[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 14, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6486-S6488]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Bingaman, and Mr. Domenici):
  S. 1238. A bill to amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to 
provide for the conduct of projects that protect forests, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Public 
Lands Corps Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2005. I am introducing 
this bill with Senators Domenici and Bingaman, whose cosponsorship I 
greatly appreciate. I also understand that Congressmen Greg Walden and 
Tom Udall are introducing an identical version of the bill in the 
House, which I also appreciate.
  This bill authorizes the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to 
enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with qualified corps to 
perform appropriate conservation projects, assist governments and 
Indian tribes in performing research and public education associated 
with natural and cultural resources, introduce young people to public 
service and expand their educational opportunities, and stimulate 
interest among the Nation's youth in careers in conservation and land 
management.
  Consistent with the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, this bill also 
identifies a series of priority projects for corps to carry out 
including the restoration and protection of public lands threatened by 
severe fire, insect or disease infestation or other damaging agents; 
the protection, restoration, or enhancement of forest ecosystem 
components to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered 
species; the improvement of biological diversity; and, the enhancement 
of productivity and carbon sequestration.
  In general, the Secretaries may give a preference to those corps that 
enroll young people who are economically, physically, or educationally 
disadvantaged. When it comes to the priority projects, the Secretaries 
shall ``to the maximum extent practicable'' give preference to those 
corps that have a substantial number of members who are disadvantaged. 
It also allows the Secretaries to grant noncompetitive hiring status to 
corps alumni for future Federal hiring. Finally, the bill authorizes 
$15 million a year, of which $10 million is for the priority projects 
identified in the bill and $5 million is for nonpriority projects.
  I have named this legislation the Public Lands Corps Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act because it builds on both the Public Lands Corps Act of 
1993 and the recently enacted Healthy Forest Restoration Act. I also 
want to note that last year the administration supported an earlier, 
but substantially similar, version of this bill.
  This bill uses the cost saving resources of youth corps to carry out 
projects. It is estimated that youth corps generate $1.60 in immediate 
benefits for every dollar in costs. This figure is important given both 
the great need and great costs associated with fighting fires. The 
Federal Government is responsible for overseeing 689 million acres of 
land and five Federal agencies reported spending $1.6 billion in 2002 
on fire fighting suppression efforts--a whopping $300 million more than 
the previous record.

[[Page S6487]]

  As an example of what can happen in one State, consider 2003's 
catastrophic wildfires in southern California. Before these wildfires 
were contained, they scorched a total of 739,597 acres, killed 24 
people, and destroyed approximately 3,631 homes and thousands of other 
structures. Not only did insurance payouts cost more than $3 billion, 
but public expenditures for firefighting and recovery ran into the 
hundreds of millions of dollars. And California is certainly not the 
only State to incur large costs from fires.
  I want to reduce the chances of this type of catastrophe recurring in 
the future. To do so, we must use every resource at our disposal. I 
know that youth service and conversation corps can play a significant 
role in reducing the physical and financial strain that public land 
management agencies bear, and help protect our Nation's public lands 
from wildfires and other forms of devastation.
  I have seen firsthand the benefits that service and conservation 
corps bring to communities and the difference that they make in the 
lives of disadvantaged youth. In 1983, I founded the first urban youth 
corps as mayor of San Francisco, and during that time I saw a great 
improvement in the quality of life of the corps members and of the city 
itself. When the program started, it had a million-dollar budget and 
employed 36 disadvantaged young people 18 to 23 years old. They needed 
some direction, wanted a challenge, and to make themselves socially 
useful.
  That first year, we paid corps members $3.35 an hour to repair 
bathrooms in affordable housing for senior citizens and others, build a 
park in Hunter's Point, clear scotch broom from the Twin Peaks 
hillside, and fix up Alcatraz Island. In the subsequent 22 years, the 
San Francisco Conservation Corps, SFCC, has grown into a multisite, 
multifaceted agency that engages more than 500 young adults annually 
who have completed over 3.5 million hours of community service.
  The San Francisco Conservation Corps has also given thousands of 
corps members a sense of personal pride, helped connect them with their 
community, and prove that hard work pays off. I started the corps to 
help young people break out of the cycle of poverty and crime and 
improve their job skills by giving them guidance and support through 
labor-intensive activities.
  I am introducing this bill with the hope that the success of the San 
Francisco Conservation Corps can be duplicated nationwide. This program 
will not reach every disadvantaged young person in need of guidance and 
a second chance. But it is a start, and I urge my colleagues to join me 
in this effort.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1238

       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 ``Public Lands Corps Healthy 
     Forests Restoration Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC LANDS CORPS ACT OF 1993.

       (a) Definitions.--Section 203 of the Public Lands Corps Act 
     of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1722) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8), (9), (10), and (11) as 
     paragraphs (9), (10), (11), and (13), respectively;
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
       ``(8) Priority project.--The term `priority project' means 
     an appropriate conservation project conducted on eligible 
     service lands to further 1 or more of the purposes of the 
     Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6501 et 
     seq.), as follows:
       ``(A) To reduce wildfire risk to a community, municipal 
     water supply, or other at-risk Federal land.
       ``(B) To protect a watershed or address a threat to forest 
     and rangeland health, including catastrophic wildfire.
       ``(C) To address the impact of insect or disease 
     infestations or other damaging agents on forest and rangeland 
     health.
       ``(D) To protect, restore, or enhance forest ecosystem 
     components to--
       ``(i) promote the recovery of threatened or endangered 
     species;
       ``(ii) improve biological diversity; or
       ``(iii) enhance productivity and carbon sequestration.''; 
     and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (11) (as redesignated by 
     paragraph (1)) the following:
       ``(12) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means--
       ``(A) with respect to National Forest System land, the 
     Secretary of Agriculture; and
       ``(B) with respect to Indian lands, Hawaiian home lands, or 
     land administered by the Department of the Interior, the 
     Secretary of the Interior.''.
       (b) Qualified Youth or Conservation Corps.--Section 204(c) 
     of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1723(c)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``The Secretary of the Interior and the 
     Secretary of Agriculture are'' and inserting the following:
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary is''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Preference.--
       ``(A) In general.--For purposes of entering into contracts 
     and cooperative agreements under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
     may give preference to qualified youth or conservation corps 
     located in a specific area that have a substantial portion of 
     members who are economically, physically, or educationally 
     disadvantaged to carry out projects within the area.
       ``(B) Priority projects.--In carrying out priority projects 
     in a specific area, the Secretary shall, to the maximum 
     extent practicable, give preference to qualified youth or 
     conservation corps located in that specific area that have a 
     substantial portion of members who are economically, 
     physically, or educationally disadvantaged.''.
       (c) Conservation Projects.--Section 204(d) of the Public 
     Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1723(d)) is amended--
       (1) in the first sentence--
       (A) by striking ``The Secretary of the Interior and the 
     Secretary of Agriculture may each'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may''; and
       (B) by striking ``such Secretary'' and inserting ``the 
     Secretary'';
       (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``Appropriate 
     conservation'' and inserting the following:
       ``(2) Projects on indian lands.--Appropriate 
     conservation''; and
       (3) by striking the third sentence and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(3) Disaster prevention or relief projects.--The 
     Secretary may authorize appropriate conservation projects and 
     other appropriate projects to be carried out on Federal, 
     State, local, or private land as part of a Federal disaster 
     prevention or relief effort.''.
       (d) Conservation Centers and Program Support.--Section 205 
     of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1724) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking the heading and inserting the following:

     ``SEC. 205. CONSERVATION CENTERS AND PROGRAM SUPPORT.'';

       (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
       ``(a) Establishment and Use.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may establish and use 
     conservation centers owned and operated by the Secretary 
     for--
       ``(A) use by the Public Lands Corps; and
       ``(B) the conduct of appropriate conservation projects 
     under this title.
       ``(2) Assistance for conservation centers.--The Secretary 
     may provide to a conservation center established under 
     paragraph (1) any services, facilities, equipment, and 
     supplies that the Secretary determines to be necessary for 
     the conservation center.
       ``(3) Standards for conservation centers.--The Secretary 
     shall--
       ``(A) establish basic standards of health, nutrition, 
     sanitation, and safety for all conservation centers 
     established under paragraph (1); and
       ``(B) ensure that the standards established under 
     subparagraph (A) are enforced.
       ``(4) Management.--As the Secretary determines to be 
     appropriate, the Secretary may enter into a contract or other 
     appropriate arrangement with a State or local government 
     agency or private organization to provide for the management 
     of a conservation center.''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Assistance.--The Secretary may provide any services, 
     facilities, equipment, supplies, technical assistance, 
     oversight, monitoring, or evaluations that are appropriate to 
     carry out this title.''.
       (e) Living Allowances and Terms of Service.--Section 207 of 
     the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1726) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
       ``(a) Living Allowances.--The Secretary shall provide each 
     participant in the Public Lands Corps and each resource 
     assistant with a living allowance in an amount established by 
     the Secretary.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) Hiring.--The Secretary may--
       ``(1) grant to a member of the Public Lands Corps credit 
     for time served with the Public Lands Corps, which may be 
     used toward future Federal hiring; and
       ``(2) provide to a former member of the Public Lands Corps 
     noncompetitive hiring status for a period of not more than 
     120 days after the date on which the member's service with 
     the Public Lands Corps is complete.''.
       (f) Funding.--The Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 is 
     amended--
       (1) in section 210 (16 U.S.C. 1729), by adding at the end 
     the following:
       ``(c) Other Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
     authorization of appropriations under section 211 are in 
     addition to amounts allocated to the Public Lands Corps

[[Page S6488]]

     through other Federal programs or projects.''; and
       (2) by inserting after section 210 the following:

     ``SEC. 211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
     to carry out this title $15,000,000 for each fiscal year, of 
     which $10,000,000 is authorized to carry out priority 
     projects.
       ``(b) Availability of Funds.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, amounts appropriated for any fiscal year to 
     carry out this title shall remain available for obligation 
     and expenditure until the end of the fiscal year following 
     the fiscal year for which the amounts are appropriated.''.
       (g) Conforming Amendments.--The Public Lands Corps Act of 
     1993 is amended--
       (1) in section 204 (16 U.S.C. 1723)--
       (A) in subsection (b)--
       (i) in the first sentence, by striking ``Secretary of the 
     Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture'' and inserting 
     ``Secretary'';
       (ii) in the third sentence, by striking ``Secretaries'' and 
     inserting ``Secretary''; and
       (iii) in the fourth sentence, by striking ``Secretaries'' 
     and inserting ``Secretary''; and
       (B) in subsection (e), by striking ``Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture'' and inserting 
     ``Secretary'';
       (2) in section 205 (16 U.S.C. 1724)--
       (A) in subsection (b), by striking ``Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture'' and inserting 
     ``Secretary''; and
       (B) in subsection (c), by striking ``Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture'' and inserting 
     ``Secretary'';
       (3) in section 206 (16 U.S.C. 1725)--
       (A) in subsection (a)--
       (i) in the first sentence--

       (I) by striking ``Secretary of the Interior and the 
     Secretary of Agriculture are each'' and inserting ``Secretary 
     is''; and
       (II) by striking ``such Secretary'' and inserting ``the 
     Secretary'';

       (ii) in the third sentence, by striking ``Secretaries'' and 
     inserting ``Secretary''; and
       (iii) in the fourth sentence, by striking ``Secretaries'' 
     and inserting ``Secretary''; and
       (B) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by striking 
     ``Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture'' 
     and inserting ``the Secretary''; and
       (4) in section 210 (16 U.S.C. 1729)--
       (A) in subsection (a)--
       (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are each'' and 
     inserting ``Secretary is''; and
       (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are each'' and 
     inserting ``Secretary is''; and
       (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture'' and inserting 
     ``Secretary''.
                                 ______