James V. Hansen: “Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2144, a bill to transfer excess Federal lands to the government of Guam. As the…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2144, a bill to transfer excess Federal lands to the government of Guam. As the committee report on this bill correctly points out, excessive Federal land ownership often creates adverse local and regional economic impacts. As a general rule, I believe that transferring more control over Federal lands to State and local governments will result in more economic opportunity as well as better land management. Therefore, I support the basic premise of this bill. However, I was concerned that the original version of this bill permitted the government of Guam to continue to administer lands inside War in the Pacific National Historical Park, a park established nearly 15 years ago to commemorate the American liberation of Guam. It seemed reasonable to me to require the government of Guam to facilitate National Park Service management over these key inholdings by transferring them to the Secretary of the Interior.”