Lake Bistineau Land Title Stability Act

Mr. Speaker, I do want to take a moment to thank Chairman Bishop and his team for their continued support of the Lake Bistineau Land Title Stability Act. This bill rights a decades-old wrong when the Federal Government failed to notify landowners of a resurvey of over 200 acres around Lake Bistineau, located in northwest Louisiana. When the Federal Government did that, it preempted the rights of landowners who had legal ownership of the land.

It is unfathomable for many of us here today to imagine a morning where we wake up and we are told that the land our families owned for generations is no longer ours, to learn that the Federal Government has somehow staked claim to our very homes, the place where we were raised, the place where we are now raising our own families, and the land we had worked for decades, all of it just gone without so much as an opportunity to contest it.

That is what happened here. The government's failure to properly notify landowners of the new boundaries and its claim to the land for nearly 50 years is shameful. This error led to unnecessary uncertainty regarding who rightfully owns the land. We genuinely believe the answer is very clear: the property rightfully belongs to the Louisianans who have owned the lands since the days the State of Louisiana first entered the Union.

My bill provides certainty and clarity by directing the Secretary of the Interior to issue a disclaimer of interest on the disputed acres and rightfully restore land title ownership to the families that have lived and worked these

lands since the State's admittance to the Union.

I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will support this bill and support the folks in my district who have simply had their land taken from them without due process.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3392) to provide for stability of title to certain land in the State of Louisiana, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson), who is the sponsor of this piece of legislation.

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

This particular bill is not the first time we have talked about this on the floor. It is long overdue. In fact, it is about 100 years long overdue, with only a handful of homeowners having their title for which they have bought, sold, and lived for decades questioning whether they actually have the title to it or not.

It is unfair, and it was wrong. It was wrong for BLM, and it is right for Congress to step in and try and solve this problem to bring some finality and certainty to an issue that never should have been an issue in the very first place. This harms the status quo and harms people.

That is not our position, and that is not what we should be doing. So I appreciate the minority working with us on this particular bill very well because it is an extremely important one to try and finally solve this particular issue so we don't come back again.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Johnson for this particular bill that is solving a problem that should never have been there in his particular district, for his efforts on it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to adopt this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3392 requires the Bureau of Land Management to disclaim interest in 230 acres of land in northern Louisiana. The land at issue was originally surveyed in 1842, transferred to the Bossier Levee District in 1892, and conveyed to private owners in 1904.

However, BLM conducted a resurvey in 1967 after realizing that certain lands were omitted from previous Federal surveys. The resurvey puts more than 200 acres of land previously thought to belong to Louisiana and private interests back into Federal ownership.

Until recently, the results of this resurvey were largely ignored or forgotten, and now there are several homeowners with clouded titles and some confusion regarding the ownership of mineral rights in the area.

BLM is currently working to evaluate ownership and authorized conveyance where appropriate under the Color-of-Title Act. The Color- of-Title Act authorizes the BLM to convey public lands that have been acquired by peaceful adverse possession often caused by historical surveying anomalies, such as in this case. However, the Color-of-Title Act does not authorize the transfer of mineral rights owned by the United States, which is why this bill is necessary.

To be clear, under most circumstances, we would not support legislation to transfer Federal mineral rights without fair compensation to the American taxpayer, but this is a very unusual and special case. Over 40 years have passed since the BLM attempted to enforce Federal ownership of this land. This lack of clarity and communication is unacceptable. For that reason, I support this bill and I urge its adoption.

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

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