Box Elder Utah Land Conveyance Act

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, May 18, 2011, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills:

S. 220, to provide for the restoration of forest landscapes, protection of old growth forests, and management of national forests in the eastside forests of the State of Oregon;

S. 270, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal land to Deschutes County, Oregon;

S. 271, to require the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into a property conveyance with the city of Wallowa, Oregon, and for other purposes;

S. 278, to provide for the exchange of certain land located in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes;

S. 292, to resolve the claims of the Bering Straits Native Corporation and the State of Alaska to land adjacent to Salmon Lake in the State of Alaska and to provide for the conveyance to the Bering Straits Native Corporation of certain other public land in partial satisfaction of the land entitlement of the Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act;

S. 322, to expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the State of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, and for other purposes;

S. 382, to amend the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 to clarify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture regarding additional recreational uses of National Forest System land that is subject to ski area permits, and for other purposes;

S. 427, to withdraw certain land located in Clark County, Nevada, from location, entry, and patent under the mining laws and disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials, and for other purposes;

S. 526, to provide for the conveyance of certain Bureau of Land Management land in Mohave County, Arizona, to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, for use as a public shooting range;

S. 566, to provide for the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System;

S. 590, to convey certain submerged lands to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in order to give that territory the same benefits in its submerged lands as Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have in their submerged lands;

S. 607, to designate certain land in the State of Oregon as wilderness, to provide for the exchange of certain Federal land and non-Federal land, and for other purposes;

S. 617, to require the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal land to Elko County, Nevada, and to take land into trust for the Te-moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada, and for other purposes;

S. 683, to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of land to the town of Mantua, Utah;

S. 684, to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of land to the town of Alta, Utah;

S. 667, to establish the Rio Grande del Norte National Conservation Area in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes;

S. 729, to validate final patent number 27-2005-0081, and for other purposes;

S. 766, to provide for the designation of the Devil's Staircase Wilderness Area in the State of Oregon, to designate segments of Wasson and Franklin Creeks in the State of Oregon as wild rivers, and for other purposes;

S. 896, to amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to expand the authorization of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Interior to provide service opportunities for young Americans; help restore the nation's natural, cultural, historic, archaeological, recreational and scenic resources; train a new generation of public land managers and enthusiasts; and promote the value of public service; and

S. 897, to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to clarify that uncertified States and Indian tribes have the authority to use certain payments for certain noncoal reclamation projects.

Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to allison_seyferth@energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact Scott Miller or Allison Seyferth.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills:

S. 233, to withdraw certain Federal land and interests in that land from location, entry, and patent under the mining laws and disposition under the mineral and geothermal leasing laws;

S. 375, to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements with State foresters authorizing State foresters to provide certain forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration and protection services;

S. 714, to reauthorize the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act, and for other purposes; and

S. 730, to provide for the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and for other purposes.

Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to allison_seyferth@energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact Scott Miller or Allison Seyferth.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 683) to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of land to the town of Mantua, Utah.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days 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. 683 would convey approximately 31.5 acres of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest to the town of Mantua, Utah. The lands in question are primarily open grasslands surrounded by agricultural lands. The town is seeking these lands for expansion of the cemetery and construction of a town hall and fire station.

National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chair Rob Bishop is the author of the House version of this bill, and I commend him and Senator Mike Lee of Utah for their efforts in seeing this small, but important, conveyance enacted into law.

I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the author of the House version of this legislation, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop).

I urge my colleagues to support the Senate bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, 70 years ago the Forest Service paid the huge sum of $1 for two parcels of land, a total of 30 acres, surrounded on three sides by private property. In that intervening time period, per the Forest Service's own plans, not only have they not needed them, they have not used them and, until 5 years ago, forgot they had them.

The city of Mantua now desperately needs this for its cemetery expansion as well as for a town hall and a fire station to protect people who actually go on the real forest lands.

Three times this House has passed this piece of legislation, and the Senate has found it too complex to consider. This time, the Senate has passed a very similar bill over to us, not as good as the one we had, but when one considers we have sent over to them a budget bill, multiple appropriation bills, repeal of ObamaCare, 16 job bills, and numerous regulatory reform bills, the fact that the Senate did anything should be a cause of our celebration today.

And, therefore, I urge, even though this is not a perfect bill, it's a pretty good one, so I urge its adoption so that we can send it to the President's desk and let the Senate know we do appreciate them when they finally, finally do their work.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a land conveyance to a small town in Utah which requires that the land be used for public purposes. Assuming this measure is approved today, this will be the third Congress in which the House has approved this legislation. We have been pleased to work with Mr. Bishop in the last two Congresses to secure passage of this measure and support passage again today.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, although I really enjoy the opportunity to have a conversation about all of the work that's happening over at the Senate, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following items en bloc: Calendar No. 130, S. 271; Calendar No. 131, S. 278; Calendar No. 139, S. 535; Calendar No. 140, S. 683; Calendar No. 141, S. 684; Calendar No. 142, S. 808; Calendar No. 143, S. 897; and Calendar No. 145, S. 997.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that any committee- reported amendments relative to these bills be agreed to en bloc, where applicable; that the bills be read a third time and passed, as amended, if amended, en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table for each of these measures, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements relating to the measures be printed in the Record.