[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1839 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1839

 To authorize a study of the equity of Forest Service regional funding 
                  allocations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             February 9 (legislative day, January 25), 1994

 Mr. Bingaman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize a study of the equity of Forest Service regional funding 
                  allocations, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Forest Service Equity Study Act of 
1994''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) data supplied by the Forest Service documents that some 
        National Forest System regions receive more funding on a per 
        unit basis than others for recreation management, wildlife and 
        fish management, road maintenance, and other activities;
            (2) the ecological integrity of some regions is compromised 
        by the funding disparity;
            (3) the regional funding of the Forest Service should be 
        equitable, and significant disparities should be eliminated;
            (4) the funding methodology and practices of the Forest 
        Service should support the policy goals of the National Forest 
        System, particularly ecosystem management; and
            (5) the regional funding methodology and practices of the 
        Forest Service should reflect the diverse needs of the national 
        forests.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``funding'' means the annual fiscal year 
        allocation received by each region;
            (2) the term ``region'' refers to the 9 regions into which 
        the Forest Service divides the country for purposes of planning 
        and implementing activities in the National Forest System;
            (3) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture; and
            (4) the term ``unit'' refers to measures of use or activity 
        in the National Forest System, including--
                    (A) visitor days;
                    (B) nontimber acreage;
                    (C) miles maintained;
                    (D) animal unit months;
                    (E) people at one time (PAOT) days; and
                    (F) any other measure of use or activity commonly 
                associated with the regions.

SEC. 4. EQUITY STUDY.

    (a) Authorization.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a study detailing 
the regional funding allocation system of the National Forest Service.
    (b) Subject of Study.--As part of the study, the Secretary shall--
            (1) analyze the methodology and rationale behind regional 
        funding decisions made prior to the date the study is 
        conducted;
            (2) examine the fairness of allocations among regions, 
        taking into account the unit burdens of each region; and
            (3) examine the relationships between funding allocations, 
        Forest Service goals, and the diverse needs of the regions 
        based on ecological factors, such as threatened, endangered, 
        and sensitive species, forest health, rangeland and watershed 
        conditions, and public demand for multiple use services.
    (c) Contract.--The Secretary may enter into a contract with an 
independent entity to carry out the study pursuant to subsection (a).
    (d) Report.--Upon completion of the study authorized under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that 
includes--
            (1) recommendations for changes and improvements in 
        regional funding patterns and methodology to eliminate funding 
        disparities among regions;
            (2) recommendations for changes in regional funding 
        patterns to reflect Forest Service goals and regional needs;
            (3) an assessment of whether the recommended changes can be 
        implemented administratively or will require congressional 
        action; and
            (4) a plan for implementation of the recommended changes.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.

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