway attracts over 140,000 fans, and the additional acreage is needed to prevent the hazardous driving conditions that result from the backup of cars trying to park in inadequate facilities.

All costs associated with the conveyance, including the appraisal, will be paid by the Speedway. The bill also includes a reversionary clause that would return the land to the Department of Interior should it be used for anything other than a parking lot.

Mr. Heller should be commended for his work on this bill. I congratulate him for his efforts to reduce--however small--the Federal Government land inventory.

I support the bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus).

(Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

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

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