[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S3860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2859. Ms. CANTWELL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
to amendment SA 2282 proposed by Mr. Inhofe (for himself and Mr. 
McCain) to the bill H.R. 5515, to authorize appropriations for fiscal 
year 2019 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for 
military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of 
Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, 
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

       At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1066. ESTABLISHMENT OF BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
     Secretary of Defense, shall establish a Blue Ribbon 
     Commission (referred to in this section as the 
     ``Commission'')--
       (1) to study--
       (A) the fixed-wing aircraft available to the Federal 
     Government for wildfire suppression as of the date of the 
     study; and
       (B) the likely demand for fixed-wing aircraft for wildfire 
     suppression over the 10-year period beginning on the date of 
     enactment of this Act; and
       (2) to submit to the Secretary of the Interior, the 
     Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Defense, and the 
     relevant committees of Congress a report with specific 
     recommendations for the safe and effective future of the 
     Federal wildland fire aviation program.
       (b) Contents.--The report submitted under subsection (a)(2) 
     shall include recommendations for--
       (1) the types, quantities, and ownership and contracting 
     models of the fixed-wing aircraft that should comprise the 
     Federal fleet of wildfire suppression aircraft, specifically 
     for very large airtankers, single-engine airtankers, water 
     scoopers, and large airtankers, including--
       (A) the modular airborne firefighting systems operated by 
     the Secretary of the Air Force; and
       (B) the 7 demilitarized HC-130H aircraft with serial 
     numbers 1706, 1708, 1709, 1713, 1714, 1719, and 1721 that 
     were transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture by the 
     Secretary of the Air Force under section 1098(a)(2)(A)(iii) 
     of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
     2014 (Public Law 113-66; 127 Stat. 882); and
       (2) agency policies governing--
       (A) situations in which fixed-wing aircraft should be used 
     for wildfire suppression; and
       (B) situations in which fixed-wing aircraft should not be 
     used due to safety, cost, or effectiveness concerns.
       (c) Constraints.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
     Commission shall assume, for the purposes of preparing the 
     report required under subsection (a)(2), that the Federal 
     fleet described in subsection (b)(1) will be funded with 
     $500,000,000 annually.
       (2) Exception.--If a recommendation of the Commission is 
     deemed critical to the safe and effective operation of the 
     fleet and would require an amount of funding in excess of 
     $500,000,000 annually, the Commission shall include in the 
     report a description of the recommendation and the 
     approximate cost of implementing the recommendation.

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