A bill to authorize the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of real property in Tracy, California, to the City of Tracy.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1302) to authorize the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of real property in Tracy, California, to the City of Tracy.

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

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

S. 1302 would direct the General Services Administration to sell 150 acres of land in Tracy, California, to the city of Tracy for not less than its appraised fair market value. This property is undeveloped land that was once under the custody and control of the Federal Government. However, the Federal Government maintains a reversionary

interest in the property based on certain usage restrictions.

Through three separate pieces of legislation enacted since 1999, Congress has conveyed the 150 acres to the city of Tracy and has restricted its use of the land to educational and recreational uses only. Over the past decade, the city of Tracy has determined that these uses are no longer feasible, and it would like to utilize the land for economic development, thus adding to its base and to the welfare of the citizens of Tracy. In fact, the city expects significant commercial interest in the property and is optimistic that future development on the land will create hundreds of much-needed jobs.

S. 1302 would remove all restrictions currently imposed on the property by Congress and would transfer complete ownership of the land from the Federal Government to the city of Tracy. Additionally, this legislation advances the goal of the disposing of unneeded Federal property, which is something that Mr. Denham, who is with me today, has been very active in.

As we look at the Senate bill passed by the Senate unanimously in August of last year, I believe we see a win-win. The Federal Government takes a piece of land it has no further interest in and that it has, through congressional acts in the past, locked up for specific uses not likely to occur, and we receive full fair market value for the property. This is the way Federal land in excess should be disposed of--sold at fair market value or above and assured to be put to good use by the recipient, which, in this case, is the city of Tracy.

I urge support for this, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my distinguished colleague from California (Mr. Denham), who has been a strong advocate for both the disposal of property in a profitable way and in particular contacted us and asked us to move this legislation with a powerful and convincing argument.

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

Although this is a small piece of property, it's part of a vast amount of property the Federal Government currently owns, controls, and does not use. So as we take this step today, I hope all of my colleagues in the House and the Senate will look at this as at least a small contribution to a direction we should go, find ways to take government-owned property, get it in private hands, paying property tax, being developed, and creating jobs throughout the areas in which it lies.

As I urge support, I would like to thank my colleague, the gentlelady from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), for her work; I would like to thank the Senate cosponsors, including Senator Boxer, for getting this to us; and I would like to thank Mr. Denham for brining it to the floor at this time.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I rise in support of this important legislation, which would result in the efficient disposal of a parcel of Federal real property to the city of Tracy, California. It has been outstanding for some years.

The city of Tracy, with a population of 80,000, has been hard hit by the economic recession. Unemployment in and around Tracy stood at 16.2 percent a year ago, a level far higher than the national average. The people of Tracy are looking for every available avenue to revive their economy, and they have found such a stimulus in the potential construction of a solar field.

Congress can assist Tracy in its economic recovery by supporting S. 1302. This bill authorizes the city of Tracy to purchase, without restriction, 150 acres of Federal land previously conveyed by Congress for a specific public benefit use. The city would pay the Federal Government fair market value for the release of this reversionary interest.

The conveyance of land would permit Tracy to build a solar field at the site, a use which enjoys strong local support.

Tracy estimates that construction of a solar field will create approximately 200 jobs, which are much needed in the city. The project will also generate cleaner sources of energy and will alleviate the air-quality challenges that presently afflict that area. These are all powerful reasons to support the legislation.

I urge passage of S. 1302, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and I again urge passage of S. 1302 and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1302, a bill to convey a parcel of land in the city of Tracy.

S. 1302 is commonsense legislation that will be a win for the Federal taxpayer, the local community, and private enterprise. Simply put, this bill allows the city of Tracy to purchase at fair-market value a parcel of land from the Federal Government.

Currently, the government has a reversionary interest in a vacant parcel of its land, and the community of Tracy deeply needs it. The city would like to purchase the land from the government at fair-market value and eliminate the reversionary interest so that the local community can decide what's best for the land. This land will then be leased to a private company to develop a solar project that will provide renewable energy and economic activity to the local community.

I had the opportunity to tour this location with the mayor of Tracy, Brent Ives, who's been working on this for quite some time. He showed how this project will provide a significant economic impact to a community struggling with high rates of unemployment.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation will solve another problem created by too much government. Local control of this property will put people back to work, benefit the local economy, provide a source of renewable energy, and turn a profit for the taxpayer.

I was proud to be a cosponsor of the House version of this legislation introduced by Mr. McNerney, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for S. 1302, an important bill to facilitate a land transfer in Tracy, California. I was proud to introduce identical companion legislation in the House of Representatives last year, and I am glad to see S. 1302 on a path to final enactment.

S. 1302 allows the city of Tracy to purchase 150 acres of property from the Federal Government. Congress previously conveyed the parcel to the city but placed certain restrictions on its use. This legislation waives these restrictions so long as the city purchases the property at fair market value.

Tracy has long-standing plans to build a solar energy project at the site. Building this solar field will create nearly 200 jobs, improve air quality, and increase the availability of renewable energy in California. S. 1302 will also generate revenue for the Federal treasury. This bill is a win for Tracy and a win for the taxpayers.

S. 1302 is being passed today in the spirit of bicameral, bipartisan cooperation. I would like to thank Senators Boxer and Feinstein for their support of this initiative in the Senate as well as Representatives Denham and Issa for their work here in the House. I look forward to seeing the President sign S. 1302 into law.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the following Environment and Public Works bills, en bloc: Calender No. 72, S. 710; and Calendar No. 117, S. 1302.

It is my understanding that the Chair has granted consent for the Senate to proceed to the consideration of those two bills; is that right?

I ask unanimous consent that the bills be read a third time and passed, en bloc; the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, and any relevant statements be printed in the Record.