<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><BillSummaries>
    <item congress="119" measure-type="hr" measure-number="168" measure-id="id119hr168" originChamber="HOUSE" orig-publish-date="2025-01-03" update-date="2025-06-06">
        <title>TORCH Act</title>
        <summary summary-id="id119hr168v00" currentChamber="HOUSE" update-date="2025-06-06">
            <action-date>2025-01-03</action-date>
            <action-desc>Introduced in House</action-desc>
            <summary-text><![CDATA[<p><strong>Targeted Operations to Remove Catastrophic Hazards Act or the TORCH Act</strong></p><p>This bill establishes requirements concerning forest management on federal land, including provisions to expedite the approval of forest management activities.</p><p>Specifically, it expands exclusions from environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for certain forest management activities, including by directing the Forest Service to develop a categorical exclusion for forest management activities that mitigate the risks associated with high-priority hazard trees. A categorical exclusion is a class of actions that a federal agency has determined do not significantly affect the quality of the human environment and, thus, do not require an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement.</p><p>The bill also exempts the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management from the requirement to reinitiate consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 on an approved, amended, or revised land management plan when (1) a new species is listed or critical habitat is designated, or (2) new information reveals that the land management plan may affect a listed species or critical habitat in a manner or to an extent not previously considered.</p><p>It also creates and modifies requirements related to vegetation management practices and forest management activities, such as activities to reduce wildfire risks. For example, the bill modifies the treatment of certain revenue under good neighbor agreements, which allow federal agencies to partner with state and local governments to carry out certain restoration services.</p>]]></summary-text>
        </summary>
    </item>
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        <dc:language>EN</dc:language>
        <dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
        <dc:contributor>Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress</dc:contributor>
        <dc:description>This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.</dc:description>
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</BillSummaries>
