To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer certain Federal land to facilitate scientific research supporting Federal space and defense programs.

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

Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation and its adoption by the House.

H.R. 1800 authorizes the transfer of 80 acres of Forest Service land to the Utah State University Research Foundation. The land will support ongoing research efforts that support national defense and space programs.

The idea that there should be national public lands that belong to and are managed on behalf of the American people is a value that dates back to the founding of our country and is embedded in our Constitution.

Generation after generation of Americans have endorsed the idea that our public lands should be managed for the benefit of all Americans to support a wide range of activities. As stewards of this land, we must work to find a balance between compelling yet sometimes competing interests and make sure that the Federal Government is a good neighbor to local communities.

Whenever we decide that it is appropriate to sell or convey these shared resources, we must make sure there is adequate compensation to Federal taxpayers or safeguards in place to guarantee that the land is used for public purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Bishop for working across the aisle to ensure that we met these goals in this legislation. I support H.R. 1800 and its adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill involves 80 acres of land controlled by the Forest Service but not in the actual national forest.

Over the past 50 years, this land has been used by the Space Dynamics Laboratory, by NASA, by the Naval Research Laboratory, and they have a great deal of infrastructure on this land.

Unfortunately, the Forest Service decided to list this as disposable lands without contacting anybody, and now they don't have the ability of going back and delisting it so these groups can actually use this land for what they have been doing for the last 50 years.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is the cleanest and simplest way of simply transferring control of this land back to the entity which is using it now so they can continue their research, much of which is done in support of our military. It is a simple and easy and correct way to solve an administrative lapse, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1800) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer certain Federal land to facilitate scientific research supporting Federal space and defense programs, as amended.

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 material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop).

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