Confirming State Land Grants for Education Act

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for supporting this legislation.

More than 120 years ago, the Utah Enabling Act, which enabled my State--now the greatest State in the country--to be admitted into the Union, was approved. This granted Utah the right to select acreage to support various public institutions, including public schools and universities. Now, 123 years later, much of the acreage made available for State selection remains outstanding.

The BLM's Pony Express Resource Management Plan governs management practices for public lands in Utah's Tooele, Utah, and Salt Lake Counties. It has identified thousands of acres within the plan's area as available for disposal. The State can presently obtain these lands via land exchange. However, the resource management plan does not explicitly state that these lands can be obtained using the unfulfilled land credits granted by the Utah Enabling Act.

My bill, the Confirming State Land Grants for Education Act, would simply amend the Pony Express RMP to allow the State of Utah to use outstanding land grant credits to obtain lands within the limited area of RMP that already has been identified available for disposal.

This solution would satisfy both the State and Federal Government and help to keep the promises made to the State of Utah for more than 120 years. More importantly, it would ultimately raise funds for the benefit of Utah students by allowing Utah's School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, SITLA, to manage these lands for the benefit of students. As Utah finds more ways to fund public schools and public education, this bill helps provide much-needed resources.

Notably, the passage of H.R. 2582 would not convey any land on its own. Existing conveyance processes would still apply.

Additionally, my bill does not dictate land use policies once the land is conveyed. As a former mayor, I respect the State and local officials and processes, and I certainly have no desire to supersede them. My bill is merely meant to facilitate the process that enables conveyance through the use of available selection credits. It was voted out of committee by unanimous consent, and I urge this body to show similar support today.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2582) to authorize the State of Utah to select certain lands that are available for disposal under the Pony Express Resource

Management Plan to be used for the support and benefit of State institutions, and for other purposes, 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 myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2582, introduced by the gentlewoman from Utah (Mrs. Love), seeks to resolve an ongoing standoff between the State of Utah and the Bureau of Land Management over statehood-era land grants to promote responsible land management and enable the United States to fulfill its commitments to provide land for the support of Utah's higher education system.

Since 1998, the Bureau of Land Management has cited an administrative technicality to favor land exchanges over State selections of land, which has held up the State of Utah's selection of roughly 500 acres of Bureau of Land Management land classified for disposal.

The land in question has been selected by the State for the benefit of Utah State University, and this bill makes it clear that State selections are equally acceptable as land exchanges and would confirm that the Bureau of Land Management may process the State's current selection as well as future State selections in the immediate area.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Utah (Mrs. Love).

Mr. Speaker, being from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2582 authorizes the Bureau of Land Management to process the State of Utah's land claims without amending existing planning documents.

The Utah State Enabling Act of 1894 authorized the State of Utah to select certain lands to support schools and other public purposes. Approximately 2,000 acres of authorized grants are unfilled.

In 1998, the State started the application to acquire 440 acres of land in Utah County, Utah, to support Utah State University. BLM eventually rejected the application because the lands are identified for disposal by exchange, which only allows BLM to convey the land under certain conditions.

This bill allows the agency to process these specific claims without updating the underlying planning documents, something that would take a significant amount of time and money. BLM testified in support of this legislation but requested an amendment to clarify that the lands will be used for Utah State University and the addition of a legislative map.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Utah (Mrs. Love), the State of Utah, and the Republican Committee staff for working with us to address these concerns. Thanks to their consideration, we were able to amend this bill in markup to address these concerns.

There are many fights over public lands in this country, but this does not have to be one of them. Mr. Speaker, I support the bill and urge its adoption, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the gentlewoman from Utah that the only reason that she can suggest that Utah is the greatest State in the Nation is because Virginia is a Commonwealth.

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