Date: 1992-05-12
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 1514. as amended. and urge its adoption by the Members of the House. Mr. Speaker. this legislation is intended to resolve disputed title to lands. located in several Western States. that were transferred to the United States under the act of June 4. 1897. as amended or supplemented by the acts of June 6. 1900. and September 22. 1922. without compensation to the original landowners. The 1897 act invited owners of lands within national forests to exchange their lands with the United States for other lands. for the purpose of consolidating Federal landholdings. Many of the exchanges were carried out in separate transactions. with the private party relinquishing title to the United States prior to selecting the Federal lands to be received in lieu of the private lands. When the 1897 act was repealed in 1905. some parties had transferred title to their lands without receiving compensation from the United States. Although various laws have been enacted since that time to compensate those who transferred their lands. many of these transactions remain in dispute. H.R. 1514. as amended. establishes a procedure to identify the lands that became involved in transactions pursuant to the 1897 act. and directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to either relinquish title to the lands or provide compensation. The bill expressly provides that the Secretaries will not relinquish title to any lands that are nationally significant. to ensure continued Federal ownership and management of such lands in order to best meet public needs. H.R. 1514 also provides a mechanism for persons claiming that they are due compensation for lands relinquished to the United States that is intendedto establish a clear and fair process by which such claims may be pursued. In most respects. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 1514 is identical to the bill as reported by the Interior and Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committees. However. one key difference is that the version reported by the Committee on Agriculture sought to limit the ability of land speculators to benefit from the processes established by the bill. Based on a report on H.R. 1514 provided to the committee by the Department of Justice. an amendment to the bill was adopted by the Committee on Agriculture that would seek to limit .the class of persons eligible under the bill to seek a compensation in the claims court to persons whose claim of ownership or interest in the property is directly derived from the original transferor of land to the United States. - The bill before the House today reflects a compromise over this issue that was developed with the cooperation and assistance of the Department of Justice. That compromise seeks to clarify the scope of claims and defenses which are provided for under the bill. Mr. Speaker. I want to commend the chairman of the Subcommittee on Forests. Family Farms. and Energy. Mr. VOLKMER. and the chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands of the Interior Committee. Mr. VENTO. for their efforts in bringing this measure to the floor. I also want to extend my thanks to Mr. LAGOMARSINO. the author of HK 1514. for his efforts to seek a reasonable compromise to resolve this long and difficult issue. Mr. Speaker. I recommend that the House pass H.R. 1514. as amended.