Bill Protecting Property Rights in Texas and Oklahoma Passes House
WASHINGTON, DC – (RealEstateRama) — The House passed H.R. 428 (Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-TX), the Red River Gradient Boundary Survey Act, to end decades of confusion over the true boundary between Texas and Oklahoma and bring certainty to landowners along the Red River. The bill passed by a vote of 250-171.
“This is a bill that helps people, people who have done nothing wrong and yet suddenly find themselves fighting the federal government to prove that land owned by their families for generations rightfully belongs to them,” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) said during floor debate. “[The Bureau of Land Management] started this problem eight years ago and have yet to do anything to try and solve the problem. […] It is our responsibility [to] solve the problem and help people so they know what is their private property and what is not their private property and they can move on with their life. And if that is unprecedented, it’s about time we did something that is unprecedented.”
“This bill essentially requires the Bureau of Land Management to do what they should have done all along. Its passage in the House is an important step toward providing these landowners with the legal certainty they deserve. I hope we can use this momentum to get the bill passed in the Senate and then signed into law by the President,” Rep. Thornberry said. “I will continue working with the landowners, local and state officials, and Senator Cornyn until this issue is resolved once and for all.”
Click here for additional information on H.R. 428.
Contact: Committee Press Office 202-226-9019
