Walnut Grove Land Exchange Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Gianforte) and the gentlewoman from Massachusetts for her support of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, the Walnut Grove Land Exchange Act should not need to exist. It is a simple bill which swaps 4 acres of public property, which currently houses a community, cemetery, and church with 6 acres of private timberland. And as was mentioned, this church and cemetery was established decades before the Forest Service.

To those who hear this and think, 10 acres? Why on Earth would it take an act of Congress to exchange a total of 10 acres? Rest assured that I had the same initial reaction. Not that this bill or the church itself are unimportant. On the contrary, the Walnut County Community Church is vital to the rural residents of Garland County.

The church is not only a place of worship. It has held countless community meetings and more. Its cemetery is the final resting place for many of Garland County's servicemen and -women, and the church itself has served as a search-and-rescue command post in the past.

However, under the current law, the church does not own the land on which it worships or buries its dead. As such, the Forest Service has the authority to raise the church's use fee each year and has done so over the past decade. Worse yet, any improvement or restoration to the church must be done with the explicit permission of the Federal Government. As a result, the Walnut Grove congregation has not been able to modify or upgrade their 80-year-old building, despite the need to expand to match the growing demands of the community.

Members of the congregation have tried for decades to resolve this issue with the Forest Service. They have called, written, and petitioned both the local and regional offices to purchase or exchange the land. They have willingly taken on maintenance of the property and have graciously accepted higher and higher usage fees under the guise that an exchange was coming. An exchange never came.

Mr. Speaker, it is time we stop this 20-year merry-go-round. This bill is vitally important to this congregation, and it is past time that we help them resolve their issue.

My bill has wide bipartisan and bicameral support, having passed the committee unanimously and having a companion measure in the Senate. I urge swift passage of this bill.

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