Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
Floor Speech
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Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Chair, my amendment makes a technical fix to what seems to be a copy and paste drafting error in the bill, replacing ``Treasure Island Job Corps'' in section 114 of the bill, which was the language signed into last year's bill, to ``Gary Job Corps Center,'' which was supposed to be in this year's bill.
The Gary Job Corps facility in San Marcos, Texas, is one of the largest in the country and, as such, has a great deal of excess land. This land is located adjacent to the fast-growing San Marcos Regional Airport.
For several years now, the city of San Marcos has been working closely with the Gary Job Corps Center and the Department of Labor on ways for the city to make better use of that excess land to the benefit of its citizens. This area of San Marcos is a key cog in the regional growth plan for the city and region, and the use of such additional land will ensure that the trend continues as the area brings in more and more economic investment.
This amendment will simply allow the Department of Labor to negotiate directly with the city on dispersal of such land at fair market value without having to go through the yearlong GSA Federal land dispersal process. It replicates an effort that was done last year with the Treasure Island facility in California, so there is strong precedent.
By removing some bureaucratic red tape, the amendment, which has the blessing of the Department of Labor, will ensure that San Marcos, Texas, continues its efforts to be an economic engine for the region.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of my amendment, which provides a small technical fix to this bill.
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Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Chair, I will repeat that Treasure Island Job Corps was in last year's bill, and as the majority drafted this year's bill, I think we know what needs to be in the bill. Let me also point out that President Biden's Department of Labor supports this amendment.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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