Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain lands in the Sierra National Forest, California, to the Madera Cemetery District." The Department of Agriculture would have no objection to the enactment of H.R. 2743 if amended as suggested herein. H.R. 2743 would authorize and direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey a 20-acre tract of National Forest land within the Sierra National Forest to the Madera Cemetery District, Madera, California. The conveyance would be made without monetary consideration. The Secretary would be required to reserve easements of existing facilities such as roads and utility lines, and would be authorized to reserve additional road easements to assure access to lands of the United States or to meet public needs. The 20-acre tract which the bill directs the Secretary to convey is located close to the western boundary of the Sierra National Forest and to the community of North Fork. The tract is isolated from other National Forest lands. A portion of it has been used for burial purposes since the area was homesteaded (circa 1890). At the present time the Madera Cemetery District is authorized under a special use permit issued by the Forest Service to use 17.5 acres of the tract as a cemetery. Gravesites occupy about 10 acres of the cemetery. The established and projected use of this tract of National Forest land for cemetery purposes affords very limited opportunity for utilizing any part of it in the furtherance of National Forest purposes. As the landowner, the United States must continue to bear certain costs including the cost of administering the special use permit. In view of the special circumstances we believe a direct conveyance to the Madera Cemetery District would be in keeping with both national and local public interest. However, we believe the United States should receive some amount of payment for the tract in recognition that a portion of it is bare land. The payment approach embodied in the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (44 Stat. 741, as amended; 43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.) appears to be an appropriate example for use in this case. We therefore recommend that H.R. 2743 be amended as follows: On page 1, beginning on line 4, strike the phrase ", without consideration,". On page 2, line 3, add "(a)" after "SEC. 2.". On page 2, at the end thereof, add a new subsection (b) to section 2 to read as follows: "(b) The conveyance authorized by section 1 shall only be made if, within one year after the date of this Act, the Madera Cemetery District makes payment for the tract at a price to be fixed by the Secretary through appraisal or otherwise, after he takes into consideration the purpose for which the lands are to be used.” The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. Sincerely, 94TH CONGRESS 2d Session } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES { REPORT No. 94-1603 SUPPLEMENTAL DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATION FOR THE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT OF TYPHOON-DAMAGED FACILITIES ON GUAM SEPTEMBER 17, 1976.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. MAHON, from the Committee on Appropriations, REPORT [To accompany H.J. Res. 1096] The Committee on Appropriations, to whom was referred House Joint Resolution 1096, making supplemental appropriations for the Department of Defense for the repair and replacement of facilities on Guam damaged by Typhoon Pâmela, and for other purposes, report the same to the House without amendment and with the recommendation that the joint resolution be passed. SUMMARY OF THE RESOLUTION A total of $163,073,000 in new budget (obligational) authority is recommended in the resolution for replacement, repair and restoration of supplies, equipment, and facilities on Guam which were damaged or destroyed by Typhoon Pamela on May 21, 1976. The budget request for this purpose, in the total amount of $189,000,000, is contained in House Document No. 94-570. (1) INFLATIONARY IMPACT STATEMENT Clause 2(1) (4) of rule XI of the House of Representatives requires that each committee report on a bill or resolution shall contain a statement as to whether enactment of such bill or resolution may have an inflationary impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national economy. It seems unlikely that this appropriation will have any significant impact on the rate of inflation on Guam or in the United States. The statement that the construction industry is at present operating below normal levels and perhaps below efficient rates applies almost universally. There is ample competition, labor, and materials to accomplish this work. The Navy, which is construction agent for the greater share of the construction effort, is structuring bidding packages so as to take the greatest advantage of the capability of the construction industry, both on Guam and in the Pacific basin. The bidding will be open and competitive to both United States and foreign firms. The construction work will be divided into eleven packages ranging in scale from $2 million to $17 million. This should attract large construction firms as well as utilizing the capabilities of smaller construction contractors. The construction industry on Guam has been greatly underutilized since the 1973 construction boom on the island ended. There are at present eight major firms and numerous smaller companies present on Guam. In addition, other United States and foreign firms are expected to be attracted by this work, The labor market on Guam has been characterized by a large availability of unskilled labor locally and a shortage of skilled labor in the construction area. However, there is a large supply of skilled labor in the Pacific basin which has in the past been utilized for construction on Guam. There is high unemployment in the construction industry on Guam and elsewhere. Materials are expected to present no problem. Supplies of cement and aggregates are available on Guam, and other construction materials will be purchased within the United States under the provisions of the "Buy American Act" with an exception made for steel reinforcing bars and perhaps for other materials if waivers are required. Ample material availability at reasonable costs is anticipated as a result of the depressed state of the construction industry. URGENCY OF AND REQUIREMENT FOR GUAM SUPPLEMENTAL On May 21, 1976, Typhoon Pamela struck Guam, inflicting severe damage on Navy and Air Force installations and facilities. The storm. one of the most destructive in the history of Guam, had an unusually slow speed of advance and was of exceptionally long duration. Destructive force winds (over 50 knots) continued for 30 hours. At the height of the storm, 100 knot winds, with gusts to 145 knots, buffeted the island for six hours. Few unreinforced structures were able to withstand the intermittent pressure and wrenching effects of H.R. 1603 the severe gusts. Some 33 inches of rain fell, with 27 inches received in a 24-hour period. Wind-driven water was a major factor in interior damage to buildings and their contents. Of the total request, $144,864,000 is for military construction and family housing to restore damaged facilities. The Department of Defense is requesting $44,136,000 of operation and maintenance funds to replace destroyed supplies and equipment and to repair facilities not requiring complete restoration. NAVY Although cleanup work and some temporary emergency repairs have been completed to enable operations to continue, the projects in the supplemental request are urgently required to restore full operational capability to this vital, strategically located Navy complex in the Western Pacific. A number of the projects are for personnel support facilities which are vital to maintaining morale of military personnel and their dependents serving in this isolated overseas area. Moreover, the storm has left a number of facilities in weakened condition; and until repairs or replacements can be provided, they remain increasingly vulnerable to a future storm. These same facilities, nearly all of which are temporary construction, long past their intended economic life, will be the source of wind-driven, flying missiles in any future storm, causing increased damage to other facilities, particularly utility lines, and increasing the hazard to personnel. Substantial amounts already have been spent for emergency cleaning and temporary repairs on Navy family housing and barracks, such as boarding up broken windows. Bids have also been taken on September 3 for urgently required repairs exceeding $1 million on 200 of the most severely damaged units. Substantial additional restoration work is scheduled for award after October 1. Any delay in award of this work would have a severe adverse impact on morale of quarters occupants, many of whose units are totally boarded up. Delay in supplemental funds would dictate diversion of fiscal year 1977 funds from special project accounts. AIR FORCE Since Typhoon Pamela struck Andersen Air Force Base on May 21, 1976, the Air Force has only been able to accomplish minor work of a temporary nature to restore the base to normal, interim operating condition. The island rainy season started in August and will continue until February. Electrical power was restored on a temporary basis and is subject to outages and susceptible to storm activity. Temporary patching has been done on roofs but leaks continue and cause additional damage. Aircraft navigation aids are being provided on a makeshift arrangement and are unsatisfactory for continued operations. Major work is required immediately on the aircraft fuel supply system to prevent further degradation due to the elements and inactivity. Louvres in offices and living quarters remain boarded up, which severely restricts ventilation in this hot and humid climate, and the destruction wrought to the interiors of these buildings creates a living and working environment that cannot be tolerated on a long-term H.R. 1603 basis. The supplemental request is necessary to insure the continued viability of the Air Force mission on Guam. For the 1,454 family housing units at Andersen Air Force Base, approximately $225,000 has been expended to temporarily restore utility services, make units minimally habitable, and eliminate hazardous conditions. Funds are urgently required to make the units weatherproof; e.g., repair roofs, replace windows/louvres and doors, and permanently restore electrical power distribution and service. Additionally, funds are required to rehabilitate interiors of the houses by restoring water-damaged floors and walls, replacing kitchen cabinets and counter tops, and replace damaged Government-owned furnishings. FUNDING RECOMMENDED OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE The Committee is recommending an appropriation of $30,900,000 in new operation and maintenance obligational authority for the transition quarter. The recommended appropriation is a reduction of $13,236,000 below the budget request. A summary of the Committee's recommendation is shown in the following table. For the transition quarter, the Congress appropriated $2,207,557,000 of operation and maintenance funds for the Navy and $1,957,295,000 for the Air Force. In addition, at the end of fiscal year 1976, the Navy had unobligated funds of $60,200,000 which were carried forward into the transition quarter as authorized by the Department of Defense Appropriation Act for fiscal year 1976, Public Law 94-212. The Air Force had $116,000,000 of unobligated funds which were also carried forward into the transition quarter. Considering the amounts carried forward, the Navy has funds available of $2,267,757,000 and the Air Force $2,073,295,000. The Committee is of the opinion that part of this supplemental request could have been funded with the funds available for the transition quarter, especially from the unobligated balances brought forward from fiscal year 1976. FUNDS NOT REQUIRED In testimony before the Committee, the Navy advised that $6,523,000 requested for transportation cost of materials, for the purchase of furniture and equipment to initially outfit facilities to be constructed with funds requested in the Military Construction portion of the reqest, and for other items was not required. The Navy also requested H.R. 1603 |