Constitution Index · H.R. 837 · 2025-01-31

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the Pleasant Valley Ranger District Administrative Site to Gila County, Arizona.

Latest official status (2026-10-15): Presented to President.

Official source ↗

Constitutional grade

A

Constitutional

This bill is a routine, non-controversial land conveyance from the federal government to a county, with a reversionary interest to ensure the land is used for veteran services. It does not expand federal power, restrict individual rights, or raise due process or takings concerns. The action is within Congress's enumerated power over federal lands and is appropriately decentralized, as it transfers control to the local level.

Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2

SI-generated grade · passed automated checks (real Constitution citation, language rules) · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology · Report an error: hello@valuesforamerica.com

The five checks

Enumerated powers · passes

Congress has explicit authority under the Property Clause (Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2) to dispose of federal property. The bill directs the conveyance of National Forest System land, which is federal property, and thus falls squarely within this enumerated power.

Bill of Rights · passes

The bill does not implicate any of the first ten amendments. It does not restrict speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, takings, trial rights, or cruel and unusual punishment. The reversionary interest is a standard condition on a land grant and does not infringe any constitutional right.

Individual liberty · passes

The bill does not restrict any individual's use of their person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It is a voluntary transfer of land to a county, with conditions that the county voluntarily accepts. No individual is compelled to do anything, and no individual's property is taken without consent.

Decentralization · passes

The bill transfers federal land to a county, which is a lower level of government. This does not consolidate decision-making upward; it decentralizes control. The county is best positioned to manage land for local veteran services. The federal government retains a reversionary interest, but that is a minimal oversight mechanism, not a consolidation of authority.

Due process and takings · passes

The bill does not take private property; it conveys federal land to a county. The county voluntarily requests the conveyance and pays all associated costs. There is no deprivation of property without due process, and no taking of private property for public use without just compensation. The reversionary interest is a contractual condition, not a taking.

Provenance

Grade ID
764
Rubric version
vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0
Graded
2026-10-13 22:20 UTC
Engine
backup SI engine
Source fetched
2026-10-11 07:07 UTC
Source SHA-256
d8108f277a301125e0a6ee943575d5bce5c12c5dfc43e3304156f9e9bb81231c
Checks
si-editorial-standard/1.0: real Constitution citation, language rules

Version history · never overwritten

GradeGradedRubric Source hashStatus
A · #764 2026-10-13 vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0 d8108f277a30 current

Cite this

Values for America. “Constitutional grade: H.R. 837, To require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the Pleasant Valley Ranger District Administrative Site to Gila County, Arizona..” VFA Constitution Index, grade 764 (rubric vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0), graded October 13, 2026. https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution-index/grades/764. Accessed 2026-10-20.

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