The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TUPELO, OKLAHOMA, LAND CONVEYANCE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H6493-H6494 on Sept. 24, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TUPELO, OKLAHOMA, LAND CONVEYANCE
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5109) to direct the Secretary of Energy to convey a parcel of land at the facility of the Southwestern Power Administration in Tupelo, Oklahoma, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 5109
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE, TUPELO, OKLAHOMA.
(a) Conveyance Required.--Except as required by subsection
(d), the Secretary of Energy shall convey, at fair market value, to Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Incorporated, all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to a parcel of land, and any improvements thereto, consisting of approximately 6.3 acres of the facility of the Southwestern Power Administration in Tupelo, Oklahoma, for use in economic development within the service area of the Tri-County Indian Nations Community Development Corporation.
(b) Description of Parcel.--The exact acreage and description of the parcel to be conveyed under subsection (a) shall be determined by a survey that is satisfactory to the Secretary and to Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Incorporated.
(c) Conditions of Conveyance.--As conditions of the conveyance under subsection (a), the Secretary shall require that Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Incorporated--
(1) agree to honor the terms of any lease of the parcel or portion thereof that is in existence on the date of the conveyance; and
(2) agree to bear the costs of the conveyance, including the cost of the survey required by subsection (b) and the appraisal required by subsection (f).
(d) Easement.--Under the terms of the conveyance of the parcel under subsection (a), the Secretary shall retain an easement to the parcel for the purpose of maintaining a sewage connection to the electrical substation and lagoon facility located adjacent to the parcel. Such easement shall include telephone and telegraph rights.
(e) Undepreciated Value.--The Southwestern Power Administration is authorized to remove the undepreciated value of the facilities conveyed under subsection (a) from its repayable investment obligation.
(f) Valuation of Land To Be Conveyed.--The fair market value of the land to be conveyed under subsection (a) shall be determined by an appraisal acceptable to the Secretary that is conducted by an appraiser agreed upon by the Secretary and Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Incorporated, and conducted in accordance with--
(1) the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601; Public Law 91-646);
(2) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisition; and
(3) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 5109, authored by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watkins), authorizes the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Southwestern Power Administration, to convey a 6.3 acre parcel of land in Tupelo, Oklahoma. The conveyance will be at fair market value. The parcel has three buildings on the site: an office building, an open-ended garage, and a storage building. The Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, which currently leases the parcel on a temporary basis, plans to begin incubator businesses utilizing the land and facilities to be transferred.
The bill is noncontroversial and will help bring economic development to one of the poorest counties in the State. I urge its adoption.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 5109 is a simple fair market value conveyance of a small parcel of land and facilities in Tupelo, Oklahoma. We have no objection to the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watkins).
Mr. WATKINS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah
(Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), my classmate, by the way, for their action on H.R. 5109.
This is my district. I worked a number of years ago with putting together a facility, working with the Southwest Power Administration, which is no longer being used and is being leased out. This is transferring it to Rural Enterprises, which manages about a dozen business industrial incubators in my district and in the State of Oklahoma, in order to help build jobs and the economy.
I might just add that Coal County, where this is located, is a 25 percent or more poverty area with a high rate of underemployment and unemployed. This could be a stimulus that would help us try to diversify and build jobs. I just want to thank the gentleman from Utah and the gentleman from West Virginia for their great work.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5109, legislation that would transfer a building owned by the Department of Energy under the control of the Southwest Power Administration in Tupelo, Oklahoma to Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit economic development organization.
The Tupelo facility was built for use by the Southwest Power Administration in the mid 1980's and was actively used until 1999. Since then the building has been vacant. The Southwest Power Administration has asked me to help them transfer the building to a group that will put it to good use. I have worked with the Southwest Power Administration to draft this legislation so that we can use this vacant building to help build economic and job opportunities for our citizens. Rural Enterprises currently leases the building and plans to use it as a business incubator.
Tupelo, Oklahoma is a small community in rural Coal County, Oklahoma. According to the U.S. Census data Coal County has 25% of the population below the poverty level and 35% of children live in poverty. For many years I have worked to create greater economic job opportunities for the future children and grandchildren of my district. I know this transfer will allow for Rural Enterprises to put the facility into active use as a business and industrial Incubator which will in turn build jobs which this community desperately needs.
Rural Enterprises is a non-profit group that has experience managing business incubators. They are presently operating incubators in 10 communities in the rural areas of my state. One of the incubators run by Rural Enterprises is in Bennington, Oklahoma. This incubator for several years housed a company that made hammer dulcimers. The hammer dulcimer company brought about 10 jobs to a small town of about 200 people. Within the last two years this company graduated from the incubator, and moved their business to a more spacious location. These musical instruments have been sold all over the world.
Mr. Speaker, I believe with the passage of H.R. 5109 we can repeat the successes we have had with other incubators. This bill will allow for the transfer a currently vacant building to a group that will put it into good use as a business incubator.
I ask for the support of my colleagues and urge passage of H.R. 5109.
Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5109, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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