[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4887 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4887
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to
provide hazardous fuels transportation grants, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 24, 2026
Mr. Kelly (for himself, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Lujan, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, and Mr.
Schiff) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to
provide hazardous fuels transportation grants, 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 ``Hazardous Fuels Transportation
Assistance Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. HAZARDOUS FUELS TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible recipient.--The term ``eligible recipient''
means--
(A) a for-profit entity;
(B) a nonprofit organization;
(C) a State;
(D) a unit of local government;
(E) an Indian Tribe; and
(F) an institution of higher education.
(2) Fireshed.--The term ``fireshed'' means a landscape-
scale area, as delineated using methods developed through
research conducted by the Forest Service, that represents
similar source levels of community exposure to wildfire.
(3) Hazardous fuels management activity.--The term
``hazardous fuels management activity'' means a vegetation
management activity conducted on National Forest System land
that reduces the risk of wildfire, including mechanical
thinning, mastication, timber harvest, grazing, the removal of
downed or damaged timber resulting from a tornado, hurricane,
ice storm, windthrow event, or other natural disaster that the
Secretary determines increases the risk of wildfire, and any
combination of those activities.
(4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(5) National forest system.--The term ``National Forest
System'' has the meaning given the term in section 11(a) of the
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974
(16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(7) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) each of the several States;
(B) the District of Columbia; and
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(b) Hazardous Fuels Transportation Grants.--
(1) Establishment and purpose.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
establish a program to provide grants on a competitive basis to
eligible recipients for the purpose of incentivizing the
removal of material from a hazardous fuels management activity
conducted under a contract or agreement entered into with the
Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, as
of the date of the application submitted under paragraph (2).
(2) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
paragraph (1), an eligible recipient shall submit to the
Secretary an application that includes, at a minimum, a
description of--
(A) the project to be carried out using the grant,
including the estimated cost of the project and how the
grant would be used for the project; and
(B) how the project would meet the purpose
described in paragraph (1), including one or more
reasons the material from the hazardous fuels
management activity would not be utilized without the
grant.
(c) Eligible Uses.--An eligible recipient that receives a grant
under subsection (b) shall use the grant for one or more of the
following:
(1) Transportation of byproducts from the hazardous fuels
management activity, including roundwood, chips, biomass, and
other byproducts, as determined by the Secretary.
(2) Costs associated with woodyards, loading facilities,
scales, and custom chipping.
(3) Purchasing, modifying, or leasing equipment that shall
be used primarily to facilitate the efficient transport of
material from a hazardous fuels management activity, which may
include equipment to process such material into a form more
conducive to such transport.
(4) Maintenance of equipment directly related to the
transportation of hazardous fuels from a hazardous fuels
management activity.
(5) Workforce development for training and certifications
necessary for projects carried out under this section,
including in partnership with Indian Tribes.
(6) Any other expenses determined necessary and appropriate
by the Secretary for the transport of hazardous fuels.
(d) Ineligible Uses.--An eligible recipient that receives a grant
under subsection (b) shall not use the grant for--
(1) construction or capital improvements, including
processing facilities;
(2) stumpage or timber purchases; or
(3) any other expenses the Secretary determines ineligible.
(e) Prioritization.--In awarding grants under subsection (b), the
Secretary shall give priority to proposals that would--
(1) treat hazardous fuels in high-risk firesheds, as
determined by the Secretary;
(2) maximize the number of acres treated for hazardous
fuels;
(3) maximize the volume of hazardous fuels to be
transported;
(4) maximize the retention of existing forest products
infrastructure;
(5) develop new or expand existing wood processing
facilities;
(6) maximize the potential to increase the utilization of
forest products long-term;
(7) utilize material from a hazardous fuels management
activity as part of a project under--
(A) the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration
Program established under section 4003 of the Omnibus
Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303); or
(B) the Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration
Partnership program established under section 40808 of
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C.
6592d); and
(8) remove material from a hazardous fuels management
activity using one or more of--
(A) a good neighbor agreement under section 8206 of
the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a);
(B) a stewardship contracting project entered into
under section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration
Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c);
(C) a self-determination contract or self-
governance compact agreement entered into under the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); and
(D) an agreement or contract entered into under the
Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-
278; 118 Stat. 868).
(f) Funding.--
(1) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
(2) Limitations.--
(A) Grant amount.--The Secretary shall not expend
more than $3,000,000 for any one grant under this
section in any one fiscal year.
(B) Purchasing equipment.--An eligible recipient
shall not use more than $250,000 of the amount of a
grant under this section in any one fiscal year for
purchasing equipment under subsection (c)(3).
(3) Cost-share.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), an eligible recipient may receive a grant under
this section in an amount equal to not more than 75
percent of the cost of carrying out the project under
this section.
(B) Indian tribes.--An Indian Tribe may receive a
grant under this section in an amount equal to not more
than 90 percent of the cost of carrying out the project
under this section.
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