[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2996 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2996

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to establish wildfire on Federal lands as a major 
                               disaster.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 9, 2015

  Mr. Hardy introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to establish wildfire on Federal lands as a major 
                               disaster.

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

SECTION 1. WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LANDS.

    Section 102(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(2)'' and all that follows through 
        ``means'' and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Major disaster.--
                    ``(A) Major disaster.--The term `major disaster' 
                means''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Major disaster for wildfire on federal 
                lands.--The term `major disaster for wildfire on 
                Federal lands' means any wildfire or wildfires, which 
                in the determination of the President under section 802 
                warrants assistance under section 803 to supplement the 
                efforts and resources of the Department of the Interior 
                or the Department of Agriculture--
                            ``(i) on Federal lands; or
                            ``(ii) on non-Federal lands pursuant to a 
                        fire protection agreement or cooperative 
                        agreement.''.

SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF A MAJOR DISASTER FOR WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LANDS.

    The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

       ``TITLE VIII--MAJOR DISASTER FOR WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LAND

``SEC. 801. DEFINITIONS.

    ``As used in this title--
            ``(1) Federal land.--The term `Federal land' means--
                    ``(A) any land under the jurisdiction of the 
                Department of the Interior; and
                    ``(B) any land under the jurisdiction of the United 
                States Forest Service.
            ``(2) Federal land management agencies.--The term `Federal 
        land management agencies' means--
                    ``(A) the Bureau of Land Management;
                    ``(B) the National Park Service;
                    ``(C) the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
                    ``(D) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 
                and
                    ``(E) the United States Forest Service.
            ``(3) Wildfire suppression operations.--The term `wildfire 
        suppression operations' means the emergency and unpredictable 
        aspects of wildland firefighting, including support, response, 
        emergency stabilization activities, and other emergency 
        management activities of wildland firefighting on Federal lands 
        (or on non-Federal lands pursuant to a fire protection 
        agreement or cooperative agreement) by the Federal land 
        management agencies covered by the wildfire suppression 
        subactivity of the Wildland Fire Management account or the 
        FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund account of the Federal 
        land management agencies.

``SEC. 802. PROCEDURE FOR DECLARATION OF A MAJOR DISASTER FOR WILDFIRE 
              ON FEDERAL LANDS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 
of Agriculture may submit a request to the President consistent with 
the requirements of this title for a declaration by the President that 
a major disaster for wildfire on Federal lands exists.
    ``(b) Requirements.--A request for a declaration by the President 
that a major disaster for wildfire on Federal lands exists shall--
            ``(1) be made in writing by the respective Secretary;
            ``(2) certify that the amount appropriated in the current 
        fiscal year for wildfire suppression operations of the Federal 
        land management agencies under the jurisdiction of the 
        respective Secretary, net of any concurrently enacted 
        rescissions of wildfire suppression funds, increases the total 
        unobligated balance of amounts available for wildfire 
        suppression by an amount equal to or greater than the average 
        total costs incurred by the Federal land management agencies 
        per year for wildfire suppression operations, including the 
        suppression costs in excess of appropriated amounts, over the 
        previous ten fiscal years;
            ``(3) certify that the amount available for wildfire 
        suppression operations of the Federal land management agencies 
        under the jurisdiction of the respective Secretary will be 
        obligated not later than 30 days after such Secretary notifies 
        the President that wildfire suppression funds will be exhausted 
        to fund ongoing and anticipated wildfire suppression operations 
        related to the wildfire on which the request for the 
        declaration of a major disaster for wildfire on Federal lands 
        pursuant to this title is based; and
            ``(4) specify the amount required in the current fiscal 
        year to fund wildfire suppression operations related to the 
        wildfire on which the request for the declaration of a major 
        disaster for wildfire on Federal lands pursuant to this title 
        is based.
    ``(c) Declaration.--Based on the request of the respective 
Secretary under this title, the President may declare that a major 
disaster for wildfire on Federal lands exists.

``SEC. 803. WILDFIRE ON FEDERAL LANDS ASSISTANCE.

    ``(a) In General.--In a major disaster for wildfire on Federal 
lands, the President may transfer funds, only from the account 
established pursuant to subsection (b), to the Secretary of the 
Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct wildfire 
suppression operations on Federal lands (and non-Federal lands pursuant 
to a fire protection agreement or cooperative agreement).
    ``(b) Wildfire Suppression Operations Account.--The President shall 
establish a specific account for the assistance available pursuant to a 
declaration under section 802. Such account may only be used to fund 
assistance pursuant to this title.
    ``(c) Limitation.--
            ``(1) Limitation of transfer.--The assistance available 
        pursuant to a declaration under section 802 is limited to the 
        transfer of the amount requested pursuant to section 802(b)(4). 
        The assistance available for transfer shall not exceed the 
        amount contained in the wildfire suppression operations account 
        established pursuant to subsection (b).
            ``(2) Transfer of funds.--Funds under this section shall be 
        transferred from the wildfire suppression operations account to 
        the wildfire suppression subactivity of the Wildland Fire 
        Management Account.
    ``(d) Prohibition of Other Transfers.--Except as provided in this 
section, no funds may be transferred to or from the account established 
pursuant to subsection (b) to or from any other fund or account.
    ``(e) Reimbursement for Wildfire Suppression Operations on Non-
Federal Land.--If amounts transferred under subsection (c) are used to 
conduct wildfire suppression operations on non-Federal land, the 
respective Secretary shall--
            ``(1) secure reimbursement for the cost of such wildfire 
        suppression operations conducted on the non-Federal land; and
            ``(2) transfer the amounts received as reimbursement to the 
        wildfire suppression operations account established pursuant to 
        subsection (b).
    ``(f) Annual Accounting and Reporting Requirements.--Not later than 
90 days after the end of each fiscal year for which assistance is 
received pursuant to this section, the respective Secretary shall 
submit to the Committees on Agriculture, Appropriations, the Budget, 
Natural Resources, and Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
of Representatives and the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry, Appropriations, the Budget, Energy and Natural Resources, 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Indian Affairs of the 
Senate, and make available to the public, a report that includes the 
following:
            ``(1) The risk-based factors that influenced management 
        decisions regarding wildfire suppression operations of the 
        Federal land management agencies under the jurisdiction of the 
        Secretary concerned.
            ``(2) Specific discussion of a statistically significant 
        sample of large fires, in which each fire is analyzed for cost 
        drivers, effectiveness of risk management techniques, resulting 
        positive or negative impacts of fire on the landscape, impact 
        of investments in preparedness, suggested corrective actions, 
        and such other factors as the respective Secretary considers 
        appropriate.
            ``(3) Total expenditures for wildfire suppression 
        operations of the Federal land management agencies under the 
        jurisdiction of the respective Secretary, broken out by fire 
        sizes, cost, regional location, and such other factors as the 
        such Secretary considers appropriate.
            ``(4) Lessons learned.
            ``(5) Such other matters as the respective Secretary 
        considers appropriate.
    ``(g) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this title shall limit the 
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, Indian tribe, 
or a State from receiving assistance through a declaration made by the 
President under this Act when the criteria for such declaration have 
been met.''.
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