[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3441 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3441

To provide for the transfer of excess Department of Defense aircraft to 
 the Forest Service for wildfire suppression activities, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2012

  Mr. McCain (for himself, Mr. Nelson of Florida, and Mrs. Feinstein) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the transfer of excess Department of Defense aircraft to 
 the Forest Service for wildfire suppression activities, 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 ``Wildfire Suppression Aircraft 
Transfer Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF EXCESS AIRCRAFT FOR WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION PURPOSES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the aircraft 
specified in subsection (b) are declared excess to the needs of the 
Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense shall transfer such 
aircraft to the Secretary of Agriculture for use by the Forest Service 
for wildfire suppression purposes. The transfer of any excess aircraft 
under this subsection shall be without reimbursement.
    (b) Aircraft.--The aircraft transferred under subsection (a) are 14 
C-27J aircraft that are--
            (1) excess to the needs of the Department of Defense, as 
        determined by the Secretary of Defense; and
            (2) acceptable for use by the Forest Service, as determined 
        by the Secretary of Agriculture.
    (c) Priority in Transfer.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall be 
afforded a priority in the transfer under subsection (a) of excess 
aircraft of the Department of Defense described in subsection (b) 
before any other department or agency of the Federal Government.
    (d) Conditions of Transfer.--Excess aircraft transferred under 
subsection (a)--
            (1) may be used only for wildfire suppression purposes; and
            (2) may not be flown or otherwise removed from the United 
        States unless dispatched by the National Interagency Fire 
        Center in support of an international agreement to assist in 
        wildfire suppression efforts or for other purposes approved by 
        the Secretary of Agriculture in writing in advance.
    (e) Expiration of Authority.--The authority to transfer excess 
aircraft under subsection (a) shall expire upon the completion of the 
transfer of all the excess aircraft specified in subsection (b).

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF SALE OF AIRCRAFT AND PARTS FOR WILDFIRE 
              SUPPRESSION PURPOSES.

    Section 2 of the Wildfire Suppression Aircraft Transfer Act of 1996 
(10 U.S.C. 2576 note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``during the period 
        beginning on October 1, 1996, and ending on September 30, 
        2005'' and inserting ``during a period specified in subsection 
        (g)'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new 
        subsection (g):
    ``(g) Periods for Exercise of Authority.--The periods specified in 
this subsection are the following:
            ``(1) The period beginning on October 1, 1996, and ending 
        on September 30, 2005.
            ``(2) The period beginning on October 1, 2012, and ending 
        on September 30, 2017.''.
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