SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The White Sands Missile Range, New Mex-
ico, is an installation that is vital to the national se-
curity interests of the United States.
(2) The United States established the Range
during World War II, and, in doing so, temporarily
displacing ranchers and miners who owned land
within the boundaries of the Range or whose liveli-
hood depended on such land.
(3) These ranchers and miners made a signifi-
cant contribution to the effort of the United States
to win World War II and to the post-war national
defense program by vacating land within the Range
at the request of the United States Government.
(4) In 1975, all land within the Range was per-
manently taken by the United States Government.
(5) The United States Government has never
fully compensated ranchers and miners who owned
land within the boundaries of the Range or whose
livelihood depended on such land for the value of the
land and claims taken by the Government.
(6) The method utilized by the United States
Government to compensate such ranchers differs
from the method utilized by the Government to com-
pensate ranchers during the taking of land in the
area in New Mexico that became the McGregor
Range and Extension Area of the Fort Bliss Mili-
tary Reservation, Texas. Ranchers owning property
in that were fully compensated for their ranches as
operating units, including the carrying capacity of
public domain lands associated with such ranches.
(7) Though the Legacy Fellowship Program in
Natural and Cultural Resource Management estab-
lished by section 328 of Public Law 102–484, the
Department of Defense is sponsoring a 5-year re-
search project on the historical significance of ranch-
ing in the area that is now the White Sands Missile
Range.
(8) The United States Government has an obli-
gation to pay full compensation to ranchers and
miners who owned land within the boundaries of the
Range or whose livelihood depended on such land for
the value of the land and claims that were taken by
the Government.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the
Department of Defense a commission to be known as the
White Sands Fair Compensation Commission (hereafter in
this section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—
(1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Com-
mission shall be composed of nine members ap-
pointed by the Secretary of Defense as follows—
(A) one shall be an employee of the De-
partment of Defense;
(B) one shall be an employee of the De-
partment of the Interior who shall be appointed
from among individuals recommended by the
Secretary of the Interior;
(C) five shall be individuals appointed from
among individuals recommended by the Sen-
ators and Representatives from the State of
New Mexico, with one individual appointed
from among the recommendations of each such
Senator and Representative; and
(D) two shall be individuals appointed
from among individuals recommended by the
Governor of New Mexico.
(2) EXPERTISE.—The Secretary shall, to maxi-
mum extent practicable, make appointments under
this 
subsection 
from 
among 
individuals 
rec-
ommended to the Secretary who are present or
former residents of the State of New Mexico and
who have an expertise in matters of agricultural eco-