[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2672 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 653
107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2672

  To provide opportunities for collaborative restoration projects on 
  National Forest System and other public domain lands, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2002

 Mr. Bingaman (for himself, Mr. Craig, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Smith of Oregon, 
Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Domenici, and Mrs. Murray) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

                            October 8, 2002

              Reported by Mr. Bingaman, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide opportunities for collaborative restoration projects on 
  National Forest System and other public domain lands, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Community-Based Forest and 
Public Lands Restoration Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. PURPOSES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The purposes of this Act are--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to create a coordinated, consistent, 
        community-based program to restore and maintain the ecological 
        integrity of degraded National Forest System and public lands 
        watersheds;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to ensure that restoration of degraded 
        National Forest System and public lands recognizes variation in 
        forest type and fire regimes, incorporates principles of 
        community forestry, local and traditional knowledge, and 
        conservation biology; and, where possible, uses the least 
        intrusive methods practicable;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) to enable the Secretaries to assist small, 
        rural communities to increase their capacity to restore and 
        maintain the ecological integrity of surrounding National 
        Forest System and public lands, and to use the by-products of 
        such restoration in value-added processing;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) to require the Secretaries to monitor 
        ecological, social, and economic conditions based on explicit 
        mechanisms for accountability;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) to authorize the Secretaries to expand 
        partnerships and to contract with non-profit organizations, 
        conservation groups, small and micro-businesses, cooperatives, 
        non-Federal conservation corps, and other parties to encourage 
        them to provide services or products that facilitate the 
        restoration of damaged lands; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) to improve communication and joint problem 
        solving, consistent with Federal and State environmental laws, 
        among individuals and groups who are interested in restoring 
        the diversity and productivity of watersheds.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    As used in this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) The term ``public lands'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy 
        and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) The term ``National Forest System'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 11(a) of the Forest and 
        Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (16 U.S.C. 
        1609(a)).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) The term ``Secretaries'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Forest Service 
        and the Secretary of the Interior acting through the Director 
        of the Bureau of Land Management.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) The term ``restore'' means to incorporate 
        historic, current, and new scientific information as it becomes 
        available, to reintroduce, maintain, or enhance the 
        characteristics, functions, and ecological processes of 
        healthy, properly functioning watersheds.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) The term ``local'' means within the same 
        region where an associated restoration project, or projects, 
        are conducted.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) The term ``micro-enterprise'' means a non-
        subsidiary business or cooperative employing five or fewer 
        people.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) The term ``small enterprise'' means a non-
        subsidiary business or cooperative employing between 6 and 150 
        people.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) The term ``value-added processing'' means 
        additional processing of a product to increase its economic 
        value and to create additional jobs and benefits where the 
        processing is done.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) The term ``low-impact equipment'' means the 
        use of equipment for restorative, maintenance, or extraction 
        purposes that minimizes or eliminates impacts to soils and 
        other resources.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) The terms ``rural'' and ``rural area'' mean 
        any area other than a city or town that has a population of 
        greater than 50,000 inhabitants.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Requirements.--the Secretaries shall jointly establish 
a National Forest System and public lands collaborative community-based 
restoration program. The purposes of the program shall be:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) to identify projects that will restore 
        degraded National Forest System and public lands; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) implement such projects in a collaborative way 
        and in a way that builds rural community capacity to restore 
        and maintain in perpetuity the health of the National Forest 
        System and other public lands.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Cooperation.--The Secretaries may enter into 
cooperative agreements with willing tribal governments, State and local 
governments, private and nonprofit entities and landowners for 
protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, 
forests, and other resources on the National Forest System and public 
lands.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c)(1) Monitoring.--The Secretaries shall establish a 
multiparty monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process in order 
to assess the cumulative accomplishments or adverse impacts of projects 
implemented under this Act. The Secretaries shall include any 
interested individual or organization in the monitoring and evaluation 
process.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (2) Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretaries shall submit a report to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the 
Committee on Resources of the United States House of Representatives 
detailing the information gathered as a result of the multiparty 
monitoring and evaluation. The report shall include an assessment on 
whether, and to what extent, the projects funded pursuant to this Act 
are meeting the purposes of the Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (3) The Secretaries shall ensure that monitoring data is 
collected and compiled in a way that the general public can easily 
access. The Secretaries may collect the data using cooperative 
agreements, grants, or contracts with small or micro-enterprises, or 
Youth Conservation Corps work crews or related partnerships with State, 
local, and other non-Federal conservation corps.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) The Secretaries shall hire additional outreach 
specialists, grants and agreements specialists, and contract 
specialists in order to implement this Act.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. FOREST RESTORATION AND VALUE-ADDED CENTERS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Establishment.--Subject to subsection (d), the 
Secretaries shall provide cost-share grants, cooperative agreements, or 
both to establish Restoration and Value-Added Centers in order to 
improve the implementation of collaborative, community-based 
restoration projects on National Forest System or public 
lands.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Requirements.--The Restoration and Value-Added Centers 
shall provide technical assistance to non-profit organizations, 
existing small or micro-enterprises or individuals interested in 
creating a natural-resource related small or micro-enterprise in the 
following areas--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) restoration, and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) processing techniques for the byproducts of 
        restoration and value-added manufacturing.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Additional Requirements.--The Restoration and Value-
Added Centers shall provide technical assistance in--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) using the latest, independent peer reviewed, 
        scientific information and methodology to accomplish 
        restoration and ecosystem health objectives,</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) workforce training for value-added 
        manufacturing and restoration,</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) marketing and business support for 
        conservation-based small and micro-enterprises,</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) accessing urban markets for small and micro-
        enterprises located in rural communities,</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) developing technology for restoration and the 
        use of products resulting from restoration,</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) accessing funding from government and non-
        government sources, and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) development of economic infrastructure 
        including collaborative planning, proposal development, and 
        grant writing where appropriate.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Locations.--The Secretaries shall ensure that at least 
one Restoration and Value-Added Center is located within Idaho, New 
Mexico, Montana, northern California, and eastern Oregon and that every 
Restoration and Value-Added Center is easily accessible to rural 
communities that are adjacent to or surrounded by National Forest 
System or other public lands throughout the region.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) The Secretaries may enter into partnerships 
        and cooperative agreements with other Federal agencies or other 
        organizations, including local non-profit organizations, 
        conservation groups, or community colleges in creating and 
        maintaining the Restoration and Value-Added Centers.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) The appropriate Regional Forester and State 
        Bureau of Land Management Director will issue a request for 
        proposals to create a Restoration and Value-Added Center. The 
        Regional Forester and State Bureau of Land Management Director 
        will select a proposal with input from existing Resource and 
        Technical Advisory Committees where appropriate.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) The Secretary of Agriculture shall provide 
        cost-share grants, cooperative agreements, or both equaling 75 
        percent of each Restoration and Value-Added Center's operating 
        costs, including business planning, not to exceed $1 million 
        annually per center.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Within 30 days of approving a grant or 
        cooperative agreement to establish a Restoration and Value-
        Added Center, the Secretary shall notify the Committee on 
        Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and 
        the Committee on Resources of the United States House of 
        Representatives and identify the recipient of the grant award 
        or cooperative agreement.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) After a Restoration and Value-Added Center has 
        operated for five years, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
        assess the center's performance and begin to reduce, by 25 
        percent annually, the level of Federal funding for the center's 
        operating costs.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Report.--No later than five years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit a report to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate 
and the Committee on Resources of the United States House of 
Representatives, assessing the Restoration and Value-Added Centers 
created pursuant to this section. The report shall include--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) descriptions of the organizations receiving 
        assistance from the centers, including their geographic and 
        demographic distribution,</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) a summary of the projects the technical 
        assistance recipients implemented, and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) an estimate of the number of non-profit 
        organizations, small enterprises, micro-enterprises, or 
        individuals assisted by the Restoration and Value-Added 
        Centers.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. COMMUNITY-BASED NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM AND PUBLIC 
              LANDS RESTORATION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Establishment.--(1) Subject to paragraph (2) and 
notwithstanding Federal procurement laws, the Federal Grant and 
Cooperative Agreements Act of 1977 (31 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), and the 
Competition in Contracting Act, on an annual basis, the Secretaries 
shall limit competition for special salvage timber sales, timber sale 
contracts, service contracts, construction contracts, supply contracts, 
emergency equipment rental agreements, architectural and engineering 
contracts, challenge cost-share agreements, cooperative agreements, and 
participating agreements to ensure that the percentage of the total 
dollar value identified in paragraph (2), but not to exceed 50 percent 
in any year, is awarded to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (A) natural-resource related small or micro-
        enterprises;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (B) Youth Conservation Corps crews or related 
        partnerships with State, local and other non-Federal 
        conservation corps;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (C) any entity that will hire and train local 
        people to complete the service or timber sale 
        contract;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (D) any entity that will re-train non-local 
        traditional forest workers to complete the service or timber 
        sale contract; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (E) a local entity that meets the criteria to 
        qualify for the Historically Underutilized Business Zone 
        Program under section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
        657a).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (2) In the first year beginning after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall ensure that 10 percent of 
the total dollar value of contracts and agreements are awarded pursuant 
to paragraph (1). In the second year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretaries shall ensure that 20 percent of the total 
dollar value of contracts and agreements are awarded pursuant to 
paragraph (1). In subsequent years, the percentage shall increase by 10 
percent each year.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Notice of National Forest System Plan.--At the 
beginning of each fiscal year, each unit of the National Forest System 
shall make its advanced acquisition plan publicly available, including 
publishing it in a local newspaper for a minimum of 15 working 
days.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Best Value Contracting.--In order to implement 
projects, the Secretaries may select a source for performance of a 
contract or agreement on a best value basis with consideration of one 
or more of the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Understanding of the technical demands and 
        complexity of the work to be done.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Ability of the offeror to meet desired 
        ecological objectives of the project and the sensitivity of the 
        resources being treated.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) The potential for benefit to local small and 
        micro-enterprises.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) The past performance and qualification by the 
        contractor with the type of work being done, the application of 
        low-impact equipment, and the ability of the contractor or 
        purchaser to meet desired ecological conditions.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) The commitment of the contractor to training 
        workers for high wage and high skill jobs.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) The commitment of the contractor to hiring 
        highly qualified workers and local residents.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Limitation.--The Secretaries shall ensure that the 
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Memorandum of 
Understanding on the Small Business Set-Aside Programs shall not be 
reduced below the Small Business Administration shares prescribed in 
the Small Business Set-Aside Program as a result of this Act.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 7. NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM RESEARCH AND 
              TRAINING.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Estabishment of Program.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
shall establish a program of applied research using the resources of 
Forest Service Research Station and the Forest Product Laboratory. The 
purposes of the program shall be to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) identify restoration methods and treatments 
        that minimize impacts to the land, such as through the use of 
        low-impact techniques and equipment; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) test and develop value-added products created 
        from the by-products of restoration.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Dissemination of Research to Communities.--The 
Secretary of Agriculture shall disseminate the applied research to 
rural communities, including the Restoration and Value-Added Centers, 
adjacent to or surrounded by National Forest System or public lands. 
The Secretary of Agriculture shall annually conduct training workshops 
and classes in such communities to ensure that residents of such 
communities have access to the information.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Cooperation.--In establishing the program required 
pursuant to this section, the Secretary of Agriculture may partner with 
nonprofit organizations or community colleges.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Monitoring.--In designing the multiparty monitoring 
and evaluation process to assess the cumulative accomplishments or 
adverse impacts of projects implemented under this Act pursuant to 
section 4, the Secretaries shall use the expertise of Forest Service 
Research Stations.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    These are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may 
be necessary to carry out this Act.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Community-Based Forest and Public 
Lands Restoration Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The Purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to create a coordinated, consistent, community-based 
        program to restore and maintain the ecological integrity of 
        degraded National Forest System and public lands watersheds;
            (2) to ensure that restoration of degraded National Forest 
        System and public lands recognizes variation in forest type and 
        fire regimes, incorporates principles of community forestry, 
        local and traditional knowledge, and conservation biology; and, 
        where possible, uses the least intrusive methods practicable;
            (3) to enable the Secretaries to assist small, rural, 
        communities to increase their capacity to restore and maintain 
        the ecological integrity of surrounding National Forest System 
        and public lands, and to use the by-products of such 
        restoration in value-added processing;
            (4) to require the Secretaries to monitor ecological, 
        social, and economic conditions based on explicit mechanisms 
        for accountability;
            (5) to authorize the Secretaries to expand partnerships and 
        to contract with non-profit organizations, conservation groups, 
        small and micro-enterprises, cooperatives, non-Federal 
        conservation corps, and other parties to encourage them to 
        provide services or products that facilitate the restoration of 
        damaged lands; and
            (6) to improve communication and joint problem solving, 
        consistent with Federal and State environmental laws, among 
        individuals and groups who are interested in restoring the 
        diversity and productivity of watersheds.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``public lands'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and 
        Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).
            (2) The term ``National Forest System'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland 
        Renewable Resources Planning Act (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
            (3) The term ``Secretaries'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Forest Service and 
        the Secretary of the Interior acting through the Director of 
        the Bureau of Land Management.
            (4) The term ``restore'' means to incorporate historic, 
        current, and new scientific information as it becomes 
        available, to reintroduce, maintain, or enhance the 
        characteristics, functions, and ecological processes of 
        healthy, properly functioning watersheds.
            (5) The term ``local'' means within the same county, 
        watershed unit, or jurisdiction of a Resource Advisory Council 
        established pursuant to Public Law 106-393 where an associated 
        restoration project, or projects, are conducted.
            (6) The term ``micro-enterprise'' means a non-subsidiary 
        business or cooperative employing five or fewer people.
            (7) The term ``small enterprise'' means a non-subsidiary 
        business or cooperative employing between 6 and 150 people.
            (8) The term ``value-added processing'' means additional 
        processing of a product to increase its economic value and to 
        create additional jobs and benefits where the processing is 
        done.
            (9) The term ``low-impact equipment'' means the use of 
        equipment for restorative, maintenance, or extraction purposes 
        that minimizes or eliminates impacts to soils and other 
        resources.
            (10) The terms ``rural'' and ``rural area'' mean, a city, 
        town, or unincorporated area that has a population of 50,000 
        inhabitants or less, other than an urbanized area immediately 
        adjacent to a city, town, or unincorporated area that has a 
        population in excess of 50,000 inhabitants.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

    (a) Requirements.--The Secretaries shall jointly establish a 
National Forest System and public lands collaborative community-based 
restoration program. The purposes of the program shall be--
            (1) to identify projects that will restore degraded 
        National Forest System and public lands; and
            (2) implement such projects in a collaborative way and in a 
        way that builds rural community capacity to restore and 
        maintain in perpetuity the health of the National Forest System 
        and other public lands.
    (b) Cooperation.--The Secretaries may enter into cooperative 
agreements with willing tribal governments, State and local 
governments, private and nonprofit entities and landowners for 
protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, 
forests, and other resources on the National Forest System and public 
lands.
    (c) Monitoring.--
            (1) The Secretaries shall establish a multiparty 
        monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process in order to 
        assess the cumulative accomplishments or adverse impacts of 
        projects implemented under this Act. The Secretaries shall 
        include any interested individual or organization in the 
        monitoring and evaluation process.
            (2) Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, the Secretaries shall submit a report to the 
        Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States 
        Senate and the Committee on Resources of the United States 
        Senate and the Committee on Resources of the United States of 
        House of Representatives detailing the information gathered as 
        a result of the mulitiparty monitoring and evaluation. The 
        report shall include an assessment on whether, and to what 
        extent, the projects funded pursuant to this Act are meeting 
        the purposes of the Act.
            (3) The Secretaries shall ensure that monitoring data is 
        collected and compiled in a way that the general public can 
        easily access. The Secretaries may collect the data using 
        cooperative agreements, grants, or contracts with small or 
        micro-enterprises, or Youth Conservation Corps work crews or 
        related partnership with State, local, and other non-Federal 
        conservation corps.
    (d) The Secretaries shall hire additional outreach specialists, 
grants and agreements specialists, and contract specialists in order to 
implement this Act.

SEC. 5. FOREST RESTORATION AND VALUE-ADDED CENTERS.

    (a) Establishment.--Subject to subsection (d), the Secretaries 
shall provide cost-share grants, cooperative agreements, or both to 
establish Restoration and Value-Added Centers in order to improve the 
implementation of collaborative, community-based restoration projects 
on National Forest System or public lands.
    (b) Requirements.--The Restoration and Value-Added Centers shall 
provide technical assistance to non-profit organizations, small or 
micro-enterprises or individuals interested in creating a natural-
resource related small or micro-enterprise in the following areas--
            (1) restoration, and
            (2) processing techniques for the byproducts of restoration 
        and value-added manufacturing.
    (c) Additional Requirements.--The Restoration and Value-Added 
Centers shall provide technical assistance in one or more of the 
following--
            (1) using the latest, independent peer reviewed, scientific 
        information and methodology to accomplish restoration and 
        ecosystem health objectives,
            (2) workforce training for value-added manufacturing and 
        restoration,
            (3) marketing and business support for conservation-based 
        small and micro-enterprises,
            (4) accessing urban markets for small and micro-enterprises 
        located in rural communities,
            (5) developing technology for restoration and the use of 
        products resulting from restoration,
            (6) accessing funding from government and non-government 
        sources, and
            (7) development of economic infrastructure including 
        collaborative planning, proposal development, and grant writing 
        where appropriate.
    (d) Locations.--The Secretaries shall ensure that at least one 
Restoration and Value-Added Center is located within Idaho, New Mexico, 
Montana, northern California, eastern Oregon, and Washington and that 
every Restoration and Value-Added Center is located in a rural 
community that is adjacent to or surrounded by National Forest System 
or other public lands.
            (1) The Secretaries may enter into partnerships and 
        cooperative agreements with other Federal agencies or other 
        organizations, including local non-profit organizations, 
        conservation groups, or community colleges in creating and 
        maintaining the Restoration and Value-Added Centers.
            (2) The appropriate Regional Forester and State Bureau of 
        Land Management Director will issue a request for proposals to 
        create a Restoration and Value-Added Center. The Regional 
        Forester and State Bureau of Land Management Director will 
        select a proposal with input from existing Resource and 
        Technical Advisory Committees where appropriate.
            (3) The Secretaries shall provide cost-share grants, 
        cooperative agreements, or both equaling 75 percent of each 
        Restoration and Value-Added Center's operating costs, including 
        business planning, not to exceed $1 million annually per 
        center.
            (4) Within 30 days of approving a grant or cooperative 
        agreement to establish a Restoration and Value-Added Center, 
        the Secretary shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natural 
        Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee on 
        Resources of the United States House of Representatives and 
        identify the recipient of the grant award or cooperative 
        agreement.
            (5) After a Restoration and Value-Added Center has operated 
        for five years, the Secretary of Agriculture shall assess the 
        center's performance and begin to reduce, by 25 percent 
        annually, the level of Federal funding for the center's 
        operating costs.
    (e) Report.--No later than five years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit a report to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the 
Committee on Resources of the United States House of Representatives, 
assessing the Restoration and Value-Added Centers created pursuant to 
this section. The report shall include--
            (1) descriptions of the organizations receiving assistance 
        from the centers, including their geographic and demographic 
        distribution,
            (2) a summary of the projects the technical assistance 
        recipients implemented, and
            (3) an estimate of the number of non-profit organizations, 
        small enterprises, micro-enterprises, or individuals assisted 
        by the Restoration and Value-Added Centers.

SEC. 6. COMMUNITY-BASED NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM AND PUBLIC LANDS 
              RESTORATION.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) Notwithstanding Federal procurement laws, the Federal 
        Grant and Cooperative Agreements Act of 1977 (31 U.S.C. 6301 et 
        seq.), and the Competition in Contracting Act, the Secretaries 
        shall ensure that a percentage of the total dollar value of 
        contracts and agreements they award in each fiscal year 
        beginning after the date of enactment of this Act are awarded 
        to qualifying entities as follows--
                    (A) 10 percent in the first fiscal year;
                    (B) 20 percent in the second fiscal year;
                    (C) 30 percent in the third fiscal year;
                    (D) 40 percent in the fourth fiscal year; and
                    (E) 50 percent in the fifth fiscal year and each 
                fiscal year thereafter.
            (2) For purposes of this section:
                    (A) The term ``contracts and agreements'' means 
                special salvage timber sale contracts, other timber 
                sale contracts, service contracts, construction 
                contracts, supply contracts, emergency equipment rental 
                agreements, architectural and engineering contracts, 
                challenge cost-share agreements, cooperative 
                agreements, and participating agreements.
                    (B) The term ``qualifying entity'' means--
                            (i) a natural-resource related small or 
                        micro-enterprise;
                            (ii) a Youth Conservation Corps crews or 
                        related partnerships with State, local and 
                        other non-Federal conservation corps;
                            (iii) an entity that will hire and train 
                        local people to complete the service or timber 
                        sale contract;
                            (iv) an entity that will re-train non-local 
                        traditional forest workers to complete the 
                        service or timber sale contract; or
                            (v) a local entity that meets the criteria 
                        to qualify for the Historically Underutilized 
                        Business Zone Program under section 32 of the 
                        Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657a).
    (b) Notice of National Forest System Plan.--At the beginning of 
each fiscal year, each unit of the National Forest System shall make 
its advanced acquisition plan publicly available, including publishing 
it in a local newspaper for a minimum of 15 working days.
    (c) Best Value Contracting.--In order to implement projects, the 
Secretaries may select a source for performance of a contract or 
agreement on a best value basis with consideration of one or more of 
the following:
            (1) Understanding of the technical demands and complexity 
        of work to be done.
            (2) Ability of the offeror to meet desired ecological 
        objectives of the project and the sensitivity of the resources 
        being treated.
            (3) The potential for benefit to local small and micro-
        enterprises.
            (4) The past performance and qualification by the 
        contractor with the type of work being done, the application of 
        low-impact equipment, and the ability of the contractor or 
        purchaser to meet desired ecological conditions.
            (5) The commitment of the contractor to training workers 
        for high wage and high skill jobs.
            (6) The commitment of the contractor to hiring highly 
        qualified workers and local residents.

SEC. 7. NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM RESEARCH AND TRAINING.

    (a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
establish a program of applied research using the resources of Forest 
Service Research Station and the Forest Product Laboratory. The 
purposes of the program shall be to--
            (1) identify restoration methods and treatments that 
        minimize impacts to the land, such as through the use of low-
        impact techniques and equipment; and
            (2) test and develop value-added products created from the 
        by-products of restoration.
    (b) Dissemination of Research to Communities.--The Secretary of 
Agriculture shall disseminate the applied research to rural 
communities, including the Restoration and Value-Added Centers, 
adjacent to or surrounded by National Forest System or public lands. 
The Secretary of Agriculture shall annually conduct training workshops 
and classes in such communities to ensure that residents of such 
communities have access to the information.
    (c) Cooperation.--In establishing the program required pursuant to 
this section, the Secretary of Agriculture may partner with nonprofit 
organizations or community colleges.
    (d) Monitoring.--In designing the multiparty monitoring and 
evaluation process to assess the cumulative accomplishments or adverse 
impacts of projects implemented under this Act pursuant to section 4, 
the Secretaries shall use the expertise of Forest Service Research 
Stations.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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

SEC. 9. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.

    Nothing in this Act is intended to modify the Small Business Act, 
Public Law 83-167, regulations promulgated by the Small Business 
Administration at 13 CFR, part 121, or affect the Small Business shares 
prescribed in the Memorandum of Understanding on the Small Business Set 
Aside Program or the amount of timber volume offered to SBA qualified 
companies.




                                                       Calendar No. 653

107th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2672

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To provide opportunities for collaborative restoration projects on 
  National Forest System and other public domain lands, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                            October 8, 2002

                       Reported with an amendment