[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5541 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5541

  To provide a supplemental funding source for catastrophic emergency 
wildland fire suppression activities on Department of the Interior and 
National Forest System lands, to require the Secretary of the Interior 
 and the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a cohesive wildland fire 
              management strategy, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 6, 2008

 Mr. Rahall (for himself, Mr. Grijalva, and Mr. Dicks) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture and Budget, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide a supplemental funding source for catastrophic emergency 
wildland fire suppression activities on Department of the Interior and 
National Forest System lands, to require the Secretary of the Interior 
 and the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a cohesive wildland fire 
              management strategy, 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 ``Federal Land Assistance, Management 
and Enhancement Act'' or ``FLAME Act''.

SEC. 2. FLAME FUND FOR CATASTROPHIC EMERGENCY WILDLAND FIRE SUPPRESSION 
              ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the 
        following:
                    (A) Public lands, as defined in section 103 of the 
                Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
                U.S.C. 1702).
                    (B) Units of the National Park System.
                    (C) Refuges of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
                    (D) Lands held in trust by the United States for 
                the benefit of Indian tribes or individual Indians.
                    (E) Lands in the National Forest System, as defined 
                in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 
                Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
            (2) Flame fund.--The term ``Flame Fund'' means the Federal 
        Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Fund established 
        by this section.
            (3) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to 
                Federal land described in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), 
                and (E) of paragraph (1); and
                    (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
                National Forest System land.
            (4) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the 
        Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, 
        acting jointly.
    (b) Establishment and Availability of Flame Fund.--
            (1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of 
        the United States a fund to be known as the Federal Land 
        Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Fund.
            (2) Contents.--The Flame Fund shall consist of the 
        following amounts:
                    (A) Amounts appropriated to the Flame Fund pursuant 
                to the authorization of appropriations in subsection 
                (c).
                    (B) Amounts transferred to the Flame Fund pursuant 
                to subsection (d).
                    (C) Any interest earned on investment of amounts in 
                the Flame Fund under paragraph (4).
            (3) Availability.--Subject to subsection (e), amounts in 
        the Flame Fund shall be available to the Secretaries to pay the 
        costs of catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression 
        activities that are separate from amounts annually appropriated 
        to the Secretaries for the predicted annual workload for 
        wildland fire suppression activities, based on analyses of 
        historical workloads and anticipated increased workloads due to 
        changing environmental or demographic conditions.
            (4) Investment authority.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
        shall invest such portion of the assets of the Flame Fund as 
        the Secretary of the Treasury determines is not required to 
        meet anticipated withdrawals during the then-current fiscal 
        year or the next fiscal year. Investments may be made only in 
        interest-bearing obligations of the United States.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Flame Fund for fiscal year 2009 and 
        each subsequent fiscal year an amount equal to the average 
        amount expended by the Secretaries for emergency wildland fire 
        suppression activities over the five preceding fiscal years.
            (2) Emergency designation.--Amounts appropriated to the 
        Flame Fund for fiscal year 2009 are designated as an emergency 
        requirement pursuant to section 501 of H. Con. Res. 376 (109th 
        Congress), as made applicable to the House of Representatives 
        by section 511(a)(4) of H. Res. 6 (110th Congress), and for 
        subsequent fiscal years pursuant to corresponding congressional 
        resolutions authorizing the designation of emergency spending.
    (d) Transfer of Excess Wildland Fire Suppression Amounts Into Flame 
Fund.--At the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary concerned shall 
transfer to the Flame Fund amounts appropriated to the Secretary 
concerned for wildland fire suppression activities for the fiscal year, 
but not obligated for wildland fire suppression activities before the 
end of the fiscal year.
    (e) Use of Flame Fund.--
            (1) Declaration required.--Amounts in the Flame Fund shall 
        be made available to the Secretary concerned only after the 
        Secretaries issue a declaration that a wildland fire 
        suppression activity is eligible for funding through the Flame 
        Fund.
            (2) Declaration criteria.--A declaration by the Secretaries 
        under paragraph (1) shall be based on the following criteria:
                    (A) In the case of an individual wildland fire 
                incident--
                            (i) the size of the fire, including fires 
                        of 300 acres or greater;
                            (ii) the severity of the fire, which may be 
                        based on incident complexity or the potential 
                        for increased complexity; and
                            (iii) the threat posed by the fire, 
                        including the potential for loss of lives, 
                        property, or critical resources.
                    (B) In the case of a firefighting season, 
                cumulative wildland fire suppression activities, when 
                the costs of those activities for the Secretary 
                concerned are projected to exceed amounts annually 
                appropriated.
            (3) Transfer of amounts to secretary concerned.--After 
        issuance of a declaration under paragraph (1) and upon the 
        request of the Secretary concerned, the Secretary of the 
        Treasury shall transfer from the Flame Fund to the Secretary 
        concerned such amounts as the Secretaries determine are 
        necessary for wildland fire suppression activities associated 
        with the declared suppression emergency.
            (4) State, private, and tribal land.--Use of the Flame Fund 
        for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities 
        on State and private land and, where applicable, tribal land 
        shall be consistent with existing agreements where the 
        Secretaries have agreed to assume responsibility for wildland 
        fire suppression activities on the land.
    (f) Treatment of Anticipated and Predicted Activities.--
Notwithstanding the establishment of the Flame Fund, the Secretary 
concerned shall continue to fund anticipated and predicted wildland 
fire suppression activities within the appropriate agency budget for 
each fiscal year. Use of the additional funding made available through 
the Flame Fund is intended to supplement the budgeted and appropriated 
agency funding and is to be used only for purposes and in instances 
consistent with this section.
    (g) Prohibition on Other Transfers.--All amounts in the Flame Fund, 
as well as all funds appropriated for the purpose of wildland fire 
suppression on Federal land, must be obligated before the Secretary 
concerned may transfer funds from non-fire accounts for wildland fire 
suppression.
    (h) Accounting and Reports.--
            (1) Accounting and reporting system.--The Secretaries shall 
        establish an accounting and reporting system for the Flame Fund 
        compatible with existing National Fire Plan reporting 
        procedures.
            (2) Annual report.--The Secretaries shall submit to the 
        Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on 
        Indian Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        Senate an annual report on the use of the funds from the Flame 
        Fund, together with any recommendations that the Secretaries 
        may have to improve the administrative control and oversight of 
        the Flame Fund.

SEC. 3. COHESIVE WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY.

    (a) Strategy Required.--Not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report that 
contains a cohesive wildland fire management strategy, consistent with 
the recommendations contained in recent Comptroller General reports 
regarding this issue.
    (b) Elements of Strategy.--The strategy required by subsection (a) 
shall address the findings of the Comptroller General in the reports 
referred to in such subsection and include the following elements:
            (1) A system to identify the most cost effective means for 
        allocating fire management budget resources.
            (2) An illustration of plans by the Secretary of the 
        Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to reinvest in non-
        fire programs.
            (3) A description of how the Secretaries will employ 
        appropriate management response.
            (4) A system for assessing the level of risk to 
        communities.
            (5) A system to ensure that the highest priority fuels 
        reduction projects are being funded first.
                                 <all>