[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6208 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6208

     To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
   Agriculture to submit to Congress a report on the amount of waste 
  collected on certain Federal land along the southern border of the 
                 United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 2, 2023

 Mr. Tiffany introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
Agriculture, 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 direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
   Agriculture to submit to Congress a report on the amount of waste 
  collected on certain Federal land along the southern border of the 
                 United States, 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 ``Trash Reduction And Suppressing Harm 
from Environmental Degradation at the Border Act'' or the ``TRASHED 
Border Act''.

SEC. 2. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO REDUCE TRASH ALONG THE SOUTHERN 
              BORDER.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary concerned, in coordination with the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish and implement policies 
and protocols to prevent and mitigate environmental degradation on 
covered Federal lands caused by aliens without lawful immigration 
status--
            (1) crossing the southern border; or
            (2) being housed, or otherwise illegally encroaching or 
        camping, on National Forest System lands or lands under the 
        jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior.
    (b) Protocols.--In developing the policies and protocols under 
subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall consider policies and 
seek to implement best practices with respect to--
            (1) reducing trash accumulation, particularly in 
        ecologically sensitive areas--
                    (A) on covered Federal lands; or
                    (B) where aliens without lawful immigration status 
                are being housed, or are otherwise illegally 
                encroaching or camping, on National Forest System lands 
                or lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the 
                Interior;
            (2) address the destruction of sensitive natural and 
        archeological resources; and
            (3) address the destruction of wildlife habitat.

SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN TRASH ACCUMULATION ON THE 
              SOUTHERN BORDER.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the 
Secretary concerned shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on the amount of waste collected in the following 
areas:
            (1) Covered Federal lands.
            (2) Sites on National Forest System lands or lands under 
        the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior--
                    (A) on which aliens without lawful immigration 
                status are being housed, or are otherwise illegally 
                encroaching or camping; or
                    (B) used for the illegal cultivation of narcotics, 
                including the cultivation of cannabis, by aliens 
                without lawful immigration status.
    (b) Contents of Report.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) 
shall include the following with respect to areas covered by the 
report:
            (1) The total amount of waste collected (in pounds) by 
        employees and contractors of Federal agencies and the cost of 
        collecting such waste, including a breakdown by agency, region, 
        or other unit the Secretary concerned determines appropriate in 
        illustrating the distribution of waste.
            (2) Suggestions on how to reduce environmental degradation 
        caused by waste.
            (3) Data provided by Federal, State, and local agencies, 
        nonprofit and volunteer organizations, and individuals with 
        respect to--
                    (A) the amount of waste collected; and
                    (B) the number of waste collection events.
            (4) The total number of acres of wildlife habitat impacted 
        by waste.
            (5) The discovery of any unauthorized trails or roads.
            (6) The number of wildfires started as a result of 
        unauthorized human activity, including fires started by aliens 
        without lawful immigration status.
            (7) Any other information the Secretary concerned 
        determines appropriate to demonstrate the amount of waste found 
        or collected.
    (c) Collection Data.--
            (1) In general.--In developing the reports required under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall--
                    (A) collaborate in information gathering with 
                State, local, nonprofit, and volunteer organizations 
                and individuals assisting in waste collection efforts; 
                and
                    (B) to the maximum extent practicable, verify the 
                information provided by such organizations and 
                individuals.
            (2) Protection of data.--The Secretary concerned shall take 
        precautions to ensure the privacy of organizations and 
        individuals submitting data for the purposes of this Act and 
        prevent the disclosure of personal identifiable information to 
        the public.
    (d) Dates for Submission.--Except for the first report submitted in 
accordance with subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees each fiscal year report not 
later than 90 days after the last day of the fiscal year covered by the 
report.

SEC. 4. PENALTIES AND FINES.

    (a) In General.--An alien without lawful immigration status who, 
while on covered Federal land, carries out an activity prohibited under 
applicable fire and sanitation regulations shall be subject to 
penalties and fines.
    (b) Penalties Doubled.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall promulgate rules 
and regulations to double the penalties and fines for prohibited 
activities referred to in subsection (a) carried out on covered Federal 
lands.
    (c) Enforcement.--The Secretary concerned shall enforce existing 
regulations regarding penalties and fines, specifically regarding 
applicable fire and sanitation regulations on covered Federal land.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the 
Secretary concerned shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report detailing the total amount collected in penalties 
and fines under subsection (a).

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Applicable fire and sanitation regulations.--The term 
        ``applicable fire and sanitation regulations'' means the 
        following provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations, as in 
        effect on the date of the enactment of this Act:
                    (A) With respect to lands under the jurisdiction of 
                the Secretary of the Interior--
                            (i) sections 2.13 and 2.14 of title 36;
                            (ii) sections 423.29, 423.31, 423.34, 
                        8365.1-1, 8365.1-7, 8365.2-1, 8365.2-3, 9212.1, 
                        and 9212.2 of title 43; and
                            (iii) sections 26.34, 27.94, and 27.95 of 
                        title 50.
                    (B) With respect to National Forest System lands, 
                sections 261.5 and 261.11 of title 36.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committees on Natural Resources, 
                Agriculture, Homeland Security, and the Judiciary of 
                the House of Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Homeland Security 
                & Governmental Affairs, and the Judiciary of the 
                Senate.
            (3) Covered federal lands.--The term ``covered Federal 
        lands'' means land--
                    (A) owned by the United States;
                    (B) located in a unit that shares an exterior 
                boundary with the southern border; and
                    (C) administered by--
                            (i) the National Park Service;
                            (ii) the Bureau of Land Management;
                            (iii) the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                        Service;
                            (iv) the Bureau of Reclamation; or
                            (v) the Forest Service.
            (4) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to 
                lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the 
                Interior; and
                    (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 
                the Chief of the Forest Service, with respect to 
                National Forest System lands.
            (5) Southern border.--The term ``southern border'' means 
        the international land border between the United States and 
        Mexico.
            (6) Waste.--The term ``waste'' means any refuse, garbage, 
        rubbish, trash, debris, or litter left or created by humans and 
        disposed of--
                    (A) without authorization from the Federal agency 
                administering the area where the waste is found; or
                    (B) outside of a waste collection receptacle.
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