Albuquerque, New Mexico, Federal Land Conveyance Act of 2013

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 898) to authorize the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of real property in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the Amy Biehl High School Foundation.

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 materials on S. 898.

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

S. 898 would direct the GSA to convey property in New Mexico to the Amy Biehl High School Foundation for fair market value.

The Amy Biehl High School is a public charter school that has been using the building since 2006. While the school currently leases the facility from the General Services Administration, the GSA only receives a nominal rent, making it more costly to the taxpayers to maintain the property. In fact, the Amy Biehl Foundation has invested funds to renovate and restore the building for use as a school. The GSA has determined that there is no Federal need for the property, and it has concluded that the cost of managing the building exceeds any revenue. Selling this property for fair market value will ensure that taxpayers receive the best return on the property.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman for his support in a bipartisan manner and for reminding us all of the importance of this legacy, not only the vision of why this school was created but the importance of that mission. It is certainly a pleasure to work in a bipartisan way with the gentleman.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I will continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time at this point, and I am prepared to close.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for his bipartisan effort to make sure that this important piece of legislation gets passed, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I support the bill before us and appreciate the hard work of my colleagues to bring it to the floor.

Today I join my colleagues in speaking in support of reauthorizing the National Estuary Program because our local economy on the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches rely on healthy water.

This important program helps protect and improve some of our Nation's most at-risk waterways, including the Indian River Lagoon located in the district I am proud to represent, which has been devastated by toxic algae in recent years, negatively impacting not only the health of this unique ecosystem but also our local economy.

The National Estuary Program funds local projects that help improve water quality, protect threatened species, and coordinate local agencies to respond to other urgent needs.

In our own backyard, these projects include wetland restoration, shellfish rehabilitation, freshwater discharge management, and other approaches that benefit the health of our local waterways on the Treasure Coast and across the Nation.

I am very pleased to see a competitive award program included in this bill that I proposed, along with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey), to help estuaries most at risk where reoccurring harmful algal blooms, sea grass loss, and invasive species are threatening the fragile ecology of these important water systems.

I hope my colleagues will continue to support this effective program not only because of its benefits to sustaining important estuaries across the country but also due to the urgent need to address the serious problems facing many of these waterways, including the Indian River Lagoon, the most diverse estuary in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the House for coming together and acting so swiftly to reauthorize this bipartisan and cost-effective bill that is necessary for our country's coastal ecosystems and the economies that rely on their well-being. I hope the Senate will act expeditiously to do the same.

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

I rise in support of S. 898.

S. 898 directs the Administrator of the GSA to transfer the old Federal post office in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the Amy Biehl High School Foundation in exchange for its fair market value.

The Amy Biehl High School is a public charter school that is sponsored by the foundation that was founded in 1999 and has been residing in the Old Post Office building since 2006. Currently, the public charter school has a long-term lease agreement with the GSA for a nominal rent. The GSA has indicated to the committee that the agency has no need for the facility and that this directed sale supports the GSA's efforts to downsize and dispose of underutilized properties.

My own subcommittee has approved a nearly identical bill.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I would also like to acknowledge the memory of Amy Biehl. Ms. Biehl was a 26-year-old Fulbright Scholar working in South Africa when she was tragically attacked and killed in 1993. In the aftermath, Amy's parents, Linda and Peter Biehl, started a foundation to build on their daughter's work toward peace, reconciliation, and multiculturalism in South Africa. The new school, which is located in New Mexico, builds on this great work.

Now, approving this bill to transfer the building at its fair market value will promote Amy's legacy and benefit the taxpayers. I will continue to support efforts by both the committee and the administration to reduce our Federal footprint.

I support this bill, Mr. Speaker, and I urge my colleagues to approve it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlelady from New Mexico, Madam Lujan Grisham.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to my good friend from Florida, Representative Murphy.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, both Representative Carson from Indiana and my colleague from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows), for their support on S. 898. As you have just heard, this is a companion bill to a nearly identical bill, my bill H.R. 3998, which passed this body on June 17.

Now, we have also heard that this bill is to sell a Federal building at fair market value which costs more in its current lease arrangement than it does in this transaction and arrangement. You have also heard that this is an incredible school, memorializing an incredible legacy.

But what you haven't heard today is that the foundation has raised more than $3 million to continue to invest not only in the purchase of the building but to expand their educational footprint in New Mexico.

In my district in Albuquerque, we have difficulties reaching out to a high-poverty, high at-risk high school group. This school has incredible outcomes. They are seeing a 100 percent graduation rate, 80 percent graduation rates out of college; and of that 80 percent, nearly all of those students continue a very aggressive community relationship. Part of this school's requirement is that not only do you meet your basic high school curriculum but you have to invest considerably in community work in a variety of nonprofit and charitable work.

I want to also give a special thanks and extend my gratitude to Senator Tom Udall for working with me on this bill and to Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member Rahall for their help in bringing the legislation to the floor.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill that helps the Amy Biehl High School to continue to provide Albuquerque students with a first-rate education while also preserving a historic piece of downtown Albuquerque.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 423, S. 1934, and Calendar No. 418, S. 898 en bloc.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment to S. 1934 be agreed to, the bills, as amended if amended, be read a third time and passed en bloc, and that the title amendment to S. 1934 be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.