Mr. President, this bill has a complex backstory, but it serves a simple purpose--to allow a small daycare facility in Virginia to undertake routine repairs and maintenance. For more than 20 years,…
Mr. President, this bill has a complex backstory, but it serves a simple purpose--to allow a small daycare facility in Virginia to undertake routine repairs and maintenance.
For more than 20 years, the Plains Area Day Care Center in Broadway, VA, has served children from moderate-income families in Rockingham County. This facility sits on a 3-acre parcel that was once Federal land before the National Park Service conveyed it to Rockingham County in 1989
under the Federal Lands to Parks Program. The county in turn leases this land to the center for $1 per year, with a contract that runs through the year 2027.
The center is in need of repairs and maintenance, including a new roof; however, it has had difficulty in securing private financing for these activities because of the complex land ownership structure-- Federal land conveyed conditionally to a county and leased to a private company. Due to Virginia's status as a Dillon Rule State, Rockingham County cannot execute a loan either.
This bill would specify that the 1989 land conveyance is transferred in fee simple, with no further use restrictions. I appreciate the goal of the Federal Lands to Parks Program to preserve land as open space, particularly after having overseen the preservation of 400,000 acres of open space in Virginia during my time as Governor of the Commonwealth. There are no plans to develop the open space on this site, only to fix the daycare center building--a former Forest Service garage that has been on the site since before its transfer from Federal ownership.
My Virginia colleague, Congressman Bob Goodlatte, has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. During the 114th Congress, this bill was passed unanimously through the full House as a standalone; reported favorably without opposition by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and adopted by unanimous consent to be included in the Senate's bipartisan Energy bill. Unfortunately, it fell just short of final passage.
This is a small modification that simply removes unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles and allows the daycare center to continue doing what it has been doing for 25 years. I am pleased to partner with Congressman Goodlatte in this commonsense, bipartisan effort.
