[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4249-H4251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ACCURATELY COUNTING RISK ELIMINATION SOLUTIONS ACT
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1567) to require that the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of the Interior submit accurate reports regarding hazardous
fuels reduction activities, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1567
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 ``Accurately Counting Risk
Elimination Solutions Act'' or the ``ACRES Act''.
SEC. 2. ACCURATE HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION REPORTS.
(a) Inclusion of Hazardous Fuels Reduction Report in
Materials Submitted in Support of the President's Budget.--
(1) In general.--Beginning with the first fiscal year that
begins after the date of the enactment of this Act, and each
fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary concerned shall include
in the materials submitted in support of the President's
budget pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States
Code, a report on the number of acres of Federal land on
which the Secretary concerned carried out hazardous fuels
reduction activities during the preceding fiscal year.
(2) Requirements.--For purposes of the report required
under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall--
(A) in determining the number of acres of Federal land on
which the Secretary concerned carried out hazardous fuels
reduction activities during the period covered by the
report--
(i) record acres of Federal land on which hazardous fuels
reduction activities were completed during such period; and
(ii) record each acre described in clause (i) once in the
report, regardless of whether multiple hazardous fuels
reduction activities were carried out on such acre during
such period; and
(B) with respect to the acres of Federal land recorded in
the report, include information on--
(i) which such acres are located in the wildland-urban
interface;
(ii) the level of wildfire risk (high, moderate, or low) on
the first and last day of the period covered by the report;
(iii) the types of hazardous fuels activities completed for
such acres, delineating between whether such activities were
conducted--
(I) in a wildfire managed for resource benefits; or
(II) through a planned project;
(iv) the cost per acre of hazardous fuels activities
carried out during the period covered by the report;
(v) the region or system unit in which the acres are
located; and
(vi) the effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction
activities on reducing the risk of wildfire.
(3) Transparency.--The Secretary concerned shall make each
report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly available on
the website of the Department of Agriculture and the
Department of the Interior, as applicable.
(b) Accurate Data Collection.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall
implement standardized procedures for tracking data related
to hazardous fuels reduction activities carried out by the
Secretary concerned.
(2) Elements.--The standardized procedures required under
paragraph (1) shall include--
(A) regular, standardized data reviews of the accuracy and
timely input of data used to track hazardous fuels reduction
activities;
(B) verification methods that validate whether such data
accurately correlates to the hazardous fuels reduction
activities carried out by the Secretary concerned;
(C) an analysis of the short- and long-term effectiveness
of the hazardous fuels reduction activities on reducing the
risk of wildfire; and
(D) for hazardous fuels reduction activities that occur
partially within the wildland-urban interface, methods to
distinguish which acres are located within the wildland-urban
interface and which acres are located outside the wildland-
urban interface.
(3) Report.--Not later than 2 weeks after implementing the
standardized procedures required under paragraph (1), the
Secretary concerned shall submit to Congress a report that
describes--
(A) such standardized procedures; and
(B) program and policy recommendations to Congress to
address any limitations in tracking data related to hazardous
fuels reduction activities under this subsection.
(c) GAO Study.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall--
(1) conduct a study on the implementation of this Act,
including any limitations with respect to--
(A) reporting hazardous fuels reduction activities under
subsection (a); or
(B) tracking data related to hazardous fuels reduction
activities under subsection (b); and
(2) submit to Congress a report that describes the results
of the study under paragraph (1).
(d) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Hazardous fuels reduction activity.--The term
``hazardous fuels reduction activity''--
(A) means any vegetation management activity to reduce the
risk of wildfire, including mechanical treatments and
prescribed burning; and
(B) does not include the awarding of contracts to conduct
hazardous fuels reduction activities.
(2) Federal lands.--The term ``Federal lands'' means lands
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or
the Secretary of Agriculture.
(3) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National
Forest System lands; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public
lands and units of the National Park System.
(4) Wildland-urban interface.--The term ``wildland-urban
interface'' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of
the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511).
(e) No Additional Funds Authorized.--No additional funds
are authorized to carry out the requirements of this Act, and
the activities authorized by this Act are subject to the
availability of appropriations made in advance for such
purposes.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.
General Leave
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 1567, as amended, the bill now
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of Representative Tiffany's
legislation, H.R. 1567, the Accurately Counting Risk Elimination
Solutions, or ACRES Act.
This is a commonsense, good governance bill that will bring sorely
needed transparency and accountability to the misleading way our
Federal land managers are tracking and reporting hazardous fuel
treatments.
We remain in the midst of a historic catastrophic wildfire crisis
that has devoured an average of 7 million acres every year for the last
two decades. This alarming figure is more than double the annual losses
seen during the 1990s.
[[Page H4250]]
This worsening problem is directly linked to insufficient forest
management, which has created a dangerous build-up of hazardous fuels
in our forest. Despite the clear need to confront this crisis head on,
Federal land management agencies like the Forest Service are still
failing to increase the pace and scale of their treatments.
Even more concerning is the recent investigative reporting by NBC
News that found that the Forest Service is overreporting the number of
acres they treat annually by over 20 percent. This happens because the
Forest Service will count the same piece of land toward its risk
reduction goals multiple times if different treatments, such as
prescribed thinning and burning, are completed on that land.
In some extreme cases, the Forest Service counted the same parcel of
land 30 times, meaning the agency reported to Congress that they
reduced hazardous fuels on 30 acres when, in fact, only one acre had
received treatment.
This problem gets worse if treatments can span several years. For
example, NBC News found an example of a hazardous fuels reduction
project in southern California that lasted for 5 years. The Forest
Service reported that they treated 744 acres of land when, in fact,
only 173 acres had been treated.
If the Forest Service were treating at the order of magnitude that
they need to be treating, these numbers wouldn't matter, but I think
inflating the numbers is just a way to try to cover up the inadequate
management that is happening. Instead of talking about hundreds of
acres, we need to be talking about thousands and tens of thousands and
even hundreds of thousands of acres that are being treated.
{time} 1645
This kind of reporting means that the Forest Service suggested to
Congress and the public that they are doing as much as four times more
work than they had actually accomplished. This is absolutely
unacceptable, particularly in an area where wildfire risk and the risk
to communities is extremely high.
This legislation simply requires the Forest Service to submit data to
Congress annually that details their hazardous fuels reduction work by
only counting each individual acre once even if multiple treatments
were performed. This exact idea has been supported in reports from the
Government Accountability Office and USDA's Office of Inspector
General.
The fact that we need to pass legislation to tell the Forest Service
to count the way that we all learned how to count should show us just
how deep this problem runs within our agencies when it comes to
confronting our catastrophic wildfire crisis.
By holding Federal land managers accountable for their actual work,
the work that they are doing on the ground to help improve forest
health and to make our Nation's forests safer for all of us, we are
required to do this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Tiffany for bringing this bill
forward. I ask that we support this bill strongly, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, DC, September 5, 2023.
Hon. Bruce Westerman,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter confirms our mutual
understanding regarding H.R. 1567, the ``Accurately Counting
Risk Elimination Solutions Act'', or the ``ACRES Act''. Thank
you for collaborating with the Committee on Agriculture on
the matters within our jurisdiction.
The Committee on Agriculture will forego any further
consideration of this bill. However, by foregoing
consideration at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction
over any subject matter contained in this or similar
legislation. The Committee on Agriculture also reserves the
right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of
conferees should it become necessary and ask that you support
such a request.
We would appreciate a response to this letter confirming
this understanding with respect to H.R. 1567 and request a
copy of our letters on this matter be published in the
Congressional Record during Floor consideration.
Sincerely,
Glenn ``GT'' Thompson,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Natural Resources,
Washington, DC, September 6, 2023.
Hon. Glenn ``GT'' Thompson,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I write regarding H.R. 1567, the
Accurately Counting Risk Elimination Solutions Act or the
ACRES Act, which was ordered reported by the Committee on
Natural Resources on April 28, 2023.
I recognize that the bill contains provisions that fall
within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Agriculture and
appreciate your willingness to forgo action on the bill. I
acknowledge that the Committee on Agriculture will not
formally consider H.R. 1567 and agree that the inaction of
your Committee with respect to the bill does not waive any
jurisdiction over the subject matter contained therein.
I am pleased to support your request to name members of the
Committee on Agriculture to any conference committee to
consider such provisions. I will ensure that our exchange of
letters is included in the Congressional Record during floor
consideration of the bill. I appreciate your cooperation
regarding this legislation.
Sincerely,
Bruce Westerman,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 1567 introduced by my colleague from
Wisconsin, Representative Tiffany.
The United States Forest Service manages millions of acres of
forestland, including vital watersheds, critical wildlife habitat, and
countless outdoor recreational areas.
The Forest Service's 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy Implementation
Plan stresses the importance of fire-adapted landscapes and hazardous
fuel treatments to build resilient forests.
Wildfire risk reduction projects are complex multistep processes
requiring significant planning and investments often carried out over
several years.
Therefore, it is important that we receive accurate, transparent, and
accessible data on how forest management projects are being planned and
implemented.
This legislation would require the agency to include a report in the
President's annual budget on hazardous fuel activities carried out in a
given fiscal year to account for each treated acre.
This ongoing reporting requirement will enhance transparency and
accountability, providing critical information that can help guide
investments in management of our national forests--including how we
deploy our historic investments in wildfire risk reduction efforts that
were included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and in the
Inflation Reduction Act.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal
Lands and the sponsor of this bill.
Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his support
throughout the process in regard to this bill.
There is very little that I can add to what the chairman of the
Natural Resources Committee has laid out in his opening remarks in
regard to the need for the ACRES Act. One of the few things I can add
is a picture.
The picture to my right here shows the need for this bill. When the
amount of acres that are being treated are not counted accurately, we
end up with a situation where those acres that should be treated don't
get treated. This is the Grizzly Flats fire a couple years ago that
wiped out that community. The Forest Service knew that it was time that
these treatments needed to be put in place, and they weren't, and a
community was destroyed out in the great State of California.
This bill will bring transparency to the misleading and inaccurate
way hazardous fuels treatments are reported. Decades of mismanagement
of our Federal lands have left our forests overstocked and created
tinderbox conditions.
We have long known the reported pace and scale of forest management
has been insufficient to truly address our forest health crisis. There
is a better way to manage our public lands, and that starts with
holding our Federal land management agencies accountable by requiring
accurate reporting on the effectiveness of their work in fuel
reduction.
According to troubling reports, the situation is even worse than we
have been led to believe, as agencies have
[[Page H4251]]
been overstating their treatments by over 20 percent.
Accurate reporting is necessary to broadly track the progress made on
our larger wildfire mitigation targets, as well as individual projects.
The ACRES Act is a simple solution to hold our Federal agencies
accountable to see the actual work they are doing to reduce the
enormous risk of wildfire.
American taxpayers deserve to know they are getting what they paid
for. This bill is one of the steps needed to help ensure that happens.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am
prepared to close, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that we do everything in
our power to ensure that our forests are being managed properly. The
ACRES Act is one small step in the right direction. It is a commonsense
solution to a problem that really shouldn't even exist in the first
place.
Again, I thank the ranking member in the minority for supporting this
bill. The idea that we are actually moving toward more forest
management is encouraging to me.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss H.R. 1567,
which will require the Department of Agriculture and the Department of
the Interior to submit accurate reports regarding hazardous fuels
reduction activity.
Hazardous fuels reduction activity is an important effort to curb
wildfires.
Some sources state that wildfires cost the United States upwards of
$3 billion in damage from 2022 to 2023 and have destroyed 616,486 acres
across the United States since January of this year.
In the State of Texas alone, three quarters of the state have been
issued a wildfire declaration.
In the city of Houston, wildfires have damaged the air quality and
burned through several homes, negatively affecting many civilians'
lives.
Due to both the environmental and economic havoc that wildfires
present, it is important that we have accurate reporting to best
prepare for these disasters.
This bill is important because it monitors the risk elimination
solutions for wildfires in an accurate and dependable manner while also
allowing oversight of the USDA and the Interior.
This bill is a first step to accurately determine effective methods
to reduce the risk of wildfire and because of this I ask my colleagues
to support this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1567, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________