29–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPT. 113–120 " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session Part 1 

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE SECURITY ENHANCEMENT 

ACT 

JUNE 24, 2013.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, from the Committee on Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1299] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1299) to provide for the transfer of certain public land 

currently administered by the Bureau of Land Management to the 

administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army for inclusion in White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with 

an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘White Sands Missile Range Security Enhancement 

Act’’. 

SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION, WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NEW 

MEXICO. 

(a) TRANSFER REQUIRED.—Not later than September 30, 2014, the Secretary of the 

Interior shall transfer to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the 

Army certain public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management in Dona 

Ana County, New Mexico, consisting of approximately 5,100 acres depicted as ‘‘Parcel 1’’ on the map titled ‘‘White Sands Missile Range Land Reservation’’ and dated 

January 4, 2013. 

(b) USE OF TRANSFERRED LAND.—Upon the receipt of the land under subsection 

(a), the Secretary of the Army shall include the land as part of White Sands Missile 

Range, New Mexico, and authorize use of the land for military purposes. 

(c) LEGAL DESCRIPTION AND MAP.— 

(1) PREPARATION AND PUBLICATION.—The Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register a legal description and map of the public land to 

be transferred under subsection (a). 


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(2) FORCE OF LAW.—The legal description and map filed under paragraph (1) 

shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the 

Secretary of the Interior may correct errors in the legal description. 

(d) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.—The transfer required by subsection (a) shall be 

made without reimbursement, except that the Secretary of the Army shall reimburse the Secretary of the Interior for any costs incurred by the Secretary of the 

Interior to prepare the legal description and map under subsection (c). 

(e) TREATMENT OF GRAZING LEASES.—If a grazing permit or lease exists on the 

date of the enactment of this Act for any portion of the public land to be transferred 

under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall transfer or relocate the grazing allotments associated with the permit or lease to other public land, acceptable 

to the permit or lease holder, so that the grazing continues to have the same value 

to the holder. 

SEC. 3. WATER RIGHTS. 

(a) WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed— 

(1) to establish a reservation in favor of the United States with respect to any 

water or water right on lands transferred by this Act; or 

(2) to authorize the appropriation of water on lands transferred by this Act 

except in accordance with applicable State law. 

(b) EFFECT ON PREVIOUSLY ACQUIRED OR RESERVED WATER RIGHTS.—This section 

shall not be construed to affect any water rights acquired or reserved by the United 

States before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

SEC. 4. WITHDRAWAL. 

Subject to valid existing rights, the public land to be transferred under section 

2 is withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including 

the mining laws and geothermal leasing laws, so long as the lands remain under 

the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 1299, as ordered reported, is to provide for 

the transfer of certain public land currently administered by the 

Bureau of Land Management to the administrative jurisdiction of 

the Secretary of the Army for inclusion in White Sands Missile 

Range, New Mexico. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 1299 directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer approximately 5,100 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

land in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, to the Secretary of the 

Army for inclusion as part of White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), 

New Mexico. The bill also requires the Secretary of the Interior to 

transfer any grazing permit or lease on the land to other public 

land of equal value and acceptable to the permit or lease holder. 

WSMR is the nation’s largest military installation. Due to its size 

and geographic location, WSMR provides the Armed Forces with a 

wide range of training, testing, and operational capabilities. The 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and a 

number of intelligence-gathering agencies within the federal government utilize the unique nature of the facility. Due to the sensitivity of the equipment being used, these agencies need a location 

with limited to no outside disturbances, such as noise, physical intrusions, observation by outside parties, or interference by outside 

radio transmissions. In addition to the communications work done 

at WSMR, the facility supports one of NASA’s experimental propulsion facilities. The 5,100 acre transfer would provide greater operational security and an enhanced safety buffer for the facility. 


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COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1299 was introduced on March 20, 2013, by Congressman 

Stevan Pearce (R–NM). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 

on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. The bill was also 

referred to the Committee on Armed Services. On April 26, 2013, 

the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation 

held a hearing on the bill. On May 15, 2013, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on 

Public Lands and Environmental Regulation was discharged by 

unanimous consent. Congressman Rob Bishop (R–UT) offered an 

amendment designated #1 to the bill; the amendment was adopted 

by voice vote. Congressman Rau ́l Grijalva (D–AZ) offered an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill; the amendment was withdrawn. No further amendments were offered, and 

the bill, as amended, was then adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice vote. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that Rule provides 

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 1299—White Sands Missile Range Security Enhancement Act 

H.R. 1299 would require the Secretary of the Interior to transfer 

administrative jurisdiction over 5,100 acres of land in New Mexico 

to the Secretary of the Army. Those lands would be used by the 

Army for military purposes. Based on information provided by the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no significant impact on the 

federal budget. Enacting H.R. 1299 would reduce offsetting receipts, which are treated as reductions in direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that 

any net reduction in offsetting receipts would be negligible. 

Because the affected lands are currently used for cattle grazing 

and no alternative grazing lands are available in the area near 

those lands, CBO expects that enacting H.R. 1299 would require 

BLM to terminate existing grazing contracts. Based on information 

provided by the agency, CBO estimates that terminating those conVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:37 Jun 25, 2013 Jkt 029006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR120P1.XXX HR120P1

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tracts would reduce offsetting receipts by less than $1,000 a year 

over the 2014–2023 period. 

In addition, because the affected lands are already managed by 

the federal government, we estimate that implementing the legislation would not affect the costs of managing the lands. Finally, CBO 

estimates that any additional costs to prepare the legal description 

of the affected lands, as required under the bill, would total less 

than $10,000, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

H.R. 1299 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required by 

clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 

this bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or 

tax expenditures. Based on information provided by the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM), CBO estimates that implementing the 

legislation would have no significant impact on the federal budget. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill, as ordered reported, is to provide for the transfer of certain public land currently administered by the Bureau of Land 

Management to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of 

the Army for inclusion in White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that this 

bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any specific 

rule-making proceedings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 


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CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law. 


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EXCHANGE 011 LETTERS 

~l~. 1Hnus!! of llh:prtJ5tntatiu!!.6 

Q!ommittt£ on .Natural iRtfillUneu 

~]la511il1gtpl1, iOQl 2U515 

June 19,2013 

Honorable Howard "Buck" McKeon 

Chainnan, Committee on Anned Services 

House of Representatives 

2120 Rayburn House Office Building 

Washington, D.C. 20515 

Dear Mr. Chairman: 

On May 15, 2013, the Committee on Natural Resources ordered repOtted a slate of 

bills that were ultimately included as part of H.R. 1960, the National Defense Authorization Act 

for Fiscal Year 2014. These bills were refelTed primaril y to the Committee on Natural 

Resources, with an additional referral to the Committee on Anned Services. 

Specifi cally, thcse bills are fI.R. 910, Sikes Act Reauthorization Act of2013; H.R. 1299, 

White Sands Missile Range Security Enhancement Act; H.R. 1672, Limestone Hills Trai ning 

Area Withdrawal Act; H.R. 1673, To provide for the transfer of certain public land currentl y 

administered by the Bureau of Land Management to the administrative jurisdiction of the 

Secretary of the Navy for inclusion in Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California; H.R. 

1676, Johnson Valley National Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area Establishment Act; and 

I-LR. 1691, Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range Transfer Act of2013. 

I ask that you allow the Armed Services Committee to be discharged from further 

consideration of the bills in order tor bill reports to be filed. These discharges in no way affeet 

your jurisdiction over the subj ect matter of the bills, and it will not serve as precedent for future 

referrals. In addition, should a conference on any of the bi1ls be necessary, I would support your 

request to have the Committee on Anned Services represented on the conference 

committee. Finally, I would be pleased to incl ude tltis letter and any response in the bill reports 

filed by the Committee 011 Natural Resources to memorialize our understanding. 

Thank you for your consicieration of my request. 

ll:::lk 

Chairman 
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Chairman Doc Hastings 

House Committee on Natural Resources 

1324 Longworth House Office Building 

Washington, D.C. 20515 

Dear Chairman I {astings: 

June 19, 20D 

to the Committee on Natural 

Resources, to Committee on Armed includ~d 1960, 

the National Defense Authorization Ad for Fi:>cal Year 20 JLL This Illcludes H.R 910, Sikes Reauthorization 

Act 0[2013; I-I.R. 1299, \Vhite Sands ~IIissi!e Enhancement Act; 1 LR. 1672, Limestone I-lilts 

Training Area Withdrawal Act; H.R. 1673, To transfer of certain public land 

administered by the Bureau of Land of the 

for inclusion in Naval Station Lake, California; l676, 

Highway Vehicle Recreation Establishment Act; and rU·C 1691, Chocolate Mountain Aerinl Gunnery Range 

Transfer Act of2013. 

the importance ofthcsc hills:, and the need for the 

we have a valid claim over these 

referrals. of the bills, the on Services 

maU~rs contained in the bills which fall within its 

Rule XjurisdJction, should a conference on any aforementioned bills be necessary, ! requc::.i that 

the Committee on Armed Services b~ represented during any conference negotiations. 

Thank you for your attention to these matters. 

cc; The Honorable John A, Boehner 

The Honorable Adam Smith 

The Honorable Echvard 1, 

The llonorah!e ThDmas J. 

Cha!rrnfln 

o