[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 14 (Thursday, January 23, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H312-H335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          FIX OUR FORESTS ACT


                             General Leave

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material on H.R. 471.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bentz). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 53 and rule 
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House 
on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 471.
  The Chair appoints the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Strong) to preside 
over the Committee of the Whole.

                              {time}  1230


                     In the Committee of the Whole

  Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the 
Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 471) to expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 and improve forest management activities on National Forest System 
lands, on public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
Management, and on Tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, 
fire-prone forested lands, and for other purposes, with Mr. Strong in 
the chair.

[[Page H313]]

  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIR. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the 
first time.
  General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed 1 
hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources or their 
respective designees.
  The gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Huffman) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman).
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests 
Act, a bipartisan bill I am leading with my good friend from California 
(Mr. Peters), along with 16 other Democrats and 37 additional 
Republican cosponsors.
  Our prayers are with the people of California as they are enduring 
horrendous wildfires and experiencing loss of life and property. We 
have a unique opportunity today to put feet to those prayers and 
prevent those tragedies from happening again in the future.
  There are two reasons why we can't afford to wait any longer to 
reform forest management policies in this country. Number one, the 
stakes are too high, and number two, what we are doing is not working.
  First, let's talk about the stakes. The Los Angeles wildfires have 
caused unimaginable damage and will likely become the costliest in 
American history, with early estimates suggesting upward of $250 
billion in damages.
  More than 16,000 structures--homes, schools, grocery stores, entire 
neighborhoods, and communities--have burned. Sadly, at least 28 people 
have tragically lost their lives.
  We all know that such figures can tell only part of the story. No 
price tag can be placed on the loss of a beloved family member or 
friend. No property valuation can register the pain a family feels 
after losing a home where cherished memories were made. No bookkeeping 
accounts for the lost dreams of a small business owner whose lifework 
has gone up in smoke. These are the true costs, the human costs, of 
catastrophic wildfire.
  Losing 16,000 structures is nearly unfathomable. Local officials 
reported that it looked like a bomb was dropped on these communities 
after the smoke had cleared.
  What is truly startling is that there are 44 million homes in the 
wildland-urban interface nationwide. There are more than 70,000 
communities just like Pacific Palisades at risk of being wiped out by 
catastrophic fire.
  This brings me to my second point. What we have been doing is not 
working. This bill passed the House last September with a strong 
bipartisan vote. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to move it. In the 
interim, more than 1.5 million acres burned across the country.
  The Fix Our Forests Act offers a broad set of commonsense solutions 
that must be enacted. This legislation creates a needed framework for 
prioritizing treatments in our highest risk areas. To identify these 
areas, FOFA utilizes state-of-the-art technology to determine the most 
vulnerable firesheds across the country. Then, it incentivizes the use 
of emergency actions to prevent wildfires.
  Many of these actions, like clearing brush and creating fuel breaks, 
are exactly what local authorities hastily undertook as they scrambled 
to save threatened neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The key difference, 
however, is that this bill ensures that such measures take place well 
before the fires start, not in the heat of an approaching blaze.
  Without these tools, completing a single forest management project 
takes an average of 3 to 5 years. Under FOFA, land managers can act 
immediately to protect communities.
  FOFA also expands existing categorical exclusions up to 10,000 acres 
so that prevention measures can meet the scale of the crisis. Under the 
status quo, if land managers want to reduce hazardous fuels in an area 
roughly the size of the Palisades fire, they would need eight separate 
categorical exclusions. Under FOFA, they need only two.
  This change is based on proven results, like the 10,000-acre CE in 
the Lake Tahoe Basin. That was a bipartisan effort by Representative 
McClintock and the late Senator Dianne Feinstein. These efforts saved 
South Lake Tahoe from certain destruction during the Caldor fire.
  FOFA also protects communities by creating a community wildfire risk 
reduction program and clearing hazardous trees from utility rights-of-
way to prevent fires like the ones that destroyed Lahaina in Maui and 
Paradise in California.

  FOFA supports wildland firefighters by creating a new casualty 
assistance program for firefighters killed or injured in the line of 
duty, ensuring access to the latest technology so they can detect and 
put out fires faster and standardizing repayment timelines with local 
fire departments so non-Federal partners aren't waiting years to get 
the money they are owed.
  I have only briefly described some of the important bipartisan pieces 
in FOFA, but it involves much more to make forests more resilient, 
healthier, and safer, from sea to shining sea.
  All of these tools available in this bill echo a similar theme: We 
must restore common sense to our approach to forest management. This 
comprehensive package is a result of years of hard work and bipartisan 
collaboration formulated through hearings, site visits, and Member 
feedback.
  Fixing our forests should not be a partisan issue, and today, it is 
not.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 471, the Fix Our 
Forests Act, sponsored by Chairman Westerman.
  While this bill is flawed, and we will be discussing those flaws here 
in a moment, I do appreciate that Chair Westerman and Representative 
Peters did come together to work on this issue in a bipartisan way that 
acknowledges our wildfire crisis. That is a good thing. Addressing that 
should be a bipartisan priority, and the Fix Our Forests Act includes 
some helpful provisions.
  For starters, it has incorporated a number of key Democratic 
priorities that are in direct alignment with the recommendations of the 
Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. That is what is 
referenced in this poster here behind me, 148 nonpartisan consensus 
recommendations for making us safer from the threat of wildfire.
  If this bill simply moved those consensus recommendations forward and 
also did something that the commission told us we had to do, a critical 
priority, which is to fund them and make sure that the agencies 
responsible for overseeing these projects have staffing--if this bill 
were simply doing that, we wouldn't be here today because this bill 
would already be law, and many of these good things would already be 
keeping communities safer.
  Mr. Chair, as you will hear in a moment, this bill goes off on some 
tangents that have nothing to do with fire safety.
  Also, with respect to the good provisions it does include, it fails 
to fund them. That is why we are here. That is why the path of this 
bill has been more complicated. That is, unfortunately, a missed 
opportunity.
  We were able, in this bill, to include reauthorization of the 
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program and the Joint 
Chiefs' Landscape Restoration Partnership sponsored by our newly 
reelected Subcommittee on Federal Lands ranking member, Joe Neguse.
  The latest version of the bill also includes a revamped version of 
the Fireshed Center, which aligns with several of the commission's 
consensus recommendations aimed at enhancing coordination, using 
predictive services, and unifying decisionmaking capabilities.
  I am glad this bill has evolved to include these priorities my 
Democratic colleagues have championed. In fact, we have Democratic 
bills that do all of these good things and more because fire safety is 
a huge concern for all of us, but our Democratic bills do not pair 
these good provisions unnecessarily with harmful environmental 
rollbacks. That, unfortunately, is what the bill before us does do.
  If you scratch beneath the surface of H.R. 471, you start seeing 
problems, starting with the fact that the beneficial provisions are 
totally unfunded.

[[Page H314]]

There is simply no money, no resources, to help any of the good things 
actually happen.
  There are also several poison pills that have the potential to 
undermine science-based management and public engagement.
  On top of doing nothing to address the key driver of catastrophic 
wildfires, climate change, the so-called Fix Our Forests Act 
inappropriately co-opts emergency authorities under the National 
Environmental Policy Act, undercuts the Endangered Species Act, and 
even makes it more difficult for communities to engage and scrutinize 
or even know about projects that could directly impact them.
  Wildfire is deadly serious. In a matter of minutes, iconic landscapes 
and entire neighborhoods can be reduced to ashes. I know because it has 
happened all too often in my district. It is not something politicians 
should use as a pretext to jam through unrelated industry favors or 
special interest agendas that undermine our foundational environmental 
protections.
  Let me be clear. House Democrats agree that we need to increase the 
pace and scale of restoration in our national forests and on public and 
private land. That is why we worked to secure robust funding in the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. 
This enabled the Biden-Harris administration to develop the Wildfire 
Crisis Strategy and other key restoration activities.
  Thanks to the funding we provided, the Forest Service has been able 
to achieve record numbers for both hazardous fuels reduction and 
prescribed burning. They have even identified southern California as a 
priority landscape through this work. The only thing holding them back 
from doing even more beneficial work on the ground is lack of money.
  However, as we are seeing with the Los Angeles fires, addressing the 
wildfire crisis is not all about work in the woods. Southern California 
is dominated by chaparral, where things like timber sales and clear-
cutting simply do not provide a fire safety solution for these 
communities.

  My Republican friends seem to think that logging is a panacea for 
fire safety. In fact, it will do little or nothing to reduce wildfire 
risk in many of the most vulnerable communities. The fuel in the Los 
Angeles fires was not trees. The fuel was homes, schools, and 
businesses.
  We will learn many lessons from this tragedy, but one I hope we can 
take away right now is that we can't keep taking a siloed, myopic 
approach to wildfire management and prevention. Built environments, 
like Los Angeles, must be a priority.
  We shouldn't have to fight lies and disinformation as our brave 
Federal firefighters, who are already underpaid, are out there still 
fighting fires. I would like to set the record straight on some of the 
misinformation and disinformation swirling around this debate.
  While Los Angeles has some of the strongest building codes and fire 
safety requirements in the Nation, there are still thousands and 
thousands of homes that require retrofitting to ensure that they are 
adequately protected. Clearly, we have a lot more work to do, and this 
bill misses the mark by failing to advance that work.
  Keeping homes and property resilient also requires constant upkeep 
and maintenance. Our communities need guidance, and again, more than 
anything else, they need resources to ensure that this happens.
  While the Fix Our Forests Act includes a community wildfire risk 
program, which is a good thing, it is not enough. We need to pass the 
Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Act that I introduced 
earlier this week with my Republican colleague, Congressman Obernolte. 
It provides actual resources to help local communities defend 
themselves from the growing danger of wildfires.
  Our bill would empower communities to implement science-based methods 
for mitigating wildfire damage, and we provide funding to design and 
implement new community protection and wildfire resilience plans with 
community members, first responders, and relevant State agencies. It 
would designate a targeted, specific grant program for home hardening 
within FEMA and add home hardening as an allowable project under an 
existing Forest Service program.
  The bill provides actual support with an adequate focus on the built 
environment, and that is why I filed it as an amendment to this bill. 
Unfortunately, the majority decided to move forward on this bill 
without allowing a vote on that and many other amendments.
  I had been hopeful that the amendment process would be an opportunity 
to address some of the critical gaps in this bill, especially the 
absence of a pay raise for our Federal wildland firefighters. That, 
too, has been left out.
  What happened in Los Angeles this month is a national tragedy. In 
moments like this, we should overcome all politics and find ways to 
work together on solutions that actually help the people we are here to 
serve.
  With that in mind, I want to discourage any of my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle who might want to embrace this wrongheaded idea 
that relief and support for Los Angeles can somehow be a bargaining 
chip or used as leverage to advance other policy goals.
  The majority is not going to turn California into a red State by 
hijacking critically needed disaster relief. In fact, a thought like 
that never would have crossed our minds when we had the backs of the 
people in Florida, North Carolina, and Louisiana. We have simply been 
fellow Americans helping each other in the face of these terrible 
tragedies. That is the way it has always worked in this Congress, and I 
hope we are not going to set a terrible new precedent now.
  Mr. Chair, I will be recommending a ``no'' vote on this bill today. I 
hope that we can continue to work together, however, to improve this 
bill and to address all the critical issues that have been left out. I 
also hope that when it comes to the broader critical need for Federal 
disaster relief, we can remember that we are all fellow Americans and 
that we need to have each other's backs in these moments.
  Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1245

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, if throwing money at a problem would fix 
it, then we wouldn't be having fires today. Over the past few years, 
our Federal land managers have been showered with $12 billion to battle 
wildland fires and to make our forests more resilient. The result of 
that is that Forest Service estimates they are going to treat less 
acreage than they treated before.
  It is not a money problem. It is a policy problem and Fix Our Forests 
will help solve that problem.
  Mr. Chair, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California 
(Mr. McClintock).
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Chairman, over the last 10 years, we have lost 
fully one-quarter of our Federal forests to catastrophic fire.
  An untended forest is no different from an untended garden. It will 
grow and grow until it chokes itself to death, and then it will succumb 
to disease, pestilence, drought, and ultimately catastrophic fire. This 
is how nature gardens. She doesn't care that it takes a century or more 
for a forest to regrow. We mortals do.
  Excess timber will come out of the forest in only two ways. Either we 
will carry it out, or nature will burn it out. That is why we created 
the Forest Service, to do our own gardening and remove excess timber 
before it can choke off the forest.
  Every year, foresters would mark off surplus timber, and we would 
auction it off to logging companies who paid us to remove it. For a 
century, we enjoyed healthy, fire-resistant and resilient forests.
  However, then we passed bureaucratic laws which have made the active 
management of our forests all but impossible. A simple forest 
management plan now takes an average of 5.3 years to complete, and it 
costs millions of dollars, more than the value of the timber to be 
harvested. Since these laws were passed, timber harvested from Federal 
lands in California has fallen 75 percent with a concomitant increase 
in acreage destroyed by fire.
  My friend, Mr. Huffman, is concerned about climate change and carbon 
dioxide. He should know that a UCLA study revealed that just the 2020 
fires in California alone released twice as much carbon dioxide as had 
been

[[Page H315]]

prevented by 17 years of the restrictions and regulations that 
California has imposed, costing its consumers and taxpayers billions of 
dollars.
  Now, we were able to get a categorical exclusion from NEPA for forest 
thinning projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin in 2016. In the 9 years since 
its enactment, it has reduced the approval process for forest thinning 
projects at Tahoe from 5 years to less than 4 months. It has reduced 
the environmental reports from more than 800 pages down to a few dozen.
  Timber harvested has increased from roughly 1 million board feet a 
year to 9 million board feet a year. The treated acreage has tripled, 
and the Tahoe forests are returning to fire resiliency. This is what 
saved the city of South Lake Tahoe from the Caldor fire 2 years ago. 
The town of Grizzly Flats, which was not protected by this law, was 
wiped out by the same fire.
  I have been trying for years to expand these proven reforms to the 
rest of the National Forest System through the Proven Forest Management 
Act. That measure is now included in this legislation, and its 
enactment is long overdue.
  This should not be a partisan issue. The choice is between policies 
that have proven to work and policies that have proven to fail. Let us 
return to the policies that work before we run out of forests to burn 
down.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, it is always refreshing to hear my colleagues across 
the aisle, who typically deny climate science forcefully, to suddenly 
get interested in things like CO2 emissions. They have 
discovered, correctly, that forest fires actually cause CO2 
to go into the atmosphere. I guess that is progress.
  I hope now they will begin to listen to the overwhelming majority of 
climate scientists who are saying that this fossil fuel energy bonanza 
of theirs is actually the primary driver of catastrophic climate 
change. It is the reason we have record-breaking disasters, one after 
another because of this fossil fuel bonanza. I hope that we can build 
on the progress, this awakening that we have begun to hear on at least 
some climate science.
  Now, it was mentioned by the chairman, I believe erroneously, that 
forest treatments have gone down since the passage of the legislation 
that I mentioned two Congresses ago. In fact, we need to do a little 
bit of correcting there.
  Since the passage of these two laws, the Forest Service has been 
treating a record number of acres, including a record number of 
prescribed fires in California and across the country. We also know 
that from 2002 to 2023, the Forest Service consistently increased the 
acres that it treated.
  Nevertheless, let's pick up where the Trump Administration left off. 
Mr. Chair, 2.65 million acres were treated in 2020, and we know that 
the Biden administration was able to treat 4.3 million acres, a lot 
more than the Trump administration, in 2023. The numbers, admittedly, 
leveled off over the last 2 years because of Republican budget cuts, 
but they have still topped 4 million acres a year, and so it is a very 
different trajectory than what has been suggested.
  Mr. Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Beyer).
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the Fix Our Forests 
Act, and I rise to fight what could be the first successful attempt to 
undermine the Endangered Species Act.

  I believe that the California people deserve our urgent support to 
recover and rebuild from the tragic wildfires, and I am disappointed 
that this was not a productive discussion and a bipartisan discussion 
to help address what they need.
  There are many excellent pieces of legislation that we should be 
looking at for that support, including many that are bipartisan, like 
the Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act.
  Those bills provide much-needed funding, deliver desperately needed 
support to firefighters, and address the needs of frontline 
communities. This bill does not.
  Instead, it regurgitates long-held logging industry priorities to 
reshape environmental laws on Forest Service land and allow profit, not 
science, to dictate forest management decisions.
  As a co-chair of the Endangered Species Act Caucus, I am particularly 
troubled by this bill's rollback of Endangered Species Act enforcement 
by overturning the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' Cottonwood decision. 
This decision basically says that when new science emerges or develops 
on endangered species, it must be considered in the Endangered Species 
Act protections.
  By the way, the science goes both ways. It can both identify new 
dangers, but it can also identify successes and reduce stresses to 
threatened species.
  The industry has long tried to include the so-called Cottonwood fix 
in several pieces of must-pass legislation, most recently in the farm 
bill. They now see in their response to the California wildfires their 
newest opportunity to undermine Cottonwood.
  This industry wish list item would exempt Federal land management 
agencies from reconsultation under the Endangered Species Act. That 
process ensures that Federal agencies' land management plans 
incorporate the best available science as it becomes available. It is 
absolutely essential, but this is also a rare occurrence. It doesn't 
happen very often. When it does, it is important to consider it.
  As any student of history and science knows, our shared knowledge is 
continuously evolving through new inquiry and discovery. If we didn't 
incorporate new knowledge, then we would still be stuck with the 
geocentric model of the galaxy, placing the Earth at the center of the 
universe. Then think about the modern medical system. The modern 
medical community is built off the 19th century germ theory, which has 
saved hundreds of millions of lives.
  Incorporating new scientific knowledge is the bedrock of our modern 
society. It makes no sense when new science emerges to close our eyes, 
put our hands over our ears, and deny what the best science tells us. 
This antiscience ESA poison pill is dropped in, unconnected to wildlife 
management.
  Yes, we need good-faith forest management efforts to prevent 
wildfires, but not environmental rollbacks that allow for logging and 
other ecologically damaging activities that would worsen, not reduce, 
the risk of destructive wildfires. We need to take real action to 
mitigate risks and effects, and I am ready to work with all my 
colleagues to make that happen.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. LaMalfa).
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas for his 
hard work for a long time on this to create a bipartisan bill that is 
intended to succeed.
  The area that I represent in far northern California is one that has 
seen so much fire and so much destruction over the years. The Fix Our 
Forests Act is an important step and a meaningful step in having this 
not occur anymore. So I am really pleased that the effort can be 
bipartisan, and Chairman Westerman is able to advance this cause.
  Indeed, this is what one of my cities looked like, Paradise, 
California. It has already been 6 years, 85 lives lost, 300 towns 
affected in my district, 2 of them almost completely gone, Greenville, 
Canyondam, and a third one called Doyle. The fire burned right through 
that as well.
  We are getting tired of this. We are getting really tired of it.
  Now, with the tragedy in southern California, I guess that underlines 
it since it is getting a lot more national press. That is unfortunate.
  What I appreciate in this bill is that it is common sense, and it 
will help with these disasters and keep our power grid more reliable. 
With the legislation we will have more clearing around the power lines, 
a bill I was able to pass a while back that we are adding to this bill.
  Also, I am pleased to have a provision in here that advances more 
grazing. Of course, grazing is a very cost-effective way of keeping the 
fuels down around fire zones, and you can actually get paid for it by 
those doing the grazing.
  So, Mr. Chair, when you see what success looks like, this is a 
managed forest here. It is thinned out, and it offers a much better 
opportunity to put fire out and stop fire or at least have it

[[Page H316]]

burn through slowly and much cooler. When you don't manage the lands 
such--as so much U.S. Forest Service land looks this way--this is a 
tinderbox. It will burn completely down. We may not see any growth for 
50 years after that.
  Let's go with success. What Mr. McClintock was talking about in the 
Tahoe area, and even in a small town near Paradise called Magalia, 
where a private concern had done some of the work, and one-half of 
Magalia did not burn because of the work that was done adjacent to it.
  We know these processes work. Why can't we advance them?
  Why do we have to continue to have the destruction of the 
environment, waterways, and everything?
  Let's pass this bill.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, the picture my friend from northern 
California just showed is instructive because both the right and the 
left side of that picture are areas that were clear-cut. You can tell 
that, Mr. Chair, because all the trees were exactly the same height. It 
is what we call a plantation forest. It is unhealthy. It is absolutely 
vulnerable to wildfire.

  I am glad that they did some thinning on the left side of that 
picture, but the unhealthy forest on the right side is also a vestige 
of clear-cutting, which does not make anyone safer. It actually makes 
communities a lot more vulnerable to wildfire, and it is exactly the 
kind of project that would go through the huge loophole created in this 
legislation.
  More clear-cutting is not going to make us any safer from wildfire 
risk.
  Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from San Diego in 
southern California (Mr. Peters).
  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Chairman, the wildfire crisis is not just a product of inaction, 
but decades of wrongheaded land management that let our forests, 
wildlands, and hills turn into tinderboxes. We have suppressed all 
natural fire, all the time, and let invasive, fire-prone vegetation 
grow unabated.
  The work of clearing dead trees and dry vegetation that fuel fires 
requires long environmental reviews often followed by years of 
litigation. While we wait for analysis, forests burn down, habitats are 
lost, air pollution worsens, and our communities are threatened by 
catastrophic fire.
  The wildfire crisis is also climate change. California wildfires in 
2020 contributed more greenhouse gases than the State's entire power 
sector. It was said before that the fires in that 1 year undid the 
State's entire progress on emissions reduction from 2003 to 2019.
  The Fix Our Forests Act will simplify and expedite the most critical 
forest management projects while maintaining strong environmental 
standards. It will reduce the threat of litigation and add new ways for 
communities to provide input early, something that does not exist today 
and is one of the reasons why the National Congress of American Indians 
supports this bill. The Tribes support this bill.
  This bill will also protect communities on the front lines of 
wildfire crises like Los Angeles and my hometown of San Diego. It helps 
localities craft modern, fire-resistant building codes. It also 
promotes public-private partnerships to clear flammable materials where 
nature meets our homes.
  We crafted this bill with input from groups like The Nature 
Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund and others who have 
their priorities reflected in the text.
  While we don't have the firefighting pay increase, which we need and 
we must get, the grassland firefighters and Western fire chiefs support 
this bill as is because they know it will help relieve the strain on 
their already stretched thin resources.
  There is more we need to do, and along with Chairman Westerman, we 
support providing aid for all those hurting in Los Angeles without 
conditions. No legislation is perfect, but this is a good bill that 
takes on a problem that is serious throughout the West and the entire 
country. For once we are not just making speeches. We are passing a 
bill that can become law and solve problems, and we don't have more 
time.
  I implore my colleagues to join me and vote for this bill and bring 
some relief to constituents scared that their towns will be next.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, as a forester, I can say that the only 
clear-cuts that are happening on Federal lands right now are wildfires. 
That is nature's way of clear-cutting.
  When we see these devastating wildfires that burn everything off of 
the landscape, that is a clear-cut. What Mr. LaMalfa was talking about 
was uneven-age forest management and thinning, which we know works.
  Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. 
Bentz).
  Mr. BENTZ. Mr. Chair, I thank Chair Westerman for yielding me time 
and for his tireless efforts as an engineer and a forester to help save 
our forests.
  Mr. Chair, I am from Oregon. My State has some 15 million acres of 
Federal forests. H.R. 471 addresses many issues, but the fix of the 
infamous Cottonwood decision applicable to all 15 million of those 
Federal acres is one of the most important.
  Section 122 of this bill clearly states that no additional 
consultation under section 7(a)(2) of the ESA will be required under 
certain circumstances set forth in the bill.
  This part of H.R. 471 is one of the key provisions that constitutes 
the long-awaited fix for the 2015 Cottonwood decision. This reform 
limits unnecessary litigation, enabling forest management projects to 
proceed without undue delay, and ensures that critical restoration and 
fire prevention efforts can actually occur.
  With this legislation, the Forest Service and BLM will no longer have 
to delay dozens of wildfire prevention projects anytime a new species 
is listed, critical habitat is designated, or other information is 
brought forward. This legislation will fix this wrongfully decided 
case.
  Mr. Chair, I am in full support of this bill.
  MR. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
central California (Mr. Panetta).
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Chairman, in the past few weeks and in the past few 
years, communities all across America have witnessed the devastation, 
destruction, and death from wildfires. Much of this calamity and crisis 
is due to the many communities being in high-risk areas, known as the 
wildland urban interface. Over 99 million people live in these danger 
zones, not just in Los Angeles or California, but throughout the entire 
United States.
  In my district in central California, numerous towns are located 
right next to national forests. Don't get me wrong. It is nice to have 
national forests as your backyard, but national forests have been 
neglected and mismanaged, and the risk of wildfires is much worse due 
to extreme weather and climate change.
  Some say that we shouldn't do anything and just let forests manage 
themselves. Unfortunately, we all bear witness to what can happen when 
we do nothing.
  Fortunately, the Fix Our Forests Act would do something by restoring 
the health to forests, bolstering the resiliency, and reducing the 
threat of wildfires. As wildfire seasons have turned to wildfire years, 
we must be proactive when it comes to our forests.
  That is why, rather than just suppress fires, the Fix Our Forests Act 
would prevent fires, and that is how we protect our communities.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).
  Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 471, the Fix 
Our Forests Act, which I am proud to cosponsor. As you can see, it will 
pass with bipartisan support.
  Over recent weeks, Americans have seen the devastating consequences 
of poor forest management in southern California. Unfortunately, for 
those of us who hail from rural America, this risk isn't out of the 
blue for us. It is a risk we face far too often, and that is largely 
because we are not doing enough to prevent it. Our hands are regularly 
tied because of the mess of bureaucracy and red tape that is preventing 
us from acting.
  Does the Speaker know what doesn't require a NEPA analysis or doesn't 
face a threat of years of litigation? It is a wildfire. Until we fix 
our broken regulatory system that is putting American lives and our 
pristine national environment at risk, we are going to continue to lose 
this battle.

[[Page H317]]

  The good, bipartisan legislation that will pass before us today will 
help address this by bringing some sanity back to our forest management 
practices.
  Mr. Chair, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
good legislation.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa).
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Chair, I thank the ranking member and the chair for 
this effort on the legislation.
  Over the last 2 weeks, we have seen the devastation that the Los 
Angeles fires have caused: the lives, the housing, and the commercial 
structures that have been lost that in some cases will never be 
replaced.
  More than 40,000 acres have burned, the equivalent to over half of 
Washington, D.C. Lives are at stake, and that is why we need to pass 
the Fix Our Forests Act.
  We know that climate change is having its effect. This bill will 
better help us maintain our forests by prioritizing the treatment of 
hazardous fuels in fire-prone areas and expanding wildfire resilience. 
We also need to recognize that fire management requires different 
strategies for different geographies.
  I am also pleased that my bill, the Headwaters Protection Act, is a 
part of this package. The bill will strengthen public and private 
partnerships in forestry and watershed management. Mr. Chair, we will 
have to find bipartisan additional funding sources.
  Our Nation's forests are critically overgrown. We need to have better 
management. That is clear. The commonsense changes are necessary to 
prevent wildfires for generations to come, but let's be clear. Much 
more needs to be done.
  We salute the brave firefighters and first responders who are acting 
today on a 24/7 basis.
  The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Crank).
  Mr. CRANK. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for his leadership on 
this important wildfire prevention bill. We need these provisions in 
FOFA to protect our communities and maintain the health of our forests. 
My own community has seen its share of wildfires. The Hayman fire in 
2002 burned 138,000 acres in Pike National Forest and killed five 
firefighters.
  Colorado Springs lies west of Pike National Forest, which contains 
over 1 million acres of forest. I was evacuated from my own home 
several years back from a forest fire. Portions of the Pike National 
Forest are included in the wildfire crisis landscape, and four of the 
five largest fires in recorded Colorado history have occurred there.
  This is a real threat in my backyard, but the pace we are doing fire 
management is unacceptable, and it has deadly consequences. The scale 
and severity of wildfires can be managed and contained. This bill gives 
us the tools to do that, but we have to be proactive.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this critical 
bill.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).
  Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in respectful opposition to 
H.R. 471 and to also express my concern and my condolences to all who 
are suffering in California from the devastating wildfires. Like 
California, communities in New Mexico that were similarly devastated by 
a wildfire last summer are still picking up the pieces today.
  It is very clear that our climate is in crisis, and I rise in 
opposition to this bill because of the dangerous precedent that this 
legislation sets for climate and environmental policy as we face a new 
administration.
  There is so much that I like about this bill, but I am extremely 
concerned about provisions in the bill that undermine NEPA, the 
Endangered Species Act, judicial remedies that are available to 
communities and to the environmental community, and that it tries to 
micromanage instead of putting in place comprehensive solutions to 
address the climate crisis and forestry practices.
  Mr. Chairman, I greatly respect the chair for his forestry expertise. 
As I said, there is much in this bill that I like, but I am highly 
concerned especially about the undermining of NEPA and these other 
environmental bedrock provisions, especially in the wake of 2 days 
after Donald Trump has taken office and signed a slew of executive 
orders undermining the fundamental environmental climate and clean 
energy legislation that we put in place over the last several years.
  In these executive orders, he took us out of the Paris climate 
agreement, opened public lands and offshore for drilling, stopped 
progress on clean energy projects, revoked spending for the Inflation 
Reduction Act and the infrastructure bill, and is clearly trying to 
undermine the bedrock environmental provisions of NEPA with an 
executive order that would stop the modernization of that bill.
  It is in this context that passing new legislation that would give 
the opportunity for the administration to exploit loopholes in NEPA, as 
well as the Endangered Species Act and judicial processes, is 
untenable.
  It is not true that our country is facing an energy emergency, as was 
declared by the President. It is, in fact, facing a climate crisis. The 
hottest year in human history was 2024. The wildfires in California and 
New Mexico were not started by bureaucracy. They were the result of the 
climate crisis.
  We must be clear that if we are going to address the catastrophic and 
increasing wildfires that are happening across the West, we have to 
stay the course in our commitment to addressing the climate crisis. We 
can't stand here and pretend that this bill is actually the result of 
the deadly wildfires in California. In fact, it is a bill that has been 
presented in several Congresses, and many of the provisions in it have 
nothing to do with these wildfires whatsoever.
  I ask my friends across the aisle to please join us in actually 
putting forward comprehensive solutions that will address the climate 
crisis, that will increase pay and benefits for firefighters, and that 
will address the resilience needs of our communities and help them 
rebuild.
  Mr. Chair, I respectfully ask my colleagues to vote against this bill 
because we must address the climate crisis, and we must protect our 
bedrock environmental laws.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I am happy to report that Republicans 
have an appropriations bill for the Department of the Interior that has 
firefighter pay increases in that appropriations bill, and I hope that 
we can all work to pass that as we move forward.
  Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Valadao).
  Mr. VALADAO. Mr. Chairman, the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act is a 
critical piece of legislation that will restore forest health and 
increase our resiliency to catastrophic wildfires.
  The fires burning across southern California devastated entire 
communities and will have lasting impacts on our State for years.
  Beyond the terrible loss of life and property, wildfires cause 
hazardous air conditions that lead to significant health concerns. 
Smoke and particulate matter from these fires can travel hundreds of 
miles, and geographic conditions trap these air pollutants in the 
Central Valley, which creates dangerous conditions for our families, 
farmworkers, crops, and those already battling respiratory diseases.
  In 2023, over 1 million acres burned across California. While fires 
are inevitable, decades of forest mismanagement have directly 
contributed to the severity of the wildfires that we are witnessing. 
While there needs to be serious conversation at the State level about 
the management of California's natural resources, the Fix Our Forests 
Act will help address the root causes by providing Federal agencies 
with the tools necessary to help States practice proactive forest 
management and mitigate risk.

  Mr. Chair, I thank the House Natural Resources Committee chair, Bruce 
Westerman, for his leadership on this issue.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Min).
  Mr. MIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in respectful opposition to H.R. 471, 
the so-called Fix Our Forests Act.
  Right now, as we all have seen, tens of thousands of families are 
without

[[Page H318]]

homes. Our knowledge right now is that 28 people have died. The scale 
of the devastation in Los Angeles is just unthinkable.
  Mr. Chair, I represent a district just to the south of this 
catastrophe. Thankfully, we have not been affected, but we are subject 
to the same dynamics year after year.
  In recent years, we had the Santiago Canyon fire, the Laguna fire, 
the Canyon fire, and a number of others. When you compile 80- to 100-
mile-an-hour winds, made worse because of climate change and the annual 
Santa Ana winds, with dry conditions, that combination is basically 
creating tinder conditions. That is why we are having this fire.
  I just want to note that this particular bill has done nothing to 
prevent the Los Angeles fires and would do nothing to prevent similar 
wildfires going forward.
  Mr. Chair, firefighters will say that when you have 80- to 100-mile-
an-hour winds, little embers can turn into massive fires, and there is 
nothing that we can do to stop that. Firefighters cannot be deployed 
and water or other resources cannot be deployed until the wind dies 
down.
  Unfortunately, there has been a lot of misinformation about these 
L.A. fires, that there is not enough water or that somehow our water 
systems are inadequate. Many have described these fires as blowtorches, 
trying to fight a fire that is like a blowtorch.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues who are believing these conspiracy 
theories to talk to actual firefighters about how they might fight 
fires like this because I have talked to firefighters, and they have 
told me that measures like this would not have prevented the L.A. 
fires.
  This particular bill has some important provisions that I support. 
Some of these have been mentioned in opposition by people on my side of 
the aisle, but I would note that it lacks the funding mechanisms to 
actually make these implementable.
  It also fails to include any permanent pay increase for Federal 
wildland firefighters who continue to be underpaid and overworked.
  This bill is, at best, a messaging bill, an unfunded mandate. I note 
that it is wrapped up in this inextricable question of: Will 
Californians get the aid that our families so desperately need? 
Unfortunately, that seems to be a question that increasingly looks like 
the answer is going to be: Only with grossly political conditions.

                              {time}  1315

  I note that I introduced an amendment to make clear that Federal 
disaster assistance to the Los Angeles fire victims needs to be 
prioritized and must come with no political strings attached. This is 
something we have done for every other disaster out there in America. 
When we have had hurricanes in the Southeast, when we have had flooding 
in parts of the country, California has stepped up. We get 60 cents 
back for every dollar we pay in tax funding.
  I am disappointed that we are politicizing aid to California now that 
we need it. I was disappointed that my amendment was blocked from even 
basic consideration. I am disheartened to know that House and Senate 
Republicans continue to threaten conditions on the basic aid that 
Californians need right now.
  This is un-American and inconsistent with every other Federal 
disaster response.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I had the opportunity just last October to 
visit Orange County and to fly over the Airport fire with 
Representative Kim and also to attend the local townhall meeting where 
I saw residents who were traumatized by these fires, but also residents 
who had concerns because they either couldn't find homeowners insurance 
to buy or they couldn't afford it if they could find it.
  These fires are devastating. What we are doing is not working. There 
are provisions in the Fix our Forests Act that will allow us to create 
these defensible zones around communities in the wildland urban 
interface.
  Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California 
(Mrs. Kim).
  Mrs. KIM. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Westerman for yielding.
  Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests 
Act.
  At this very moment, multiple fires are burning throughout southern 
California. My heart goes out to the communities affected and to our 
first responders, especially as my constituents and I know the 
devastation of wildfires firsthand.
  Just months ago as the chairman mentioned, the Airport fire started 
in my district and burned over 24,000 acres in Orange and Riverside 
Counties. Including the surrounding fires that burned at that time, we 
had over 100,000 acres that burned. That is why the chairman came out 
to our community and met with my Trabuco Canyon community leadership 
and saw firsthand the devastation and what we would do. We had our 
conversation regarding the Fix Our Forests Act. We talked about the 
innovative technologies that we need to respond to the threat of 
wildfires.
  The Fix Our Forests Act includes the Wildfire Technology 
Demonstration, Evaluation, Modernization, and Optimization, or DEMO 
Act, which I introduced to create a public-private partnership to test 
and deploy emerging wildfire mitigation technologies.
  I thank Chairman Westerman and Representative Peters for making it 
bipartisan and for including my legislation in this critical bill to 
protect our forests.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 471.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Kiley).
  Mr. KILEY of California. Mr. Chair, today, we will pass this vital 
legislation to fix our forests, and we will do so with bipartisan 
support.
  This bill has a number of very important provisions. It simplifies 
and expedites environmental reviews. It ends frivolous legislation and 
endless agency consultation. It strengthens the Good Neighbor 
Authority. It creates a new categorical exclusion to increase 
vegetation management for utility rights-of-way. It prioritizes 
hazardous fuel reduction in high-risk firesheds. It protects 
communities in wildland urban interfaces, and it incorporates 
technology in a smart way.
  I am particularly grateful for those in the California congressional 
delegation on both sides of the aisle who have spoken in support of 
this legislation. The contrast could not be clearer to what is going on 
in Sacramento at the State capital right now where just in the last 
hour, the runaway supermajority rejected legislation by Assembly 
Republican Leader James Gallagher to add $1 billion to the fire 
prevention budget, the very budget that the current Governor has 
slashed time and time again. He was even caught by NPR exaggerating the 
amount of fire mitigation work done by a staggering 690 percent.
  Today, we will pass this very much-needed legislation at the Federal 
level, and it will make a big difference. It will reduce the risk of 
wildfire, but until California's political leadership gets its act 
together, our citizens will remain at risk.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Fong).
  Mr. FONG. Mr. Chair, I rise today as a cosponsor in support of the 
critically needed Fix Our Forests Act. As wildfires continue to 
threaten communities in southern California, including now a new fire 
near Castaic that borders my district, it is even more urgent that our 
Nation prioritizes preventing these catastrophic tragedies through 
proactive forest management.
  In the past 5 years, my district has seen over 600,000 acres burned 
by wildfires. I have seen the devastation that it leaves behind. Our 
State has seen millions of acres burned and with preventive forest 
maintenance, these fires could have been extinguished much sooner and 
saved countless lives, homes, and businesses.
  These out-of-control mega-fires need to be greatly mitigated before 
reaching the point of complete destruction. Expediting environmental 
reviews and prioritizing active management of our Nation's forested 
wildlands will be critical and essential to saving lives and 
communities.

[[Page H319]]

  Mr. Chair, I am grateful for the leadership from Chairman Westerman, 
who has traveled and visited the forests in my district. I am grateful 
to the Natural Resources Committee and the House by immediately 
enacting this bill into law.
  The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentleman from California.
  Mr. FONG. Time is of the essence to prevent the next catastrophic 
wildfire.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record 102 supporting 
organizations. These stakeholders include Tribal and local governments, 
grazing and forest management organizations, and a diverse coalition of 
hunters, conservationists, natural resource managers, outdoor 
recreationists, educators, and scientists.
  Mr. Chair, 47 of those organizations also provided support letters. 
Each letter expresses strong urgency for passing H.R. 471 to ensure 
improved forest management on Federal land.
  The groups that wrote support letters included: American Sportfishing 
Association, Boone and Crockett Club, Citizens' Climate Lobby, 
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Federal Forest 
Resource Coalition, Public Lands Council, American Sheep Industry 
Association, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, American Farm 
Bureau Federation, American Forest Resource Council, Association of 
California Water Agencies, California Farm Bureau Federation, Family 
Farm Alliance, National Association of Counties, San Bernardino County, 
and many others.

        List of Organizations Supporting the Fix Our Forests Act

       Agricultural Retailers Association, American Farm Bureau 
     Federation, American Forest and Paper Association, American 
     Forest Foundation, American Forest Resource Council, American 
     Forests, American Loggers Council, American Property and 
     Casualty Insurance Association, American Seed Trade 
     Association, American Sheep Industry Association, American 
     Sportfishing Association, American Wood Council, American 
     Woodcock Society, Archery Trade Association, Arkansas 
     Forestry Association, Associated Oregon Loggers, Association 
     of California Water Agencies, Association of Firetech 
     Innovation, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, Boone and 
     Crockett Club, California State Association of Counties, Camp 
     Fire Club of America, Catch A Dream Foundation, Citizens For 
     Responsible Energy Solutions, Confederated Tribes of the 
     Colville Reservation, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, 
     Conservation Force, Dallas Safari Club, Delta Waterfowl, 
     Edison Electric Institute, Evangelical Environmental Network, 
     Family Farm Alliance, Family Water Alliance, Federal Forest 
     Resource Coalition, Federation of American Scientists, Forest 
     Landowners Association, Forest Resources Association, 
     Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, Hardwood Federation, 
     Houston Safari Club, Idaho Forest Group, Independent 
     Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, Inc, Intermountain 
     Forest Association, International Inbound Travel Association, 
     Inter-Tribal Timber Council, Kittitas Reclamation District, 
     Masters of Foxhounds Association, Metzler Forest Products, 
     Minnesota Timber Producers Association, Mississippi River 
     Trust, Mule Deer Foundation, National Alliance of Forest 
     Owners, National Association of Conservation Districts, 
     National Association of Counties, National Association of 
     Forest Service Retirees, National Association of Home 
     Builders, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, 
     National Association of State Foresters, National Cattlemen's 
     Beef Association, National Congress of American Indians, 
     National Deer Association, National Rural Electric 
     Cooperative Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, 
     National Special Districts Association, National Wild Turkey 
     Federation, North American Falconers Association, North 
     American Grouse Partnership, Orion: The Hunter's Institute, 
     PG&E, Pheasants Forever, Placer County Water Agency, Pope and 
     Young Club, PotlatchDeltic, Professional Outfitters and 
     Guides of America, Property and Environment Research Center, 
     Public Lands Council, Public Lands Foundation, Quail Forever, 
     Reinsurance Association of America, Rocky Mountain Elk 
     Foundation, Ruffed Grouse Society, Safari Club International, 
     Salt River Project, San Bernadino County, San Bernardino 
     County Professional Firefighters Local 935, Sierra Pacific 
     Industries, Sportsmen's Alliance, The Wildlife Society, 
     Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, U.S. Biochar 
     Coalition, Utah Farm Bureau Federation, Western Fire Chiefs 
     Association, Weyerhaeuser Company, White Oak Initiative, 
     Whitetails Unlimited, Wild Sheep Foundation, Wildlife 
     Forever, Wildlife Management Institute, Xcel Energy, and XR 
     Association.

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Chair, I think we can all agree that wildfire is a complex, 
traumatic, and challenging issue. It is serious stuff. The devastation 
it can wreak on entire communities and destruction can happen in a 
matter of minutes.
  Addressing our wildfire crisis is a national priority that should 
never be politicized. House Democrats are committed to supporting a 
robust all-of-government response, and to doing that in a way that 
acknowledges critical realities.
  Starting with the climate crisis and the role of human-caused climate 
change, especially the burning of fossil fuels, and these worsening 
conditions are exacerbating not just wildfires but many other natural 
disasters.
  Second, the reality that solutions, including many of the ones in 
this bill, actually require resources in order to mean something.
  We hope to continue working with our Republican colleagues to address 
our outstanding concerns about this bill, and we hope that the majority 
will work with us on additional legislation to address critical issues, 
like adequate pay for Federal firefighters, that were left out of this 
bill. They need the resources to do their work. Communities devastated 
by wildfires also need the resources to rebuild.
  There is plenty of work that we still have ahead of us. I hope we can 
do that together.
  It is unfortunate that this bill came up so quickly. In fact, 
Republicans refused most Democratic amendments. At a time of crisis, we 
should be trying to find ways to work together.
  Democrats have a lot of good ideas. I really think this bill could 
have benefited from an open and transparent amendment process and, 
unfortunately, we were denied that.
  Forests are critical carbon reserves. They are majestic destinations 
for outdoor recreation, a habitat for a range of wildlife enjoyed by 
millions of Americans. Short-circuiting environmental review and not 
allowing the public to participate in decisionmaking actually has 
negative consequences. It could put all of these values at risk.
  We have to also be able to talk about the climate. Like the recent 
fires in southern California or the ones that tear through my northern 
California district all too often and throughout the West all too 
often, some of the most destructive and devastating fires that we have 
seen in the past 5 years on non-Federal land started as grass fires, 
exacerbated by the climate crisis.
  In the winter of 2021, the Marshall fire broke out in Boulder, 
Colorado. At that time, it was the most destructive fire in Colorado 
history, with over 1,000 homes lost. At the time, Boulder County was 
experiencing hurricane-force winds just like Los Angeles. The fire 
blazed across open spaces that had been desiccated by months of extreme 
drought conditions.
  Everything about the Marshall fire was unusual: the level of high 
winds, the condition of the landscape from an unstable climate, and the 
proximity to an urban interface. What was once considered unusual is 
rapidly becoming the norm. We need to acknowledge that reality.
  Like the Marshall fire, the fires in Maui started on non-Federal 
grassland. They were fueled by hurricane-force winds and significant 
drought. This is a climate disaster.
  Fix Our Forests would not have stopped either of these fires. 
Communities like the ones in southern California; Boulder, Colorado; 
and Lahaina, Hawaii need resources so they can prepare and respond and 
be more resilient.
  Unfortunately, even the sections of this bill that purport to help in 
these situations completely lack funding. They need to be refined. They 
need to be backed up by dedicated funding in order to mean more than 
just thoughts and prayers.
  Rushing bills like this to the floor to capitalize on a crisis does 
not always lead to the best outcome. We should know that by now.
  Let's hope this is not a model for the entire 119th Congress.
  Mr. Chair, I close by urging my colleagues to oppose this bill and by 
urging my Republican colleagues to do a better job of working with 
Democrats. We should be tackling these issues together.
  Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H320]]

  

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Chair, I will state again that Republicans have a firefighter 
funding fix in the appropriations bill that, when it came to the floor, 
was not supported by my friends across the aisle. We want to provide 
more funding to our firefighters. This is an authorization bill. It is 
not an appropriation bill.

  It is regrettable that we are having to bring this bill up again 
already because we passed it last year with large bipartisan support. 
We had 55 of our friends across the aisle vote with every Republican to 
pass this bill, but unfortunately, it went nowhere in the Senate.
  We are bringing it back again because this is bipartisan legislation. 
I hope this is an example of how this Congress will go because I don't 
know that I have worked on a more bipartisan piece of legislation 
during my time in Congress.
  I thank my colleague, Representative Peters, for all of his time and 
effort in bringing this bill to the floor once again.
  I will say that the time to fix our forests is now.
  Actually, now is not the real time to fix our forests. The time to 
have fixed our forests was yesterday. It was last year. It was 10 years 
ago. It was 30 years ago.
  The condition our forests are in now is as a result of bad management 
decisions over a long period of time. It is like the saying about 
planting a tree. The best time to have done it was when you were a 
child. The next best time is today. If not today, we need to do it 
tomorrow.

                              {time}  1330

  Regardless of where and when catastrophic wildfires occur, they offer 
a grim lesson: The costs of thoughtful prevention would have been far 
less than those inflicted by merciless flames. The old adage that an 
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is never more true than 
when it comes to managing our forests.
  We spend billions of dollars fighting fires every year. Our forests 
should be an income stream to our Federal Government, not a cost. 
People manage forests all over the country, and they actually produce 
great products that go into homes and sustainable buildings and that 
become a carbon sink because wood is 50 percent by weight carbon. This 
table was atmospheric carbon that was stored in this wood at some point 
in history. It is still in this wood.
  Instead of burning these forests up and spewing more carbon into our 
atmosphere, we should be looking at innovative ways to use our forests, 
to keep them healthy and resilient. Forests provide clean air, clean 
water, and wildlife habitat, but they don't do that when they are 
burned to the ground.
  These fires oftentimes are so hot that they burn the organic material 
out of the soil, so it is hard to get trees to grow back. We have seen 
this in the Angora fire. I visited it several years ago, 12 years after 
the fire. It had been replanted six times, and the trees still wouldn't 
grow on it because the soil had been so damaged by these intense 
wildfires.
  The argument has been made that these fires are the result of climate 
change. If that is the case, the question still remains, what are we 
going to do about it?
  We have unhealthy forests. They are way overstocked with way more 
trees per acre than we have ever seen. Small trees are competing with 
other trees for light, water, and nutrients. They get weakened and die. 
Insects and disease come in. This isn't just in California. It is all 
across our country.
  We know what to do. The question is, will we do it? The Fix Our 
Forests Act will give us the opportunity to do what we know needs to be 
done.
  I have talked to many of our Federal land managers across the 
country. They wanted to commit their life to working in an area to make 
a difference, and it is disheartening to them to have gone to forestry 
school or whatever educational experience they had and then to see 
these resources they are charged with taking care of going up in 
flames. Instead of being land managers and forest managers, they are 
firefighters. That is really what most of the budget for our Federal 
agencies goes to anymore, to fight fires. It doesn't have to be that 
way.
  This is something that should be bipartisan. It is going to be 
bipartisan today. It is something the Senate should take up in a 
bipartisan manner and get to President Trump's desk as soon as 
possible.
  Again, I encourage everyone to support the Fix Our Forests Act, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act is 
desperately needed to better manage our forests in California and 
across the country.
  Wildfires are an unfortunate part of our lives. We were just reminded 
of this horrific reality in the greater LA area. In the wake of these 
fires, there's been a lot of discussion about state policies that need 
to be examined to better protect our residents and I wholeheartedly 
support reform at the state level. There are also several federal 
policies that must be reformed, which is why we're here today.
  On average, the Forest Service spends four years on paperwork before 
a fuel management project, like clearing dead or overgrown brush, can 
even start. That length of time increases by more than three years when 
a NEPA lawsuit is filed. Those delays can be deadly.
  The bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act would simplify and expedite 
environmental reviews for forest management projects as well as enact 
other reforms to help prevent wildfires. As the recent California fires 
make clear, we can no longer neglect our duties to manage our forests 
in a responsible but expeditious way. The American people demand and 
deserve competence at every level of government. This bill is an 
important step in re-establishing faith that Congress will lead from 
the front and do what is necessary to mitigate the devastating impacts 
of wildfires.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan bill and 
protect Americans from wildfires.
  Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Chair, after the House considered the Fix 
Our Forests Act last fall, I led a multi-member letter to Senate 
leadership urging them to pass comprehensive wildfire legislation and 
adopt the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission's 
consensus recommendations. Today's version of the Fix Our Forests Act 
addresses more of the Commission's recommendations by expanding on the 
purpose and role of the interagency fireshed center. It also includes a 
new provision to ensure that local fire departments receive timely 
wildfire reimbursements from the federal government.
  I applaud House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman 
and Congressman Scott Peters' work on this bill, but this Congress must 
do more--more to ensure that federal wildland firefighters are paid 
fairly, more to prioritize the stewardship of our public lands, and 
more to ensure our communities get the help they need after disaster 
strikes.
  Federal wildland firefighters deserve pay and benefits that reflect 
their service and sacrifice. I've supported every effort, including 
joining as a cosponsor of Tim's Act, to permanently increase 
firefighter pay. I will do everything in my power to get this done.
  Additionally, the wildfire crisis cannot be solved without funding 
the stewardship of our public lands. I have co-led efforts to secure 
full funding for Forest Service staffing and tribal forestry programs, 
and I will continue to do so. I also plan to re-introduce my bill, the 
Wildfire Resilient Communities Act, which would provide consistent 
funding for hazardous fuels reduction.
  Following the ongoing wildfires that are devasting the Los Angeles 
area, I am gravely concerned by the new administration's threats to 
withhold disaster aid from Americans who've lost everything just 
because of who they elected. I believe that Oregon could be in a 
similar situation if disaster strikes. Proactive forest management is 
our best chance to stop these disasters and avoid that kind of 
political cruelty. We must also continue our longstanding commitment to 
all American communities and provide federal aid after a disaster 
strikes.
  While imperfect, the Fix Our Forests Act takes meaningful steps to 
protect our forests, our communities, and my constituents, and that's 
why I will vote yes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong 
support of H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests Act.
  Many forests across the Nation continue to be undermanaged and face 
significant forest health challenges. This includes forests such as the 
Allegheny, located in my district, which has its own difficulties with 
invasives among other issues.
  The devastating fires in Los Angeles and throughout southern 
California are the latest reminder of what can happen when we fail to 
properly manage our forests and the risk of catastrophic fire in fire 
prone areas.
  Unfortunately, these fires show that much work remains to help 
mitigate or prevent such catastrophes from occurring in the first 
place.

[[Page H321]]

  Even with the additional treatments the Forest Service has been 
performing, tens of millions of acres of national forest and adjacent 
lands throughout the west are still at risk of wildfire and are in need 
of treatments. Many of these acres are tinderboxes ready to ignite due 
to decades of mismanagement, which has led to declining forest health 
and dangerous levels of overgrowth.
  We have continued to witness some of the most destructive wildfires 
on record in just the past decade, leading to significant property 
loss, recovery costs, and most sadly, the loss of human life. This 
truly is an urgent crisis that must be immediately addressed, and 
Congress must do more to better support the Forest Service and 
firefighters.
  As Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, I am proud of the 
forestry title we included in last year's farm bill to expand the 
Forest Service's tools and authorities. Such reforms will enable the 
agency to improve forest health; reduce the threat of catastrophic 
wildfire; increase the pace and scale of restoration; and ultimately 
protect communities, property and lives.
  Similar to the farm bill, the Fix Our Forests Act will provide the 
Forest Service with such tools to proactively address invasive species, 
forest health, and wildfire conditions which threaten many rural 
communities across the national forest system.
  With that, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense 
legislation and encourage a YES vote on final passage.
  In conclusion, I thank the firefighters and first responders for 
their work these past weeks and many sacrifices they have made. And we 
keep the those affected by these devastating wildfires in our thoughts 
and prayers as they endure this difficult time.
  The Acting CHAIR. All time for general debate has expired.
  Pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment 
under the 5-minute rule.
  The bill shall be considered as read.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 471

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fix Our 
     Forests Act''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.

                  TITLE I--LANDSCAPE-SCALE RESTORATION

   Subtitle A--Addressing Emergency Wildfire Risks in High Priority 
                               Firesheds

Sec. 101. Designation of fireshed management areas.
Sec. 102. Fireshed center.
Sec. 103. Fireshed registry.
Sec. 104. Shared stewardship.
Sec. 105. Fireshed assessments.
Sec. 106. Emergency fireshed management.
Sec. 107. Sunset.

 Subtitle B--Expanding Collaborative Tools to Reduce Wildfire Risk and 
                         Improve Forest Health

Sec. 111. Modification of the treatment of certain revenue and payments 
              under good neighbor agreements.
Sec. 112. Fixing stewardship end result contracting.
Sec. 113. Intra-agency strike teams.
Sec. 114. Locally-led restoration.
Sec. 115. Joint Chiefs landscape restoration partnership program.
Sec. 116. Collaborative forest landscape restoration program.
Sec. 117. Utilizing grazing for wildfire risk reduction.
Sec. 118. Water source protection program.
Sec. 119. Watershed condition framework technical corrections.

                     Subtitle C--Litigation Reform

Sec. 121. Commonsense litigation reform.
Sec. 122. Consultation on forest plans.

    TITLE II--PROTECTING COMMUNITIES IN THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE

Sec. 201. Community wildfire risk reduction program.
Sec. 202. Community wildfire defense research program.
Sec. 203. Vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and 
              maintenance relating to electric transmission and 
              distribution facility rights-of-way.
Sec. 204. Categorical exclusion for electric utility lines rights-of-
              way.
Sec. 205. Seeds of success.
Sec. 206. Program to support priority reforestation and restoration 
              projects of Department of the Interior.
Sec. 207. Fire department repayment.

         TITLE III--TRANSPARENCY, TECHNOLOGY, AND PARTNERSHIPS

                Subtitle A--Transparency and Technology

Sec. 301. Biochar innovations and opportunities for conservation, 
              health, and advancements in research.
Sec. 302. Accurate hazardous fuels reduction reports.
Sec. 303. Public-private wildfire technology deployment and 
              demonstration partnership.
Sec. 304. GAO study on Forest Service policies.
Sec. 305. Forest Service Western headquarters study.
Sec. 306. Keeping forest plans current and monitored.
Sec. 307. Container Aerial Firefighting System (CAFFS).
Sec. 308. Study on pine beetle infestation.

                    Subtitle B--White Oak Resilience

Sec. 311. White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition.
Sec. 312. Forest Service pilot program.
Sec. 313. Department of the Interior white oak review and restoration.
Sec. 314. White oak regeneration and upland oak habitat.
Sec. 315. Tree nursery shortages.
Sec. 316. White oak research.
Sec. 317. USDA formal initiative.
Sec. 318. Authorities.

      TITLE IV--ENSURING CASUALTY ASSISTANCE FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS

Sec. 401. Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the Fireshed Center appointed under section 102.
       (2) Fireshed.--The term ``fireshed'' means a landscape-
     scale area that faces similar wildfire threat where a 
     response strategy could influence the wildfire outcome.
       (3) Fireshed management project.--The term ``fireshed 
     management project'' means a project under section 106.
       (4) Fireshed registry.--The term ``Fireshed Registry'' 
     means the fireshed registry established under section 103.
       (5) Forest plan.--The term ``forest plan'' means--
       (A) a land use plan prepared by the Bureau of Land 
     Management for public lands pursuant to section 202 of the 
     Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
     1712);
       (B) a land and resource management plan prepared by the 
     Forest Service for a unit of the National Forest System 
     pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 
     Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604); or
       (C) a forest management plan (as defined in section 304 of 
     the National Indian Forests Resources Management Act (25 
     U.S.C. 3104)) with respect to Indian forest land or 
     rangeland.
       (6) Governor.--The term ``Governor'' means the Governor or 
     any other appropriate executive official of an affected State 
     or Indian Tribe or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
       (7) Hazardous fuels management activities.--The term 
     ``hazardous fuels management activities'' means any 
     vegetation management activities (or combination thereof) 
     that reduce the risk of wildfire, including mechanical 
     thinning, mastication, prescribed burning, cultural burning 
     (as determined by the applicable Indian Tribe), timber 
     harvest, and grazing.
       (8) HFRA terms.--The terms ``at-risk community'', 
     ``community wildfire protection plan'', and ``wildland-urban 
     interface'' have the meanings given such terms, respectively, 
     in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
     (16 U.S.C. 6511).
       (9) Indian forest land or rangeland.--The term ``Indian 
     forest land or rangeland'' means land that--
       (A) is held in trust by, or with a restriction against 
     alienation by, the United States for an Indian Tribe or a 
     member of an Indian Tribe; and
       (B)(i)(I) is Indian forest land (as defined in section 304 
     of the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act (25 
     U.S.C. 3103)); or

       (II) has a cover of grasses, brush, or any similar 
     vegetation; or

       (ii) formerly had a forest cover or vegetative cover that 
     is capable of restoration.
       (10) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
       (11) National forest system lands.--The term ``National 
     Forest System lands'' 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).
       (12) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 103 of the Federal Land 
     Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702), except 
     that the term includes Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands and 
     Oregon and California Railroad Grant lands.
       (13) Relevant congressional committees.--The term 
     ``relevant Congressional Committees'' means--
       (A) the Committees on Natural Resources and Agriculture of 
     the House of Representatives; and
       (B) the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and 
     Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.
       (14) Responsible official.--The term ``responsible 
     official'' means an employee of the Department of the 
     Interior or Forest Service who has the authority to make and 
     implement a decision on a proposed action.
       (15) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means each of--
       (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and
       (B) the Secretary of Agriculture.
       (16) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Agriculture.
       (17) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
     means--

[[Page H322]]

       (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National 
     Forest System lands; and
       (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public 
     lands.
       (18) Special district.--The term ``special district'' means 
     a political subdivision of a State that--
       (A) has significant budgetary autonomy or control;
       (B) was created by or pursuant to the laws of the State for 
     the purpose of performing a limited and specific governmental 
     or proprietary function; and
       (C) is distinct from any other local government unit within 
     the State.
       (19) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
     States, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the 
     United States.

                  TITLE I--LANDSCAPE-SCALE RESTORATION

   Subtitle A--Addressing Emergency Wildfire Risks in High Priority 
                               Firesheds

     SEC. 101. DESIGNATION OF FIRESHED MANAGEMENT AREAS.

       (a) Designation of Fireshed Management Areas.--
       (1) Initial designations.--For the period beginning on the 
     date of enactment of this Act and ending on the date that is 
     5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, there are 
     designated fireshed management areas, which--
       (A) shall be comprised of individual landscape-scale 
     firesheds identified as being a high risk fireshed in the 
     ``Wildfire Crisis Strategy'' published by the Forest Service 
     in January 2022;
       (B) shall be comprised of individual landscape-scale 
     firesheds identified by the Secretary, in consultation with 
     the Secretary of the Interior, as being in the top 20 percent 
     of the 7,688 firesheds published by the Rocky Mountain 
     Research Station of the Forest Service in 2019 for wildfire 
     exposure based on the following criteria--
       (i) wildfire exposure and corresponding risk to 
     communities, including risk to life and structures;
       (ii) wildfire exposure and corresponding risk to municipal 
     watersheds, including tribal water supplies and systems; and
       (iii) risk of forest conversion due to wildfire;
       (C) shall not overlap with any other fireshed management 
     areas;
       (D) may contain Federal and non-Federal land, including 
     Indian forest lands or rangelands; and
       (E) where the Secretary concerned shall carry out fireshed 
     management projects.
       (2) Further fireshed management area designations.--
       (A) In general.--On the date that is 5 years after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act and every 5 years thereafter, 
     the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
     Interior, shall submit to the relevant Congressional 
     Committees an updated map of firesheds based on the Fireshed 
     Registry maintained under section 103.
       (B) Designation.--Not later than 60 days after submitting 
     an updated fireshed map under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
     shall, based on such map, designate additional fireshed 
     management areas that are identified as being in the top 20 
     percent of firesheds at risk of wildfire exposure based on 
     the criteria specified in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and 
     (E) of paragraph (1).
       (b) Applicability of NEPA.--The designation of fireshed 
     management areas under this section shall not be subject to 
     the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
     1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

     SEC. 102. FIRESHED CENTER.

       (a) Establishment.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the Chief of 
     the Forest Service, and the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
     through the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, shall 
     jointly establish an interagency center, to be known as the 
     Fireshed Center (hereinafter referred to as the ``Center'') 
     to carry out the purposes in subsection (b).
       (2) Composition.--
       (A) Divisions.--The Center shall be comprised of the 
     following divisions:
       (i) Technology and Engineering.
       (ii) Data Services.
       (iii) Analysis and Prediction.
       (iv) Education and Consultation.
       (B) Representatives.--The Center shall be comprised of at 
     least one career representative from each of the following:
       (i) The Forest Service.
       (ii) The Bureau of Land Management.
       (iii) The National Park Service.
       (iv) The Bureau of Indian Affairs.
       (v) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
       (vi) The U.S. Geological Survey.
       (vii) The Department of Defense.
       (viii) The Department of Homeland Security.
       (ix) The Department of Energy.
       (x) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
       (xi) The National Science Foundation.
       (xii) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
       (xiii) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
       (xiv) The National Institute of Standards and Technology.
       (xv) The United States Fire Administration.
       (C) Appointments.--Each representative of a Department, 
     Agency, or other entity specified in subparagraph (B) shall 
     be appointed by the head of that Department, Agency, or other 
     entity, as applicable.
       (3) Director.--The representatives appointed under 
     paragraph (2) shall, by majority vote, appoint a Director of 
     the Center, who--
       (A) shall be an employee of the U.S. Geological Survey or 
     the Forest Service;
       (B) shall serve an initial term of not more than 7 years;
       (C) may serve one additional term of not more than 7 years 
     after the initial term described in subparagraph (B); and
       (D) shall be responsible for the management and operation 
     of the Center.
       (4) Associate directors.--In consultation with the 
     representatives appointed under paragraph (2), the Director 
     may appoint such Associate Directors as the Director 
     determines necessary.
       (5) Additional representation.--The Secretary, acting 
     through the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Secretary of 
     the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. 
     Geological Survey, may jointly appoint additional 
     representatives of Federal agencies, States, Indian Tribes, 
     or local governments to the Center, as the Secretaries 
     determine necessary.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Center are to--
       (1) comprehensively assess and predict, using data tools 
     (including artificial intelligence) and other decision 
     support products, fire and smoke in the wildland and built 
     environment interface across jurisdictions to inform--
       (A) land and fuels management;
       (B) community (including at-risk communities identified in 
     fireshed assessments conducted under section 105) and built 
     environment risk reduction, including the support and 
     development of community wildfire protection plans and 
     evacuation decisions; and
       (C) public health risk reduction related to wildland fire 
     and smoke, including air quality monitoring and forecasting 
     and smoke prediction models;
       (D) fire response and management, including the pre-
     positioning of wildfire suppression personnel and assets 
     based on real-time risk; and
       (E) post-fire recovery activities, including activities 
     related to vegetation recovery, debris flows and flooding, 
     watershed recovery and protection, and ecosystem health;
       (2) provide data aggregation, real-time land and fuels 
     management services, and science-based decision support 
     services to inform the purposes specified in subparagraph (A) 
     through (E) of paragraph (1);
       (3) reduce fragmentation and duplication across Federal 
     land management agencies with respect to predictive service 
     and decision support functions related to wildland fire and 
     smoke, including through the provision of data aggregation 
     described in paragraph (2);
       (4) promote coordination and sharing of data regarding 
     wildland fire and smoke decision making (including through 
     the provision of data aggregation described in paragraph (2)) 
     to each of the entities specified in subparagraphs (A) 
     through (F) of paragraph (8);
       (5) streamline procurement processes for technologies 
     (including technologies identified under the pilot program 
     established under section 303) and cybersecurity systems 
     related to addressing wildland fire and smoke for the 
     purposes of scaling such technologies and systems across 
     Federal agencies;
       (6) amplify and distribute existing, and develop as 
     necessary, publicly accessible data, models, technologies 
     (including mapping technologies), assessments, and National 
     Weather Service fire weather forecasts to support short- and 
     long-term planning regarding wildland fire and smoke risk 
     reduction and post-fire recovery while avoiding duplicative 
     efforts, as determined by the Director;
       (7) maintain the Fireshed Registry established under 
     section 103; and
       (8) disseminate data tools (including artificial 
     intelligence) and other decision support products, for use in 
     manners consistent with the purposes described paragraphs (1) 
     through (7), to the following:
       (A) Federal agencies.
       (B) Indian Tribes.
       (C) State and local governments.
       (D) Academic or research institutions.
       (E) Wildland firefighting entities, including applicable 
     incident management teams and geographic coordination 
     centers.
       (F) Other entities, including public, private, and 
     nonprofit entities, with expertise in land management, air 
     quality, water management, or public health, as determined 
     appropriate by the Director.
       (c) Memoranda of Understanding.--The Center may enter into 
     memoranda of understanding, contracts, or other agreements 
     with State governments, Indian Tribes, local governments, 
     academic or research institutions, and private entities to 
     improve the information and operations of the Center.
       (d) Administrative Support, Technical Services, and Staff 
     Support.--
       (1) USGS support.--The Secretary of the Interior shall make 
     personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey available to the 
     Center for such administrative support, technical services, 
     and development and dissemination of data as the Secretary 
     determines necessary to carry out this section.
       (2) USFS support.--The Secretary shall make personnel of 
     the Forest Service available to the Center for such 
     administrative support, technical services, and the 
     development and dissemination of information related to 
     fireshed management and the Fireshed Registry as the 
     Secretary determines necessary to carry out this section.

[[Page H323]]

       (3) Funding.--Notwithstanding section 708 of title VII of 
     division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 
     (Public Law 117-328), the Secretary of the Interior and 
     Secretary may enter into agreements to share the management 
     and operational costs of the Center.
       (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed to affect the ownership of any data sources.

     SEC. 103. FIRESHED REGISTRY.

       (a) Fireshed Registry.--The Secretary, acting through the 
     Director of the Fireshed Center appointed under section 102, 
     shall maintain a Fireshed Registry on a publicly accessible 
     website that provides interactive geospatial data on 
     individual firesheds, including information on--
       (1) wildfire exposure delineated by ownership, including 
     rights-of-way for utilities and other public or private 
     purposes;
       (2) any hazardous fuels management activities that have 
     occurred within an individual fireshed in the past 10 years;
       (3) wildfire exposure with respect to such fireshed 
     delineated by--
       (A) wildfire exposure and corresponding risk to 
     communities, including risk to life and structures;
       (B) wildfire exposure and corresponding risk to municipal 
     watersheds, including tribal water supplies and systems; and
       (C) risk of forest conversion due to wildfire;
       (4) the percentage of the fireshed that has burned in 
     wildfires in the past 10 years, including, to the extent 
     practicable, delineations of acres that have burned at a high 
     severity;
       (5) spatial patterns of wildfire exposure, including 
     plausible extreme fire events; and
       (6) any hazardous fuels management activities planned for 
     the fireshed, including fireshed management projects.
       (b) Community Wildfire Protection Plans.--The Director 
     shall make data from the Fireshed Registry available to local 
     communities developing or updating community wildfire 
     protection plans.
       (c) Requirement to Maintain.--As part of the website 
     containing the Fireshed Registry, the Director shall--
       (1) publish fireshed assessments created under section 105; 
     and
       (2) maintain a searchable database to track--
       (A) the status of Federal environmental reviews, permits, 
     and authorizations for fireshed management projects, 
     including--
       (i) a comprehensive permitting timetable;
       (ii) the status of the compliance of each lead agency, 
     cooperating agency, and participating agency with the 
     permitting timetable with respect to such fireshed management 
     projects;
       (iii) any modifications of the permitting timetable 
     required under clause (i), including an explanation as to why 
     the permitting timetable was modified; and
       (iv) information about project-related public meetings, 
     public hearings, and public comment periods, which shall be 
     presented in English and the predominant language of the 
     community or communities most affected by the project, as 
     that information becomes available;
       (B) the projected cost of such fireshed management 
     projects; and
       (C) in the case of completed fireshed management projects, 
     the effectiveness of such projects in reducing the wildfire 
     exposure within an applicable fireshed, including wildfire 
     exposure described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of 
     subsection (a)(3).
       (d) Reliance on Existing Assessments.--In carrying out this 
     section, the Director may rely on assessments completed or 
     data gather through existing partnerships, to the extent 
     practicable.

     SEC. 104. SHARED STEWARDSHIP.

       (a) Joint Agreements.--Not later than 90 days after 
     receiving a written request from a Governor of a State or an 
     Indian Tribe, the Secretary concerned shall enter into a 
     shared stewardship agreement (or similar agreement) with such 
     Governor or Indian Tribe to jointly--
       (1) promote the reduction of wildfire exposure, based on 
     the criteria in section 101(a)(1)(B), in fireshed management 
     areas across jurisdictional boundaries; and
       (2) conduct fireshed assessments under section 105.
       (b) Additional Fireshed Management Areas.--With respect to 
     a shared stewardship agreement (or similar agreement) with a 
     Governor of a State or an Indian Tribe entered into under 
     subsection (a), the Secretary concerned, if requested by such 
     Governor or Indian Tribe, may--
       (1) designate additional fireshed management areas under 
     such agreement; and
       (2) update such agreement to address new wildfire threats.

     SEC. 105. FIRESHED ASSESSMENTS.

       (a) Fireshed Assessments.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date on 
     which the Secretary concerned enters into an agreement with a 
     Governor of a State or an Indian Tribe under section 104, the 
     Secretary concerned and such Governor or Indian Tribe shall, 
     with respect to the fireshed management areas designated in 
     such State, jointly conduct a fireshed assessment that--
       (A) identifies--
       (i) using the best available science, wildfire exposure 
     risks within each such fireshed management area, including 
     scenario planning and wildfire hazard mapping and models; and
       (ii) each at-risk community within each fireshed management 
     area;
       (B) identifies potential fireshed management projects to be 
     carried out in such fireshed management areas, giving 
     priority--
       (i) primarily, to projects with the purpose of reducing--

       (I) wildfire exposure and corresponding risk to 
     communities, including risk to life and structures;
       (II) wildfire exposure and corresponding risk to municipal 
     watersheds, including tribal water supplies and systems;
       (III) risk of forest conversion due to wildfire; or
       (IV) any combination of purposes described in subclauses 
     (I) through (III); and

       (ii) secondarily, to projects with the purpose of 
     protecting--

       (I) critical infrastructure, including utility 
     infrastructure;
       (II) wildlife habitats, including habitat for species 
     listed under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
     seq.);
       (III) the built environment, including residential and 
     commercial buildings;
       (IV) resources of an Indian Tribe, as defined by the Indian 
     Tribe; or
       (V) any combination of purposes described in subclauses (I) 
     through (IV);

       (C) includes--
       (i) a strategy for reducing the threat of wildfire to at-
     risk communities in the wildland-urban interface on both 
     Federal and non-Federal land;
       (ii) a timeline for the implementation of fireshed 
     management projects;
       (iii) long-term benchmark goals for the completion of 
     fireshed management projects in the highest wildfire exposure 
     areas so that such projects contribute to the development and 
     maintenance of healthy and resilient landscapes;
       (iv) policies to ensure fireshed management projects comply 
     with applicable forest plans and incorporate the best 
     available science; and
       (v) a strategy for reducing the threat of wildfire to 
     improve the effectiveness of wildland firefighting, 
     particularly the effectiveness of fuels treatments that would 
     improve wildland firefighter safety during wildfires;
       (D) shall be regularly updated based on the best available 
     science, as determined by the Secretary concerned; and
       (E) shall be publicly available on a website maintained by 
     the Secretary concerned.
       (2) Local government participation.--Upon the written 
     request of a local government, the Secretary concerned and 
     the Governor of the State in which the local government is 
     located may allow such local government to participate in 
     producing the fireshed assessment under paragraph (1) for 
     such State.
       (3) Information improvement.--
       (A) Memoranda of understanding.--In carrying out a fireshed 
     assessment under this subsection, the Secretary concerned may 
     enter into memoranda of understanding with other Federal 
     agencies or departments (including the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration), States, Indian Tribes, private 
     entities, or research or educational institutions to improve, 
     with respect to such assessment, the use and integration of--
       (i) advanced remote sensing and geospatial technologies;
       (ii) statistical modeling and analysis; or
       (iii) any other technology or combination of technologies 
     and analyses that the Secretary concerned determines will 
     benefit the quality of information of such an assessment.
       (B) Best available science.--In using the best available 
     science for the fireshed assessments completed under 
     subsection (a)(1), the Secretary concerned and Governor 
     shall, to the maximum extent practicable, incorporate--
       (i) traditional ecological knowledge from Indian Tribes;
       (ii) data from State forest action plans and State wildfire 
     risk assessments;
       (iii) data from the Fireshed Registry maintained under 
     section 103; and
       (iv) data from other Federal, State, Tribal, and local 
     governments or agencies.
       (b) Applicability of NEPA.--Fireshed assessments conducted 
     under this section shall not be subject to the requirements 
     of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
     4321 et seq.).

     SEC. 106. EMERGENCY FIRESHED MANAGEMENT.

       (a) Fireshed Management Projects.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary concerned, acting through a 
     responsible official, shall carry out fireshed management 
     projects in fireshed management areas designated under 
     section 101 in accordance with this section.
       (2) Fireshed management projects.--The responsible official 
     shall carry out the following forest and vegetation 
     management activities as fireshed management projects under 
     this section:
       (A) Conducting hazardous fuels management activities.
       (B) Creating fuel breaks and fire breaks.
       (C) Removing hazard trees, dead trees, dying trees, or 
     trees at risk of dying, as determined by the responsible 
     official.
       (D) Developing, approving, or conducting routine 
     maintenance under a vegetation management, facility 
     inspection, and operation and maintenance plan submitted 
     under section 512(c)(1) of the Federal Land Policy and 
     Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772(c)(1)).

[[Page H324]]

       (E) Removing trees to address overstocking or crowding in a 
     forest stand, consistent with the appropriate basal area of 
     the forest stand as determined by the responsible official.
       (F) Using chemical or re-seeding and planting treatments to 
     address insects and disease and control vegetation 
     competition or invasive species.
       (G) Any activities recommended by an applicable fireshed 
     assessment carried out under section 105.
       (H) Any activities recommended by an applicable community 
     wildfire protection plan.
       (I) Any combination of activities described in this 
     paragraph.
       (3) Emergency fireshed management.--
       (A) In general.--For any fireshed management area 
     designated under section 101, the following shall have the 
     force and effect of law:
       (i) Section 220.4(b) of title 36, Code of Federal 
     Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 
     Act), with respect to lands under the jurisdiction of the 
     Secretary.
       (ii) Section 46.150 of title 43, Code of Federal 
     Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 
     Act), with respect to lands under the jurisdiction of the 
     Secretary of the Interior.
       (iii) Section 402.05 of title 50, Code of Federal 
     Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 
     Act).
       (iv) Section 800.12 of title 36, Code of Federal 
     Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 
     Act).
       (B) Utilization of existing streamlined authorities in 
     fireshed management areas.--
       (i) In general.--Fireshed management projects carried out 
     under this section shall be considered authorized projects 
     under the following categorical exclusions:

       (I) Section 603(a) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 
     of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(a)).
       (II) Section 605(a) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 
     of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591d(a)).
       (III) Section 606(b) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 
     of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591e(b)).
       (IV) Section 40806(b) of the Infrastructure Investment and 
     Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592b(b)).
       (V) Section 4(c)(4) of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act 
     (Public Law 106-506; 114 Stat. 2353).

       (ii) Additional emergency actions.--Subsection (d) of 
     section 40807 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 
     (16 U.S.C. 6592c) shall apply to fireshed management projects 
     under this section in the same manner as such subsection 
     applies to authorized emergency actions (as defined in 
     subsection (a) of such section 40807) under such section 
     40807.
       (iii) Use of expedited authorities.--In carrying out a 
     fireshed management project, the Secretary shall apply a 
     categorical exclusion under clause (i)--

       (I) in a manner consistent with the statute establishing 
     such categorical exclusion; and
       (II) in any area--

       (aa) designated as suitable for timber production within 
     the applicable forest plan; or
       (bb) where timber harvest activities are not prohibited.
       (iv) Fiscal responsibility act requirements.--In carrying 
     out this section, the Secretary concerned shall ensure 
     compliance with the amendments made to the National 
     Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by the 
     Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Public Law 118-5).
       (v) Use of other authorities.--To the maximum extent 
     practicable, the Secretary concerned shall use the 
     authorities provided under this section in combination with 
     other authorities to carry out fireshed management projects, 
     including--

       (I) good neighbor agreements entered into under section 
     8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) (as 
     amended by this Act);
       (II) stewardship contracting projects entered into under 
     section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
     (16 U.S.C. 6591c) (as amended by this Act);
       (III) self-determination contracts and self-governance 
     compact agreements entered into under the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et 
     seq.); and
       (IV) agreements entered into under the Tribal Forest 
     Protection Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a et seq.).

       (b) Expansion.--
       (1) HFRA amendments.--The Healthy Forests Restoration Act 
     of 2003 is amended--
       (A) in section 3 (16 U.S.C. 6502), by inserting at the end 
     the following:
       ``(3) Local government.--The term `local government' means 
     a county, municipality, or special district.
       ``(4) Special district.--The term `special district' means 
     a political subdivision of a State that--
       ``(A) has significant budgetary autonomy or control;
       ``(B) was created by or pursuant to the laws of the State 
     for the purpose of performing a limited and specific 
     governmental or proprietary function; and
       ``(C) is distinct from any other local government unit 
     within the State.''.
       (B) in section 603(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 6591b(c)(1)), by 
     striking ``3000 acres'' and inserting ``10,000 acres'';
       (C) in section 603(c)(2)(B) (16 U.S.C. 6591b(c)(2)(B)), by 
     striking ``Fire Regime Groups I, II, or III'' and inserting 
     ``Fire Regime I, Fire Regime II, Fire Regime III, Fire Regime 
     IV, or Fire Regime V'';
       (D) in section 605(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 6591d(c)(1)), by 
     striking ``3000 acres'' and inserting ``10,000 acres''; and
       (E) in section 606(g) (16 U.S.C. 6591e(g)), by striking 
     ``4,500 acres'' and inserting ``10,000 acres''.
       (2) Infrastructure investment and jobs act amendment.--
     Section 40806(d)(1) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 6592b(d)(1)), by striking ``3,000 acres'' and 
     inserting ``10,000 acres''.
       (3) Lake tahoe restoration act amendments.--Section 
     4(c)(4)(C) of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act (Public Law 106-
     506; 114 Stat. 2353) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit''; and
       (B) by inserting ``applicable to the area'' before the 
     period at the end.

     SEC. 107. SUNSET.

       The authority under this subtitle shall terminate on the 
     date that is 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

 Subtitle B--Expanding Collaborative Tools to Reduce Wildfire Risk and 
                         Improve Forest Health

     SEC. 111. MODIFICATION OF THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN REVENUE 
                   AND PAYMENTS UNDER GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENTS.

       (a) Good Neighbor Authority.--Section 8206 of the 
     Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ``or Indian tribe'';
       (2) in subsection (a), by inserting the following:
       ``(11) Special district.--The term `special district' means 
     a political subdivision of a State that--
       ``(A) has significant budgetary autonomy or control;
       ``(B) was created by or pursuant to the laws of the State 
     for the purpose of performing a limited and specific 
     governmental or proprietary function; and
       ``(C) is distinct from any other local government unit 
     within the State.''.
       (3) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``, Indian Tribe, 
     special district,'' after ``Governor'';
       (B) in paragraph (2)(C)--
       (i) in clause (i)--

       (I) by inserting ``special district,'' after ``Indian 
     Tribe,'' each place it appears;
       (II) in subclause (I)--

       (aa) by striking ``on''; and
       (bb) by striking ``; and'' and inserting a semicolon;

       (III) in subclause (II)(bb), by striking the period at the 
     end and inserting a semicolon; and
       (IV) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(III) to construct new permanent roads on Federal lands 
     that are--

       ``(aa) necessary to implement authorized restoration 
     activities; and
       ``(bb) approved by the Federal agency through an 
     environmental analysis or categorical exclusion decision;

       ``(IV) to complete new permanent road construction to 
     replace and decommission an existing permanent road that is 
     adversely impacting forest, rangeland, or watershed health; 
     and
       ``(V) if there are funds remaining after carrying out 
     subclauses (I) through (IV), to carry out authorized 
     restoration services under other good neighbor agreements and 
     for the administration of a good neighbor authority program 
     by a Governor, Indian tribe, special district, or county.''; 
     and

       (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``2028'' and inserting 
     ``2030''; and
       (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``, Indian Tribe, 
     special district,'' after ``Governor''; and
       (D) by striking paragraph (4).
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 8206(a) of the 
     Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ``, Indian Tribe, 
     special district,'' after ``Governor''; and
       (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``, Indian Tribe, 
     special district,'' after ``Governor''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     apply to any project initiated pursuant to a good neighbor 
     agreement (as defined in section 8206(a) of the Agricultural 
     Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)))--
       (1) before the date of enactment of this Act, if the 
     project was initiated after the date of enactment of the 
     Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-334; 132 
     Stat. 4490); or
       (2) on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 112. FIXING STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING.

       Section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
     (16 U.S.C. 6591c) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ``, including retaining 
     and expanding existing forest products infrastructure'' 
     before the period at the end;
       (2) in subsection (d)(3)(B), by striking ``10 years'' and 
     inserting ``20 years''; and
       (3) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) Special rule for long-term stewardship contracts.--
       ``(A) In general.--A long-term agreement or contract 
     entered into with an entity under subsection (b) by the Chief 
     or the Director shall provide that in the case of the 
     cancellation or termination by the Chief or the Director of 
     such long-term agreement or

[[Page H325]]

     contract, the Chief or the Director, as applicable, shall 
     provide 10 percent of the agreement or contract amount to 
     such entity as cancellation or termination costs.
       ``(B) Definition of long-term agreement or contract.--In 
     this paragraph, the term `long-term agreement or contract' 
     means an agreement or contract under subsection (b)--
       ``(i) with a term of more than 5 years; and
       ``(ii) entered into on or after the date of the enactment 
     of this paragraph.''.

     SEC. 113. INTRA-AGENCY STRIKE TEAMS.

       (a) Establishment.--The Secretary concerned shall establish 
     intra-agency strike teams to assist the Secretary concerned 
     with--
       (1) any reviews, including analysis under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 
     consultations under the National Historic Preservation Act of 
     1966 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), and consultations under the 
     Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), with 
     the intent to accelerate and streamline interagency 
     consultation processes;
       (2) the implementation of any necessary site preparation 
     work in advance of or as part of a fireshed management 
     project;
       (3) the implementation of fireshed management projects 
     under such section; and
       (4) any combination of purposes under paragraphs (1) 
     through (3).
       (b) Members.--The Secretary concerned may appoint not more 
     than 10 individuals to serve on an intra-agency strike team 
     comprised of--
       (1) employees of the Department under the jurisdiction of 
     the Secretary concerned;
       (2) employees of a different Federal agency, with the 
     consent of that agency's Secretary;
       (3) private contractors from any nonprofit organization, 
     State government, Indian Tribe, local government, quasi-
     governmental agency, academic institution, or private 
     organization; and
       (4) volunteers from any nonprofit organization, State 
     government, Indian Tribe, local government, quasi-
     governmental agency, academic institution, or private 
     organization.
       (c) Sunset.--The authority provided under this section 
     shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 114. LOCALLY-LED RESTORATION.

       (a) Threshold Adjustment.--Section 14(d) of the National 
     Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a(d)) is amended 
     by--
       (1) striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$55,000''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following: ``Beginning on 
     January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the amount in the 
     first sentence of this subsection shall be adjusted by the 
     Secretary for changes in the Consumer Price Index of All 
     Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
     of the Department of Labor.''.
       (b) Fireshed Management Projects.--Beginning on the date 
     that is 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
     Secretary shall solicit bids under section 14 of the National 
     Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a(d)) for 
     fireshed management projects under section 106.

     SEC. 115. JOINT CHIEFS LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PARTNERSHIP 
                   PROGRAM.

       Section 40808 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 
     (16 U.S.C. 6592d) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting a semicolon; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) to recover from wildfires; or
       ``(E) to enhance soil, water, and related natural 
     resources.'';
       (2) in subsection (d)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and post-wildfire 
     impacts'' after ``wildfire risk''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ``, as identified in 
     the corresponding State forest action plan or similar 
     priority plan (such as a State wildlife or water plan)'' 
     before the semicolon;
       (3) in subsection (g)(2), by inserting ``and at least once 
     every 2 fiscal years thereafter'' after ``and 2023''; and
       (4) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ``and 2023'' and 
     inserting ``through 2030''.

     SEC. 116. COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PROGRAM.

       Section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 
     2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b)(3)--
       (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``species;'' and 
     inserting ``species or pathogens;'';
       (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (C) in subparagraph (H), by adding ``and'' after the 
     semicolon at the end; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(I) address standardized monitoring questions and 
     indicators;'';
       (2) in subsection (c)(3)(A)--
       (A) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in clause (ii), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iii) include a plan to provide support to collaborative 
     processes established pursuant to subsection (b)(2);'';
       (3) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(G) proposals that seek to use innovative implementation 
     mechanisms, including good neighbor agreements entered into 
     under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 
     2113a);
       ``(H) proposals that seek to remove or treat insects or 
     diseases, including the removal of trees killed by, or 
     infested with, bark beetles in Arizona, California, Colorado, 
     Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South 
     Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming;
       ``(I) proposals that seek to facilitate the sale of 
     firewood and Christmas trees on lands under the jurisdiction 
     of the Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior;
       ``(J) proposals that seek to reduce the risk of 
     uncharacteristic wildfire or increase ecological restoration 
     activities--
       ``(i) within areas across land ownerships, including State, 
     Tribal, and private land; and
       ``(ii) within the wildland-urban interface (as defined in 
     section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
     (16 U.S.C. 6511)); and
       ``(K) proposals that seek to enhance watershed health and 
     drinking water sources.''; and
       (B) in paragraph (3)--
       (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
       ``(A) 4 proposals in any 1 region of the National Forest 
     System to be funded during any fiscal year; and'';
       (ii) by striking subparagraph (B); and
       (iii) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph 
     (B); and
       (4) in subsection (f)(6), by striking ``2019 through 2023'' 
     and inserting ``2025 through 2030''.

     SEC. 117. UTILIZING GRAZING FOR WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION.

       The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest 
     Service, in coordination with holders of permits to graze 
     livestock on Federal land, shall develop a strategy to 
     increase opportunities to utilize livestock grazing as a 
     wildfire risk reduction strategy, including--
       (1) completion of reviews (as required under the National 
     Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)) to 
     allow permitted grazing on vacant grazing allotments during 
     instances of drought, wildfire, or other natural disasters 
     that disrupt grazing on allotments already permitted;
       (2) use of targeted grazing;
       (3) increased use of temporary permits to promote targeted 
     fuels reduction and reduction of invasive annual grasses;
       (4) increased use of grazing as a postfire recovery and 
     restoration strategy, where appropriate; and
       (5) use of all applicable authorities under the law.

     SEC. 118. WATER SOURCE PROTECTION PROGRAM.

       Section 303 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
     (16 U.S.C. 6542(g)(4)(B)) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (7) as 
     paragraphs (2) through (8), respectively;
       (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 
     the following:
       ``(1) Adjacent land.--The term `adjacent land' means non-
     Federal land, including State, local, and private land, that 
     is adjacent to, and within the same watershed as, National 
     Forest System land on which a watershed protection and 
     restoration project is carried out under this section.''; and
       (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated--
       (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (G) and (H) as 
     subparagraphs (K) and (L), respectively; and
       (ii) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following:
       ``(G) an acequia association;
       ``(H) a local, regional, or other public entity that 
     manages stormwater or wastewater resources or other related 
     water infrastructure;
       ``(I) a land-grant mercedes;
       ``(J) a local, regional, or other private entity that has 
     water delivery authority;'';
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by striking ``The Secretary shall'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Requirements.--A watershed protection and restoration 
     project under the Program shall be designed to--
       ``(A) protect and restore watershed health, water supply 
     and quality, a municipal or agricultural water supply system, 
     and water-related infrastructure;
       ``(B) protect and restore forest health from insect 
     infestation and disease or wildfire; or
       ``(C) advance any combination of the purposes described in 
     subparagraphs (A) and (B).
       ``(3) Priorities.--In selecting watershed protection and 
     restoration projects under the Program, the Secretary shall 
     give priority to projects that would--
       ``(A) provide risk management benefits associated with: 
     drought; wildfire; post-wildfire conditions; extreme weather; 
     flooding; resilience to climate change; and watershed and 
     fire resilience, including minimizing risks to watershed 
     health, water supply and

[[Page H326]]

     quality, and water-related infrastructure, including 
     municipal and agricultural water supply systems;
       ``(B) support aquatic restoration and conservation efforts 
     that complement existing or planned forest restoration or 
     wildfire risk reduction efforts; or
       ``(C) provide quantifiable benefits to water supply or 
     quality and include the use of nature-based solutions, such 
     as restoring wetland and riparian ecosystems.
       ``(4) Conditions for projects on adjacent land.--
       ``(A) In general.--No project or activity may be carried 
     out under this section on adjacent land unless the owner of 
     the adjacent land agrees in writing that the owner is a 
     willing and engaged partner in carrying out that project or 
     activity.
       ``(B) Effect.--Nothing in this section shall be construed 
     to authorize any change in--
       ``(i) the ownership of adjacent land on which a project or 
     activity is carried out under this section; or
       ``(ii) the management of adjacent land on which a project 
     or activity is carried out under this section, except during 
     the carrying out of that project or activity.'';
       (3) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``with end water users'' 
     and inserting ``with end water users to protect and restore 
     the condition of National Forest watersheds and adjacent land 
     that provide water--
       ``(A) to the end water users subject to the agreement; or
       ``(B) for the benefit of another end water user.'';
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E); 
     and
       (iii) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
       ``(D) a good neighbor agreement entered into under section 
     8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); or''; 
     and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Cooperation with non-federal partners.--The Secretary 
     shall cooperate with non-Federal partners in carrying out 
     assessments, planning, project design, and project 
     implementation under this section.'';
       (4) in subsection (d)--
       (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
       ``(2) Requirement.--A water source management plan shall 
     be--
       ``(A) designed to protect and restore ecological integrity 
     (as defined in section 219.19 of title 36, Code of Federal 
     Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 
     subparagraph));
       ``(B) based on the best available scientific information; 
     and
       ``(C) conducted in a manner consistent with the forest plan 
     applicable to the National Forest System land on which the 
     watershed protection and restoration project is carried 
     out.''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) Reducing redundancy.--An existing watershed plan, 
     such as a watershed protection and restoration action plan 
     developed under section 304(a)(3), or other applicable 
     watershed planning documents as approved by the Secretary may 
     be used as the basis for a water source management plan under 
     this subsection.''; and
       (5) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ``primary purpose 
     of'' and all that follows through the period at the end and 
     inserting ``primary purpose of advancing any of the purposes 
     described in subsection (b)(2).''.

     SEC. 119. WATERSHED CONDITION FRAMEWORK TECHNICAL 
                   CORRECTIONS.

       Section 304(a) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 
     2003 (16 U.S.C. 6543(a)) is amended in paragraphs (3) and (5) 
     by striking ``protection and''.

                     Subtitle C--Litigation Reform

     SEC. 121. COMMONSENSE LITIGATION REFORM.

       (a) In General.--A court shall not enjoin a covered agency 
     action if the court determines that the plaintiff is unable 
     to demonstrate that the claim of the plaintiff is likely to 
     succeed on the merits.
       (b) Balancing Short- and Long-term Effects of Covered 
     Agency Action in Considering Injunctive Relief.--As part of 
     its weighing the equities while considering any request for 
     an injunction that applies to a covered agency action, the 
     court reviewing such action shall balance the impact to the 
     ecosystem likely affected by such action of--
       (1) the short- and long-term effects of undertaking such 
     action; against
       (2) the short- and long-term effects of not undertaking 
     such action.
       (c) Limitations on Judicial Review.--
       (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law 
     (except this section), in the case of a claim arising under 
     Federal law seeking judicial review of a covered agency 
     action--
       (A) a court shall not hold unlawful, set aside, or 
     otherwise limit, delay, stay, vacate, or enjoin such agency 
     action unless the court determines that--
       (i) such action poses or will pose a risk of a proximate 
     and substantial environmental harm; and
       (ii) there is no other equitable remedy available as a 
     matter of law; and
       (B) if a court determines that subparagraph (A) does not 
     apply to the covered agency action the only remedy the court 
     may order with regard to such agency action is to remand the 
     matter to the agency with instructions to, during the 180-day 
     period beginning on the date of the order, take such 
     additional actions as may be necessary to redress any legal 
     wrong suffered by, or adverse effect on, the plaintiff, 
     except such additional actions may not include the 
     preparation of a new agency document unless the court finds 
     the agency was required and failed to prepare such agency 
     document.
       (2) Effect of remand.--In the case of a covered agency 
     action to which paragraph (1)(B) applies, the agency may--
       (A) continue to carry out such agency action to the extent 
     the action does not impact the additional actions required 
     pursuant to such paragraph; and
       (B) if the agency action relates to an agency document, use 
     any format to correct such document (including a supplemental 
     environmental document, memorandum, or errata sheet).
       (d) Limitations on Claims.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law (except this section), a claim arising under 
     Federal law seeking judicial review of a covered agency 
     action shall be barred unless--
       (1) with respect to an agency document or the application 
     of a categorical exclusion noticed in the Federal Register, 
     such claim is filed not later than 120 days after the date of 
     publication of a notice in the Federal Register of agency 
     intent to carry out the fireshed management project relating 
     to such agency document or application, unless a shorter 
     period is specified in such Federal law;
       (2) in the case of an agency document or the application of 
     a categorical exclusion not described in paragraph (1), such 
     claim is filed not later than 120 days after the date that is 
     the earlier of--
       (A) the date on which such agency document or application 
     is published; and
       (B) the date on which such agency document or application 
     is noticed; and
       (3) in the case of a covered agency action for which there 
     was a public comment period, such claim--
       (A) is filed by a party that--
       (i) participated in the administrative proceedings 
     regarding the fireshed management project relating to such 
     action; and
       (ii) submitted a comment during such public comment period 
     and such comment was sufficiently detailed to put the 
     applicable agency on notice of the issue upon which the party 
     seeks judicial review; and
       (B) is related to such comment.
       (e) Definitions.--ln this section:
       (1) Agency document.--The term ``agency document'' means, 
     with respect to a fireshed management project, a record of 
     decision, environmental document, or programmatic 
     environmental document.
       (2) Covered agency action.--The term ``covered agency 
     action'' means--
       (A) the establishment of a fireshed management project by 
     an agency;
       (B) the application of a categorical exclusion to a 
     fireshed management project;
       (C) the preparation of any agency document for a fireshed 
     management project; or
       (D) any other agency action as part of a fireshed 
     management project.
       (3) NEPA terms.--The terms ``categorical exclusion'', 
     ``environmental document'', and ``programmatic environmental 
     document'' have the meanings given such terms, respectively, 
     in section 111 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
     1969 (42 U.S.C. 4336e).

     SEC. 122. CONSULTATION ON FOREST PLANS.

       (a) Forest Service Plans.--Section 6(d)(2) of the Forest 
     and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 
     U.S.C. 1604(d)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(2) No additional consultation required under certain 
     circumstances.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
     the Secretary shall not be required to reinitiate 
     consultation under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species 
     Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of title 
     50, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), 
     on a land management plan approved, amended, or revised under 
     this section when--
       ``(A) a new species is listed or critical habitat is 
     designated under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
     U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or
       ``(B) new information reveals effects of the land 
     management plan that may affect a species listed or critical 
     habitat designated under that Act in a manner or to an extent 
     not previously considered.''.
       (b) Bureau of Land Management Plans.--Section 202 of the 
     Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
     1712) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(g) No Additional Consultation Required Under Certain 
     Circumstances.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
     the Secretary shall not be required to reinitiate 
     consultation under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species 
     Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of title 
     50, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), 
     on a land use plan approved, amended, or revised under this 
     section when--
       ``(1) a new species is listed or critical habitat is 
     designated under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
     U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or
       ``(2) new information reveals effects of the land use plan 
     that may affect a species listed or critical habitat 
     designated under that Act in a manner or to an extent not 
     previously considered.''.

[[Page H327]]

  


    TITLE II--PROTECTING COMMUNITIES IN THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE

     SEC. 201. COMMUNITY WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall jointly 
     establish an interagency program to be known as the 
     ``Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program'' that shall 
     consist of at least one representative from each of the 
     following:
       (1) The Office of Wildland Fire of the Department of the 
     Interior.
       (2) The National Park Service.
       (3) The Bureau of Land Management.
       (4) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
       (5) The Bureau of Indian Affairs.
       (6) The Forest Service.
       (7) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
       (8) The United States Fire Administration.
       (9) The National Institute of Standards and Technology.
       (10) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the program established under 
     subsection (a) is to support interagency coordination in 
     reducing the risk of, and the damages resulting from, 
     wildfires in communities (including tribal communities) in 
     the wildland-urban interface through--
       (1) advancing research and science in wildfire resilience 
     and land management, including support for non-Federal 
     research partnerships;
       (2) supporting adoption by Indian Tribes and local 
     governmental entities of fire-resistant building methods, 
     codes, and standards;
       (3) supporting efforts by Indian Tribes or local 
     governmental entities to address the effects of wildland fire 
     on such communities, including property damages, air quality, 
     and water quality;
       (4) encouraging public-private partnerships to conduct 
     hazardous fuels management activities in the wildland-urban 
     interface;
       (5) providing technical and financial assistance targeted 
     towards communities, including tribal communities, through 
     streamlined and unified technical assistance and grant 
     management mechanisms, including the portal and grant 
     application established under subsection (c), to--
       (A) encourage critical risk reduction measures on private 
     property with high wildfire risk exposure in such 
     communities; and
       (B) mitigate costs for and improve capacity among such 
     communities.
       (c) Portal and Uniform Grant Application.--
       (1) In general.--As part of the program established under 
     subsection (a), the Secretaries and the Administrator of the 
     Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish a portal 
     through which a person may submit a single, uniform 
     application for any of the following:
       (A) A community wildfire defense grant under section 
     40803(f) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 
     U.S.C. 6592(f)).
       (B) An emergency management performance grant under section 
     662 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 
     2006 (6 U.S.C. 761).
       (C) A grant under section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention 
     and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229).
       (D) A grant under section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention 
     and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a).
       (E) Financial or technical assistance or a grant under 
     sections 203, 205, 404, 406, or 420 of the Robert T. Stafford 
     Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133, 
     5135, 5170c, 5172, 5187).
       (2) Simplification of application.--In establishing the 
     portal and application under paragraph (1), the Secretaries 
     and the Administrator shall seek to reduce the complexity and 
     length of the application process for the grants described in 
     paragraph (1).
       (3) Technical assistance.--The Secretaries shall provide 
     technical assistance to communities or persons seeking to 
     apply for financial assistance through the portal using the 
     application established under paragraph (1).
       (d) Sunset.--The program established under this section 
     shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 202. COMMUNITY WILDFIRE DEFENSE RESEARCH PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Secretaries shall, acting jointly, 
     expand the Joint Fire Science Program to include a 
     performance-driven research and development program known as 
     the ``Community Wildfire Defense Research Program'' for the 
     purpose of testing and advancing innovative designs to create 
     or improve the wildfire-resistance of structures and 
     communities.
       (b) Program Priorities.--In carrying out the program 
     established under subsection (a), the Secretaries shall 
     evaluate opportunities to create wildfire-resistant 
     structures and communities through--
       (1) different affordable building materials, including mass 
     timber;
       (2) home hardening, including policies to incentivize and 
     incorporate defensible space;
       (3) subdivision design and other land use planning and 
     design;
       (4) landscape architecture; and
       (5) other wildfire-resistant designs, as determined by the 
     Secretary.
       (c) Community Wildfire Defense Innovation Prize.--
       (1) In general.--In carrying out the program established 
     under subsection (a), the Secretaries shall carry out a 
     competition through which a person may submit to the 
     Secretaries innovative designs for the creation or 
     improvement of an ignition-resistant structure or fire-
     adapted communities.
       (2) Prize.--Subject to the availability of appropriations 
     made in advance for such purpose, the Secretaries may award a 
     prize under the competition described in paragraph (1), based 
     on criteria established by the Secretaries and in accordance 
     with paragraph (3).
       (3) Scale.--In awarding a prize under paragraph (2), the 
     Secretaries shall prioritize for an award designs with the 
     most potential to scale to existing infrastructure.
       (d) Collaboration and Nonduplication.--In carrying out the 
     program established under subsection (a), the Secretaries 
     shall ensure collaboration and nonduplication of activities 
     with the Building Technologies Office of the Department of 
     Energy.
       (e) Sunset.--The program established under subsection (a) 
     shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 203. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, FACILITY INSPECTION, AND 
                   OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE RELATING TO ELECTRIC 
                   TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION FACILITY RIGHTS-
                   OF-WAY.

       (a) Hazard Trees Within 150 Feet of Electric Power Line.--
     Section 512(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the Federal Land Policy and 
     Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772(a)(1)(B)(ii)) is 
     amended by striking ``10'' and inserting ``150''.
       (b) Consultation With Private Landowners.--Section 
     512(c)(3)(E) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 1772(c)(3)(E)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting 
     ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iii) consulting with a private landowner with respect to 
     any hazard trees identified for removal from land owned by 
     the private landowner.''.
       (c) Review and Approval Process.--Section 512(c)(4)(A)(iv) 
     of such Act (43 U.S.C. 1772(c)(4)(A)(iv)) is amended to read 
     as follows:
       ``(iv) ensures that--

       ``(I) a plan submitted without a modification under clause 
     (iii) shall be automatically approved 120 days after being 
     submitted; and
       ``(II) with respect to a plan submitted with a modification 
     under clause (iii), if not approved within 120 days after 
     being submitted, the Secretary concerned shall develop and 
     submit a letter to the owner and operator describing--

       ``(aa) a detailed timeline (to conclude within 165 days 
     after the submission of the plan) for completing review of 
     the plan;
       ``(bb) any identified deficiencies with the plan and 
     specific opportunities for the owner and operator to address 
     such deficiencies; and
       ``(cc) any other relevant information, as determined by the 
     Secretary concerned.''.

     SEC. 204. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR ELECTRIC UTILITY LINES 
                   RIGHTS-OF-WAY.

       (a) Categorical Exclusion Established.--Forest management 
     activities described in subsection (b) are a category of 
     activities hereby designated as being categorically excluded 
     from the preparation of an environmental assessment or an 
     environmental impact statement under section 102 of the 
     National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332).
       (b) Forest Management Activities Designated for Categorical 
     Exclusion.--The forest management activities designated under 
     subsection (a) for a categorical exclusion are--
       (1) the development and approval of a vegetation 
     management, facility inspection, and operation and 
     maintenance plan submitted under section 512(c)(1) of the 
     Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
     1772(c)(1)) by the Secretary concerned; and
       (2) the implementation of routine activities conducted 
     under the plan referred to in paragraph (1).
       (c) Availability of Categorical Exclusion.--On and after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned 
     may use the categorical exclusion established under 
     subsection (a) in accordance with this section.
       (d) Exclusion of Certain Areas From Categorical 
     Exclusion.--The categorical exclusion established under 
     subsection (a) shall not apply to any forest management 
     activity conducted--
       (1) in a component of the National Wilderness Preservation 
     System; or
       (2) on National Forest System lands on which the removal of 
     vegetation is restricted or prohibited by an Act of Congress.
       (e) Permanent Roads.--
       (1) Prohibition on establishment.--A forest management 
     activity designated under subsection (b) shall not include 
     the establishment of a permanent road.
       (2) Existing roads.--The Secretary concerned may carry out 
     necessary maintenance and repair on an existing permanent 
     road for the purposes of conducting a forest management 
     activity designated under subsection (b).
       (3) Temporary roads.--The Secretary concerned shall 
     decommission any temporary road constructed for carrying out 
     a forest management activity designated under subsection (b) 
     not later than the date that is 3 years after the date on 
     which the forest management activity is completed.

[[Page H328]]

       (f) Applicable Laws.--Clauses (iii) and (iv) of section 
     106(a)(3) shall apply to forest management activities 
     designated under subsection (b).

     SEC. 205. SEEDS OF SUCCESS.

       (a) Strategy Established.--Not later than 2 years after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries and the 
     Secretary of Defense shall jointly develop and implement a 
     strategy, to be known as the ``Seeds of Success strategy'', 
     to enhance the domestic supply chain of seeds.
       (b) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection (a) 
     shall include a plan for each of the following:
       (1) Facilitating sustained interagency coordination in, and 
     a comprehensive approach to, native plant materials 
     development and restoration.
       (2) Promoting the re-seeding of native or fire-resistant 
     vegetation post-wildfire, particularly in the wildland-urban 
     interface.
       (3) Creating and consolidating information on native or 
     fire-resistant vegetation and sharing such information with 
     State governments, Indian Tribes, and local governments.
       (4) Building regional programs and partnerships to promote 
     the development of materials made from plants native to the 
     United States and restore such plants to their respective, 
     native habitats within the United States, giving priority to 
     the building of such programs and partnerships in regions of 
     the Bureau of Land Management where such partnerships and 
     programs do not already exist as of the date of enactment of 
     this Act.
       (5) Expanding seed storage and seed-cleaning 
     infrastructure.
       (6) Expanding the Warehouse System of the Bureau of Land 
     Management, particularly the cold storage capacity of the 
     Warehouse System.
       (7) Shortening the timeline for the approval of permits to 
     collect seeds on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land 
     Management.
       (c) Report.--The Secretaries and the Secretary of Defense 
     shall submit to the relevant Congressional Committees the 
     strategy developed under paragraph (1).

     SEC. 206. PROGRAM TO SUPPORT PRIORITY REFORESTATION AND 
                   RESTORATION PROJECTS OF DEPARTMENT OF THE 
                   INTERIOR.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in 
     coordination with the heads of covered Federal agencies, 
     shall establish a program to provide support for priority 
     projects identified under subsection (c)(2), in accordance 
     with this section.
       (b) Support.--In carrying out the program under subsection 
     (a), the Secretary may provide support through--
       (1) cooperative agreements entered into in accordance with 
     processes established by the Secretary; and
       (2) contracts, including contracts established pursuant to 
     the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 
     (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).
       (c) Annual Identification of Priority Projects.--Not later 
     than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and 
     annually thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior, in 
     consultation with the heads of covered Federal agencies, 
     shall--
       (1) identify lands of the United States administered by, or 
     under the jurisdiction of, the Secretary of the Interior that 
     require reforestation and restoration due to unplanned 
     disturbances and that are unlikely to experience natural 
     regeneration without assistance; and
       (2) establish a list of priority projects for reforestation 
     and restoration for the upcoming year, which may include 
     activities to ensure adequate and appropriate seed and 
     seedling availability to further the objectives of other 
     priority projects.
       (d) Consultation.--In carrying out the program under 
     subsection (a) and the requirements under subsection (c), the 
     Secretary shall consult or collaborate with, as appropriate, 
     and inform the following:
       (1) State and local governments.
       (2) Indian Tribes.
       (3) Covered institutions of higher education.
       (4) Federal agencies that administer lands of the United 
     States that adjoin or are proximal to lands that are the 
     subject of priority projects and potential priority projects.
       (5) Other stakeholders, as determined by the Secretary.
       (e) Annual Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
     Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the relevant 
     Congressional Committees a report that includes the 
     following:
       (1) An accounting of all lands identified under subsection 
     (c)(1) for the period covered by the report.
       (2) A list of priority projects identified under subsection 
     (c)(2) for the period covered by the report and, with respect 
     to each such priority project, any support issued under the 
     program under subsection (a) and any progress made towards 
     reforestation and restoration.
       (3) An accounting of each contract and cooperative 
     agreement established under the program under subsection (a).
       (4) A description of the actions taken in accordance with 
     subsection (d).
       (5) Assessments with respect to--
       (A) gaps in--
       (i) the implementation of the program under subsection (a); 
     and
       (ii) the progress made under the program with respect to 
     priority projects; and
       (B) opportunities to procure funding necessary to address 
     any such gaps.
       (f) Nonduplication.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Secretary of the Interior shall collaborate with the 
     Secretary and the Secretary of Defense to ensure the 
     nonduplication of activities carried out under section 205.
       (g) Sunset.--The authority provided under this section 
     shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (h) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Covered federal agency.--The term ``covered Federal 
     agency'' means the National Park Service, the United States 
     Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the 
     Bureau of Reclamation, or the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
       (2) Covered institution of higher education.--The term 
     ``covered institution of higher education'' has the meaning 
     given the term ``eligible institution'' in section 301(e)(3).
       (3) Natural regeneration; reforestation.--The terms 
     ``natural regeneration'' and ``reforestation'' have the 
     meanings given such terms in section 3(e)(4)(A) of the Forest 
     and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 
     U.S.C. 1601(3)(4)(A)).
       (4) Restoration.--The term ``restoration'' means activities 
     that facilitate the recovery of an ecosystem that has been 
     degraded, damaged, or destroyed, including the 
     reestablishment of appropriate plant species composition and 
     community structure.
       (5) Unplanned ecosystem disturbance.--The term ``unplanned 
     ecosystem disturbance'' means any unplanned disturbance that 
     disrupts the structure or composition of an ecosystem, 
     including a wildfire, an infestation of insects or disease, 
     and a weather event.

     SEC. 207. FIRE DEPARTMENT REPAYMENT.

       (a) Establishment of Standard Operating Procedures.--Not 
     later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
     section, the Secretaries shall--
       (1) establish standard operating procedures relating to 
     payment timelines for fire suppression cost share agreements 
     established under the Act of May 27, 1955 (42 U.S.C. 1856a) 
     (commonly known as the ``Reciprocal Fire Protection Act''); 
     and
       (2) with respect to each fire suppression cost share 
     agreement in operation on such date--
       (A) review each such agreement; and
       (B) modify each agreement as necessary to comply with the 
     standard operating procedures required under paragraph (1).
       (b) Alignment of Fire Suppression Cost Share Agreements 
     With Cooperative Fire Protection Agreements.--The standard 
     operating procedures required under subsection (a)(1) shall 
     include a requirement that each fire suppression cost share 
     agreement be aligned with each of the cooperative fire 
     protection agreements applicable to the entity subject to 
     such fire suppression cost share agreement.
       (c) Payments Pursuant to Cost Share Agreements.--With 
     respect to payments made pursuant to fire suppression cost 
     share agreements, the standard operating procedures required 
     under subsection (a)(1) shall require that the Federal paying 
     entity reimburse a local fire department if such fire 
     department submits an invoice in accordance with cost 
     settlement procedures.
       (d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the Secretaries should carry out reciprocal fire suppression 
     cost share agreement repayments to local fire suppression 
     organizations as soon as practicable after fire suppression 
     occurs but not later than 1 year after fire suppression 
     occurs.

         TITLE III--TRANSPARENCY, TECHNOLOGY, AND PARTNERSHIPS

                Subtitle A--Transparency and Technology

     SEC. 301. BIOCHAR INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR 
                   CONSERVATION, HEALTH, AND ADVANCEMENTS IN 
                   RESEARCH.

       (a) Demonstration Projects.--
       (1) Establishment.--
       (A) In general.--Subject to the availability of 
     appropriations made in advance for such purpose, not later 
     than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
     covered Secretaries shall establish a program to enter into 
     partnerships with eligible entities to carry out 
     demonstration projects to support the development and 
     commercialization of biochar in accordance with this 
     subsection.
       (B) Location of demonstration projects.--In carrying out 
     the program established under subparagraph (A), the covered 
     Secretaries shall, to the maximum extent practicable, enter 
     into partnerships with eligible entities such that not fewer 
     than one demonstration project is carried out in each region 
     of the Forest Service and each region of the Bureau of Land 
     Management.
       (2) Proposals.--To be eligible to enter into a partnership 
     to carry out a biochar demonstration project under paragraph 
     (1)(A), an eligible entity shall submit to the covered 
     Secretaries a proposal at such time, in such manner, and 
     containing such information as the covered Secretaries may 
     require.
       (3) Priority.--In selecting proposals under paragraph (2), 
     the covered Secretaries shall give priority to entering into 
     partnerships with eligible entities that submit proposals to 
     carry out biochar demonstration projects that--
       (A) have the most carbon sequestration potential;

[[Page H329]]

       (B) have the most potential to create new jobs and 
     contribute to local economies, particularly in rural areas;
       (C) have the most potential to demonstrate--
       (i) new and innovative uses of biochar;
       (ii) market viability for cost effective biochar-based 
     products;
       (iii) the ecosystem services created or supported by the 
     use of biochar;
       (iv) the restorative benefits of biochar with respect to 
     forest heath and resiliency, including forest soils and 
     watersheds; or
       (v) any combination of purposes specified in clauses (i) 
     through (iv);
       (D) are located in areas that have a high need for biochar 
     production, as determined by the covered Secretaries, due 
     to--
       (i) nearby lands identified as having high or very high or 
     extreme risk of wildfire;
       (ii) availability of sufficient quantities of feedstocks; 
     or
       (iii) a high level of demand for biochar or other 
     commercial byproducts of biochar; or
       (E) satisfy any combination of purposes specified in 
     subparagraphs (A) through (D).
       (4) Use of funds.--In carrying out the program established 
     under paragraph (1)(A), the covered Secretaries may enter 
     into partnerships and provide funding to such partnerships to 
     carry out demonstration projects to--
       (A) acquire and test various feedstocks and their efficacy;
       (B) develop and optimize commercially and technologically 
     viable biochar production units, including mobile and 
     permanent units;
       (C) demonstrate--
       (i) the production of biochar from forest residue; and
       (ii) the use of biochar to restore forest health and 
     resiliency;
       (D) build, expand, or establish biochar facilities;
       (E) conduct research on new and innovative uses of biochar;
       (F) demonstrate cost-effective market opportunities for 
     biochar and biochar-based products;
       (G) carry out any other activities the covered Secretaries 
     determine appropriate; or
       (H) any combination of the purposes specified in 
     subparagraphs (A) through (F).
       (5) Feedstock requirements.--To the maximum extent 
     practicable, an eligible entity that carries out a biochar 
     demonstration project under this subsection shall, with 
     respect to the feedstock used under such project, derive at 
     least 50 percent of such feedstock from forest thinning and 
     management activities, including mill residues, conducted on 
     National Forest System lands or public lands.
       (6) Review of biochar demonstration.--
       (A) In general.--The covered Secretaries shall conduct 
     regionally-specific research, including economic analyses and 
     life-cycle assessments, on any biochar produced from a 
     demonstration project carried out under the program 
     established in paragraph (1)(A), including--
       (i) the effects of such biochar on--

       (I) forest health and resiliency;
       (II) carbon capture and sequestration, including increasing 
     soil carbon in the short-term and long-term;
       (III) productivity, reduced input costs, and water 
     retention in agricultural practices;
       (IV) the health of soil and grasslands used for grazing 
     activities, including grazing activities on National Forest 
     System land and public land;
       (V) environmental remediation activities, including 
     abandoned mine land remediation; and
       (VI) other ecosystem services created or supported by the 
     use of biochar;

       (ii) the effectiveness of biochar as a co-product of 
     biofuels or in biochemicals; and
       (iii) the effectiveness of other potential uses of biochar 
     to determine if any such use is technologically and 
     commercially viable.
       (B) Coordination.--The covered Secretaries shall, to the 
     maximum extent practicable, provide data, analyses, and other 
     relevant information collected under subparagraph (A) with 
     recipients of a grant under subsection (b).
       (7) Limitation on funding for establishing biochar 
     facilities.--If the covered Secretaries provide to an 
     eligible entity that enters into a partnership with the 
     covered Secretaries under paragraph (1)(A) funding for 
     establishing a biochar facility, such funding may not exceed 
     35 percent of the total capital cost of establishing such 
     biochar facility.
       (b) Biochar Research and Development Grant Program.--
       (1) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Interior, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish or 
     expand an existing applied biochar research and development 
     grant program to make competitive grants to eligible 
     institutions to carry out the activities described in 
     paragraph (3).
       (2) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this subsection, an eligible institution shall submit to the 
     Secretary a proposal at such time, in such manner, and 
     containing such information as the Secretary may require.
       (3) Use of funds.--An eligible institution that receives a 
     grant under this subsection shall use the grant funds to 
     conduct applied research on--
       (A) the effect of biochar on forest health and resiliency, 
     accounting for variations in biochar, soil, climate, and 
     other factors;
       (B) the effect of biochar on soil health and water 
     retention, accounting for variations in biochar, soil, 
     climate, and other factors;
       (C) the long-term carbon sequestration potential of 
     biochar;
       (D) the best management practices with respect to biochar 
     and biochar-based products that maximize--
       (i) carbon sequestration benefits; and
       (ii) the commercial viability and application of such 
     products in forestry, agriculture, environmental remediation, 
     water quality improvement, and any other similar uses, as 
     determined by the Secretary;
       (E) the regional uses of biochar to increase productivity 
     and profitability, including--
       (i) uses in agriculture and environmental remediation; and
       (ii) use as a co-product in fuel production;
       (F) new and innovative uses for biochar byproducts; and
       (G) opportunities to expand markets for biochar and create 
     related jobs, particularly in rural areas.
       (c) Reports.--
       (1) Report to congress.--Not later than 2 years after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the covered Secretaries shall 
     submit to Congress a report that--
       (A) includes policy and program recommendations to improve 
     the widespread use of biochar;
       (B) identifies any area of research needed to advance 
     biochar commercialization; and
       (C) identifies barriers to further biochar 
     commercialization, including permitting and siting 
     considerations.
       (2) Materials submitted in support of the president's 
     budget.--Beginning with the second fiscal year that begins 
     after the date of enactment of this Act and annually 
     thereafter until the date described in subsection (d), the 
     covered Secretaries shall include in the materials submitted 
     to Congress in support of the President's budget pursuant to 
     section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a report 
     describing, for the fiscal year covered by the report, the 
     status of each demonstration project carried out under 
     subsection (a) and each research and development grant 
     carried out under subsection (b).
       (d) Sunset.--The authority to carry out this section shall 
     terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (e) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Biochar.--The term ``biochar'' means carbonized biomass 
     produced by converting feedstock through reductive thermal 
     processing for non-fuel uses.
       (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
       (A) a State, local, special district, or Tribal government;
       (B) an eligible institution;
       (C) a private, non-private, or cooperative entity or 
     organization;
       (D) a National Laboratory (as such term is defined in 
     section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 
     15801)); or
       (E) a partnership or consortium of two or more entities 
     described in subparagraphs (A) through (D).
       (3) Eligible institution.--The term ``eligible 
     institution'' means land-grant colleges and universities, 
     including institutions eligible for funding under the--
       (A) Act of July 2, 1862 (12 Stat. 503, chapter 130; 7 
     U.S.C. 301 et seq.);
       (B) Act of August 30, 1890 (26 Stat. 417, chapter 841; 7 
     U.S.C. 321 et seq.), including Tuskegee University;
       (C) Public Law 87-788 (commonly known as the ``McIntire-
     Stennis Act of 1962''); or
       (D) Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 
     U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 103-382).
       (4) Feedstock.--The term ``feedstock'' means excess biomass 
     in the form of plant matter or materials that serves as the 
     raw material for the production of biochar.
       (5) Covered secretaries.--The term ``covered Secretaries'' 
     means--
       (A) the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest 
     Service;
       (B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 
     Director of the Bureau of Land Management; and
       (C) the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Director of 
     the Office of Science.

     SEC. 302. 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 enactment of this Act, and each 
     fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary concerned shall include 
     in the materials submitted to Congress 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

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       (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 websites 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 
     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 section, 
     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 section:
       (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, grazing, 
     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.
       (e) No Additional Funds Authorized.--No additional funds 
     are authorized to carry out the requirements of this section, 
     and the activities authorized by this section are subject to 
     the availability of appropriations made in advance for such 
     purposes.

     SEC. 303. PUBLIC-PRIVATE WILDFIRE TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT AND 
                   DEMONSTRATION PARTNERSHIP.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency'' means--
       (A) each Federal land management agency (as such term is 
     defined in the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 
     U.S.C. 6801));
       (B) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
       (C) the United States Fire Administration;
       (D) the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
       (E) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
       (F) the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
       (G) the Department of Defense;
       (H) a State, Tribal, county, or municipal fire department 
     or district operating through the United States Fire 
     Administration or pursuant to an agreement with a Federal 
     agency; and
       (I) any other Federal agency involved in wildfire response.
       (2) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means--
       (A) a private entity;
       (B) a nonprofit organization; or
       (C) an institution of higher education (as defined in 
     section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1001)).
       (b) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination with 
     the heads of the covered agencies, shall establish a 
     deployment and demonstration pilot program (in this section 
     referred to as ``Pilot Program'') for new and innovative 
     wildfire prevention, detection, communication, and mitigation 
     technologies.
       (c) Functions.--In carrying out the Pilot Program, the 
     Secretaries shall--
       (1) incorporate the Pilot Program into the National 
     Wildfire Coordinating Group;
       (2) in consultation with the heads of covered agencies, 
     identify and advance the demonstration and deployment of key 
     technology priority areas with respect to wildfire 
     prevention, detection, communication, and mitigation 
     technologies, including--
       (A) hazardous fuels reduction treatments or activities;
       (B) dispatch communications;
       (C) remote sensing, detection, and tracking;
       (D) safety equipment;
       (E) common operating pictures or operational dashboards; 
     and
       (F) interoperable commercial data; and
       (3) connect each covered entity selected to participate in 
     the Pilot Program with the appropriate covered agency to 
     coordinate real-time and on-the-ground testing of technology 
     during wildland fire mitigation activities and training.
       (d) Applications.--To be eligible to be selected to 
     participate in the Pilot Program, a covered entity shall 
     submit to the Secretaries an application at such time, in 
     such manner, and containing such information as the 
     Secretaries may require, including a proposal to demonstrate 
     technologies specific to the key technology priority areas 
     identified pursuant to subsection (c)(2).
       (e) Prioritization of Emerging Technologies.--In selecting 
     covered entities to participate in the Pilot Program, the 
     Secretaries shall give priority to covered entities--
       (1) that have participated in the Fire Weather Testbed of 
     the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; or
       (2) developing and applying emerging technologies for 
     wildfire mitigation, including artificial intelligence, 
     quantum sensing, computing and quantum-hybrid applications, 
     thermal mid-wave infrared equipped low earth orbit 
     satellites, augmented reality, 5G private networks, and 
     device-to-device communications supporting nomadic mesh 
     networks and detection.
       (f) Outreach.--The Secretaries, in coordination with the 
     heads of covered agencies, shall make public the key 
     technology priority areas identified pursuant to subsection 
     (c)(2) and invite covered entities to apply under subsection 
     (d) to deploy and demonstrate their technologies to address 
     such priority areas.
       (g) Reports and Recommendations.--Not later than 1 year 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 
     thereafter for the duration of the Pilot Program, the 
     Secretaries shall submit to the relevant Congressional 
     Committees, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
     of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 
     that includes, with respect to the Pilot Program, the 
     following:
       (1) A list of participating covered entities.
       (2) A brief description of the technologies deployed and 
     demonstrated by each such covered entity.
       (3) An estimate of the cost of acquiring each such 
     technology and applying the technology at scale.
       (4) Outreach efforts by Federal agencies to covered 
     entities developing wildfire technologies.
       (5) Assessments of, and recommendations relating to, new 
     technologies with potential adoption and application at-scale 
     in Federal land management agencies' wildfire prevention, 
     detection, communication, and mitigation efforts.
       (6) A description of the relationship and coordination 
     between the Pilot Program and the activities of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the Fire 
     Weather Testbed.
       (h) Sunset.--The authority to carry out this section shall 
     terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 304. GAO STUDY ON FOREST SERVICE POLICIES.

       Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall--
       (1) conduct a study evaluating--
       (A) the effectiveness of Forest Service wildland 
     firefighting operations;
       (B) transparency and accountability measures in the Forest 
     Service's budget and accounting process; and
       (C) the suitability and feasibility of establishing a new 
     Federal agency with the responsibility of responding and 
     suppressing wildland fires on Federal lands; and
       (2) submit to Congress a report that describes the results 
     of the study required under paragraph (1).

     SEC. 305. FOREST SERVICE WESTERN HEADQUARTERS STUDY.

       Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Chief of the Forest Service shall--

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       (1) conduct a study evaluating--
       (A) potential locations for a Western headquarters for the 
     Forest Service, including potential locations in at least 3 
     different States located west of the Mississippi river; and
       (B) the potential benefits of creating a Western 
     headquarters for the Forest Service, including expected--
       (i) improvements to customer service;
       (ii) improvements to employee recruitment and retention; 
     and
       (iii) operational efficiencies and cost savings; and
       (2) submit to Congress a report that describes the results 
     of the study required under paragraph (1).

     SEC. 306. KEEPING FOREST PLANS CURRENT AND MONITORED.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary--
       (1) to the greatest extent practicable and subject to the 
     availability of appropriations made in advance for such 
     purpose--
       (A) ensure forest plans comply with the requirements of 
     section 6(f)(5)(A) of the Forest and Rangeland Resources 
     Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(f)(5)(A)); and
       (B) prioritize revising any forest plan not in compliance 
     with such section 6(f)(5)(A);
       (2) not be considered to be in violation of section 
     6(f)(5)(A) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
     Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(f)(5)(A)) solely because 
     more than 15 years have passed without revision of the plan 
     for a unit of the National Forest System;
       (3) not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act, submit to the relevant Congressional Committees 
     the date on which each forest plan required by such section 6 
     was most recently revised, amended, or modified;
       (4) seek to publish a new, complete version of a forest 
     plan that the Secretary has been directed to amend, revise, 
     or modify by a court order within 60 days of such amendment, 
     revision, or modification, subject to the availability of 
     appropriations made in advance for such purpose; and
       (5) maintain a central, publicly accessible website with 
     links to--
       (A) the most recently available forest plan adopted, 
     amended, or modified by a court order as a single document; 
     and
       (B) the most recently published forest plan monitoring 
     report for each unit of the National Forest System.
       (b) Good Faith Updates.--If the Secretary is not acting 
     expeditiously and in good faith, within the funding available 
     to revise, amend, or modify a plan for a unit of the National 
     Forest System as required by law or a court order, subsection 
     (a) shall be void with respect to such plan and a court of 
     proper jurisdiction may order completion of the plan on an 
     accelerated basis.
       (c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to 
     the relevant Congressional Committees summarizing the 
     implementation of this section.

     SEC. 307. CONTAINER AERIAL FIREFIGHTING SYSTEM (CAFFS).

       (a) Evaluation.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of 
     the Interior, in consultation with the National Interagency 
     Aviation Committee and the Interagency Airtanker Board, shall 
     jointly conduct an evaluation of the container aerial 
     firefighting system to assess the use of such system to 
     mitigate and suppress wildfires.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of the 
     Interior, in consultation with the National Interagency 
     Aviation Committee and the Interagency Airtanker Board, shall 
     jointly submit to the relevant Congressional Committees a 
     report that includes the results of the evaluation required 
     under subsection (a).

     SEC. 308. STUDY ON PINE BEETLE INFESTATION.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 
     Forest Service, shall--
       (1) carry out a study on the causes and effects of, and 
     solutions for, the infestation of pine beetles in the 
     Northeastern region of the United States; and
       (2) submit to the relevant Congressional Committees a 
     report that includes the results of the study required under 
     paragraph (1).

                    Subtitle B--White Oak Resilience

     SEC. 311. WHITE OAK RESTORATION INITIATIVE COALITION.

       (a) In General.--The White Oak Restoration Initiative 
     Coalition shall be established--
       (1) as a voluntary collaborative group of Federal, State, 
     Tribal, and local governments and private and non-
     governmental organizations to carry out the duties described 
     in subsection (b); and
       (2) in accordance with the charter titled ``White Oak 
     Initiative Coalition Charter'' adopted by the White Oak 
     Initiative Board of Directors on March 21, 2023 (or a 
     successor charter).
       (b) Duties.--In addition to the duties specified in the 
     charter described in subsection (a)(2), the duties of the 
     White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition are--
       (1) to coordinate Federal, State, Tribal, local, private, 
     and non-governmental restoration of white oak in the United 
     States; and
       (2) to make program and policy recommendations, consistent 
     with applicable forest management plans, with respect to--
       (A) changes necessary to address Federal and State policies 
     that impede activities to improve the health, resiliency, and 
     natural regeneration of white oak;
       (B) adopting or modifying Federal and State policies to 
     increase the pace and scale of white oak regeneration and 
     resiliency of white oak;
       (C) options to enhance communication, coordination, and 
     collaboration between forest land owners, particularly for 
     cross-boundary projects, to improve the health, resiliency, 
     and natural regeneration of white oak;
       (D) research gaps that should be addressed to improve the 
     best available science on white oak;
       (E) outreach to forest landowners with white oak or white 
     oak regeneration potential; and
       (F) options and policies necessary to improve the quality 
     and quantity of white oak in tree nurseries.
       (c) Administrative Support, Technical Services, and Staff 
     Support.--The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
     shall make such personnel available to the White Oak 
     Restoration Initiative Coalition for administrative support, 
     technical services, and development and dissemination of 
     educational materials as the Secretaries determine necessary 
     to carry out this section.
       (d) Private Funding of White Oak Restoration Projects.--
     Subject to the availability of appropriations made in advance 
     for such purpose, the Secretary may make funds available to 
     the White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition to carry out 
     this section from the account established pursuant to section 
     1241(f) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(f)).

     SEC. 312. FOREST SERVICE PILOT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Chief of 
     the Forest Service, shall establish and carry out 5 pilot 
     projects in national forests to restore white oak in such 
     forests through white oak restoration and natural 
     regeneration practices that are consistent with applicable 
     forest management plans.
       (b) National Forests Reserved or Withdrawn From the Public 
     Domain.--At least 3 pilot projects required under subsection 
     (a) shall be carried out on national forests reserved or 
     withdrawn from the public domain.
       (c) Authority To Enter Into Cooperative Agreements.--The 
     Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements to carry out 
     the pilot projects required under subsection (a).
       (d) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall 
     terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 313. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR WHITE OAK REVIEW AND 
                   RESTORATION.

       (a) Assessment.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall carry 
     out an assessment of land under the administrative 
     jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, including 
     fish and wildlife refuges and abandoned mine land, to 
     evaluate--
       (A) whether white oak is present on such land; and
       (B) the potential to restore white oak forests on such 
     land.
       (2) Use of information.--In carrying out the assessment 
     under paragraph (1), the Secretary may use information from 
     sources other than the Department of the Interior, including 
     from the White Oak Initiative and the Forest Service.
       (3) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to 
     Congress, and make publicly available on the website of the 
     Department of the Interior, a report regarding the results of 
     the assessment carried out under this subsection.
       (b) Pilot Projects.--After the date on which the report 
     required under subsection (a)(3) is submitted, the Secretary 
     shall establish and carry out 5 pilot projects in different 
     areas of land described in subsection (a)(1) to restore and 
     naturally regenerate white oak.
       (c) Authority to Enter Into Cooperative Agreements.--The 
     Secretary of the Interior may enter into cooperative 
     agreements to carry out the pilot projects required under 
     subsection (b).
       (d) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall 
     terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 314. WHITE OAK REGENERATION AND UPLAND OAK HABITAT.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a 
     non-regulatory program to be known as the ``White Oak and 
     Upland Oak Habitat Regeneration Program'' (in this section 
     referred to as the ``Program'').
       (b) Duties.--In carrying out the Program, the Secretary 
     shall--
       (1) draw upon the best available science and management 
     plans for species of white oak to identify, prioritize, and 
     implement restoration and conservation activities that will 
     improve the growth of white oak within the United States;
       (2) collaborate and coordinate with the White Oak 
     Restoration Initiative Coalition to prioritize white oak 
     restoration initiatives;
       (3) adopt a white oak restoration strategy that--
       (A) supports the implementation of a shared set of science-
     based restoration and conservation activities developed in 
     accordance with paragraph (1);

[[Page H332]]

       (B) targets cost effective projects with measurable 
     results; and
       (C) maximizes restoration outcomes with no net gain of 
     Federal full-time equivalent employees; and
       (4) establish the voluntary grant and technical assistance 
     programs in accordance with subsection (e).
       (c) Coordination.--In establishing the Program the 
     Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, 
     shall consult with--
       (1) the heads of Federal agencies, including--
       (A) the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
     Service; and
       (B) the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 
     Service; and
       (2) the Governor of each State in which restoration efforts 
     will be carried out pursuant to the Program.
       (d) Purposes.--The purposes of the Program include--
       (1) coordinating restoration and conservation activities 
     among Federal, State, local, and Tribal entities and 
     conservation partners to address white oak restoration 
     priorities;
       (2) improving and regenerating white oak and upland oak 
     forests and the wildlife habitat such forests provide;
       (3) carrying out coordinated restoration and conservation 
     activities that lead to the increased growth of species of 
     white oak in native white oak regions on Federal, State, 
     Tribal, and private land;
       (4) facilitating strategic planning to maximize the 
     resilience of white oak systems and habitats under changing 
     climate conditions;
       (5) engaging the public through outreach, education, and 
     citizen involvement to increase capacity and support for 
     coordinated restoration and conservation activities for 
     species of white oak; and
       (6) increasing scientific capacity to support the planning, 
     monitoring, and research activities necessary to carry out 
     such coordinated restoration and conservation activities.
       (e) Grants and Assistance.--
       (1) In general.--To the extent that funds are available to 
     carry out this section, the Secretary shall establish a 
     voluntary grant and technical assistance program (in this 
     section referred to as the ``grant program'') to achieve the 
     purposes of the Program described in subsection (d).
       (2) Administration.--
       (A) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into a 
     cooperative agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife 
     Foundation (in this subsection referred to as the 
     ``Foundation'') to manage and administer the grant program.
       (B) Funding.--Subject to the availability of appropriations 
     made in advance for such purpose, after the Secretary enters 
     into a cooperative agreement with the Foundation under 
     subparagraph (A), the Foundation shall for each fiscal year, 
     receive amounts to carry out this subsection in an advance 
     payment of the entire amount on October 1, or as soon as 
     practicable thereafter, of that fiscal year.
       (3) Application of national fish and wildlife foundation 
     establishment act.--Amounts received by the Foundation to 
     carry out the grant program shall be subject to the National 
     Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 
     3701 et seq.), excluding section 10(a) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 
     3709(a)).
       (f) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall 
     terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 315. TREE NURSERY SHORTAGES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through 
     the Chief of the Forest Service, shall--
       (1) develop and implement a national strategy to increase 
     the capacity of Federal, State, Tribal, and private tree 
     nurseries to address the nationwide shortage of tree 
     seedlings; and
       (2) coordinate such strategy with--
       (A) the national reforestation strategy of the Forest 
     Service; and
       (B) each regional implementation plan for National Forests.
       (b) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection (a) 
     shall--
       (1) be based on the best available science and data; and
       (2) identify and address--
       (A) regional seedling shortages of bareroot and container 
     tree seedlings;
       (B) regional reforestation opportunities and the seedling 
     supply necessary to fulfill such opportunities;
       (C) opportunities to enhance seedling diversity and close 
     gaps in seed inventories; and
       (D) barriers to expanding, enhancing, or creating new 
     infrastructure to increase nursery capacity.

     SEC. 316. WHITE OAK RESEARCH.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary may enter into a memorandum 
     of understanding with an Indian Tribe or institution, 
     including a covered land grant college, to collaboratively 
     conduct research on--
       (1) white oak genes with resistance or tolerance to stress;
       (2) white oak trees that exhibit vigor for the purpose of 
     increasing survival and growth;
       (3) establishing a genetically diverse white oak seeds bank 
     capable of responding to stressors;
       (4) providing a sustainable supply of white oak seedlings 
     and genetic resources;
       (5) improved methods for aligning seed sources with the 
     future climate at planting sites;
       (6) reforestation of white oak through natural and 
     artificial regeneration;
       (7) improved methods for retaining and increasing white oak 
     trees in forests;
       (8) improved methods for reforesting abandoned mine land 
     sites; and
       (9) economic and social aspects of white oak forest 
     management across land ownerships.
       (b) Consult.--In carrying out the research under subsection 
     (a), the Indian Tribe or institution, including a covered 
     land grant college, that enters into the memorandum of 
     understanding under such subsection may consult with such 
     States, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher 
     education, and other scientific bodies, as the entity subject 
     to such memorandum determines appropriate.
       (c) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall 
     terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (d) Covered Land Grant College Defined.--In this section, 
     the term ``covered land grant college'' means an 1862 
     Institution, an 1890 Institution, or a 1994 Institution (as 
     such terms are defined, respectively, in section 2 of the 
     Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 
     1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601)).

     SEC. 317. USDA FORMAL INITIATIVE.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Chief of 
     the Natural Resources Conservation Service and in 
     coordination with the Chief of the Forest Service, shall 
     establish a formal initiative on white oak to--
       (1) re-establish white oak forests where appropriate;
       (2) improve management of existing white oak forests to 
     foster natural regeneration of white oak;
       (3) provide technical assistance to private landowners to 
     re-establish, improve management of, and naturally regenerate 
     white oak;
       (4) improve and expand white oak nursery stock; and
       (5) adapt and improve white oak seedlings.
       (b) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall 
     terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 318. AUTHORITIES.

       To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary shall use the authorities provided 
     under this title in combination with other authorities to 
     carry out projects, including--
       (1) good neighbor agreements entered into under section 
     8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113) (as 
     amended by this Act); and
       (2) stewardship contracting projects entered into under 
     section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
     (16 U.S.C. 6591) (as amended by this Act).

      TITLE IV--ENSURING CASUALTY ASSISTANCE FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS

     SEC. 401. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT CASUALTY ASSISTANCE 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) Development of Program.--Not later than 6 months after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
     Interior shall develop a Wildland Fire Management Casualty 
     Assistance Program (referred to in this section as the 
     ``Program'') to provide assistance to the next-of-kin of--
       (1) firefighters who, while in the line of duty, suffer 
     illness or are critically injured or killed; and
       (2) wildland fire support personnel critically injured or 
     killed in the line of duty.
       (b) Aspects of Program.--The Program shall address the 
     following:
       (1) The initial and any subsequent notifications to the 
     next-of-kin of firefighters or wildland fire support 
     personnel who--
       (A) are killed in the line of duty; or
       (B) require hospitalization or treatment at a medical 
     facility due to a line-of-duty injury or illness.
       (2) The reimbursement of next-of-kin for expenses 
     associated with travel to visit firefighters or wildland fire 
     support personnel who--
       (A) are killed in the line of duty; or
       (B) require hospitalization or treatment at a medical 
     facility due to a line-of-duty injury or illness.
       (3) The qualifications, assignment, training, duties, 
     supervision, and accountability for the performance of 
     casualty assistance responsibilities.
       (4) The relief or transfer of casualty assistance officers, 
     including notification to survivors of critical injury or 
     illness in the line of duty and next-of-kin of the 
     reassignment of such officers to other duties.
       (5) Centralized, short-term and long-term case management 
     procedures for casualty assistance, including rapid access by 
     survivors of firefighters or wildland fire support personnel 
     and casualty assistance officers to expert case managers and 
     counselors.
       (6) The provision, through a computer accessible website 
     and other means and at no cost to survivors and next-of-kin 
     of firefighters or wildland fire support personnel, of 
     personalized, integrated information on the benefits and 
     financial assistance available to such survivors from the 
     Federal Government.
       (7) The provision of information to survivors and next-of-
     kin of firefighters or

[[Page H333]]

     wildland fire support personnel on mechanisms for registering 
     complaints about, or requests for, additional assistance 
     related to casualty assistance.
       (8) Liaison with the Department of the Interior, the 
     Department of Justice, and the Social Security Administration 
     to ensure prompt and accurate resolution of issues relating 
     to benefits administered by those agencies for survivors of 
     firefighters or wildland fire support personnel.
       (9) Data collection, in consultation with the United States 
     Fire Administration and the National Institute for 
     Occupational Safety and Health, regarding the incidence and 
     quality of casualty assistance provided to survivors of 
     firefighters or wildland fire support personnel.
       (c) Line-of-Duty Death Benefits.--The Program shall not 
     affect existing authorities for Line-of-Duty Death benefits 
     for Federal firefighters and wildland fire support personnel.
       (d) Next-of-Kin Defined.--In this section, the term ``next-
     of-kin'' means a person or persons in the highest category of 
     priority as determined by the following list (categories 
     appear in descending order of priority):
       (1) Surviving legal spouse.
       (2) Children (whether by current or prior marriage) age 18 
     years or older in descending order of precedence by age.
       (3) Father or mother, unless custody has been vested, by 
     court order, in another (adoptive parent takes precedence 
     over natural parent).
       (4) Siblings (whole or half) age 18 years or older in 
     descending order of precedence by age.
       (5) Grandfather or grandmother.
       (6) Any other relative (order of precedence to be 
     determined in accordance with the civil law of descent of the 
     deceased former member's State of domicile at time of death).

  The Acting CHAIR. No amendment to the bill shall be in order except 
those printed in House Report 119-1.
  Each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the 
report, by the Member designated in the report, shall be considered as 
read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally 
divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be 
subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division 
of the question.


                  Amendment No. 1 Offered by Mr. Perry

  The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 1 
printed in House Report 119-1.
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Page 78, strike lines 15 through 16.
       Page 79, strike lines 1 through 2.
       Page 79, line 7, strike ``through (iv)'' and insert 
     ``through (iii)''.
       Page 79, line 20, strike ``through (D)'' and insert 
     ``through (C)''.
       Page 81, line 24, strike the semicolon and insert ``; 
     and''.
       Page 82, line 3, strike ``and''.
       Page 82, strike lines 4 through 6.
  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 53, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) and a Member opposed each will control 5 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, I thank my good friend, the chairman of the 
committee, for his hard work to try to save one of our country's 
greatest assets that we see burning to the ground on an annual basis.
  We are always shocked, like we are surprised that it happens. It 
seems like my good friend, the chairman, continues to work on this 
issue. I don't know if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
would be included in this statement, but certainly, some in the State 
and local governments don't seem to get that policies produce these 
outcomes. Now, we have a great chairman who is prioritizing the 
solutions here and managing the risks so that we do better.
  This amendment, which I think the chairman agrees with, strikes the 
prioritization of carbon sequestration and ecosystem services in the 
biochar demonstration projects in this bill.
  It is by prioritizing projects based on their impact on carbon 
sequestration and the impact on ecosystems rather than the impact on 
forest health and forest fire reduction that we risk throwing more 
money at the problem while failing to improve the situation on the 
ground.
  Mr. Chairman, I think that is what we all want to focus on today. 
That is our priority. The chairman's priority is focusing on finding a 
solution to the problems that we see today occurring in our country.
  As the most recent wildfires in California have demonstrated, the 
continued prioritization of other things at the expense of risk 
reduction--that is what we are talking about here is risk reduction, 
not only to property but to lives that are lost--creates deadly 
disasters that kill Americans and destroy their property over and over 
again.
  The underlying bill makes important changes to improve how our 
forests are managed to the maximum extent possible. It is not like Mr. 
Westerman is just some guy here who is trying to do the right thing 
because he believes it is the right thing. He is the guy in Congress 
who actually knows how to do this stuff, so it is great that he is the 
chairman and that he is leading this effort.
  This amendment furthers this intent by making sure we are focused on 
demonstration projects which maximize forest health and resiliency.
  Let's remember, Mr. Chairman, we are $36 trillion in debt. Every 100 
days, another trillion dollars go by. We have to really make sure that 
the resources we are spending get to fixing the problem. We would like 
to do other things. We would sure like to do a lot of other things, but 
there are needs and there are wants. The chairman is focused on the 
needs, and so am I.
  Moreover, this amendment ensures that these projects are not hijacked 
by those who would use them to implement the U.N.'s natural capital 
accounting to block the actual productive use of land and undermine one 
of the fundamental values of America, which is personal property 
rights.
  Mr. Chairman, I certainly appreciate Chairman Westerman's support for 
this commonsense amendment to improve this bill, and I yield to the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman).
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Representative 
Perry's amendment, which would remove certain references from section 
301 of the bill.
  I wholeheartedly support section 301 of the bill, which provides an 
opportunity to have a new market for this overgrown material that needs 
to come off of the land and into biochar.
  Biochar can be thought of as a soil amendment that improves soil 
fertility. It allows more water and nutrients to be stored in the soil. 
It almost seems like the perfect thing to have in these Western forests 
where we have water issues and overgrown forests. We can actually make 
a product that is very beneficial to the whole system out there.
  Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman's support, and I support his 
amendment.
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from California is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chairman, we were under the impression that this was 
essentially a closed rule. Many of our beneficial amendments were 
rejected out of hand or ruled out of order, but apparently, there is 
always room for an amendment that will make the bill worse. We have a 
great example of that right now.
  CO2 sequestration benefits and potential ecosystem 
benefits of biochar are a couple of the most attractive possibilities 
for this program. I know Chairman Westerman believes that because we 
have talked about biochar. He has talked about the possibilities of 
this. The truth is that the science on biochar is not settled.
  We have more work to do by way of studies, so establishing a program 
to carry out demonstration programs for the development and 
commercialization of biochar could be a good opportunity to better 
understand its role in a healthy forest and explore some of these 
interesting potential benefits.
  Now, with this amendment, we have to do it with ideological blinders 
on because apparently merely mentioning words like CO2 
sequestration and ecosystem benefits are triggering, so we are going to 
end that part of the study. We are going to put the ideological 
blinders on. We are going to fire the scientists. We are going to burn 
the books and rename the Gulf of Mexico.
  This is just remarkably wrongheaded. I am so surprised and 
disappointed. The chairman actually put a good provision into his bill.

[[Page H334]]

  Let me make it very clear: Democrats like that part of this bill, and 
we are about to lose the beneficial aspects of it because of this 
absurd ideological obsession where you have to deny all climate science 
and not talk about the environment. It is just deeply disappointing.

  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Chairman, let's not mislead anybody here. We have 
amendments. This is one, and I think there is another one coming very 
shortly from the other side of the aisle, which is awesome. We want to 
have these debates.
  This is not ideological. Maybe it is great. Maybe the biochar 
demonstration needs to happen. The question really is, does the Federal 
Government need to pay for it? If it is so valuable, then the private 
sector, private industry, should do this work. Private industry should 
make this investment because we are out of money.
  The American people, this government, is out of money. I don't know 
how many times we have to tell everybody here.
  Mr. Chairman, I support the amendment, and I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chairman, if the excuse for this amendment is that 
we don't have the money, then you do an amendment to strike the whole 
program. You don't simply single out the parts of it that are 
environmental or that have to do with climate solutions. That is what 
is happening with this amendment. It is just the same old ideological 
blinders.
  Mr. Chair, again, I am greatly disappointed that the chairman is 
allowing a flawed bill to become even worse with this wrongheaded 
ideological amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).
  The amendment was agreed to.


                Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Carbajal

  The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 2 
printed in House Report 119-1.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       At the end of subtitle A of title III add the following:

     SEC. 309. FIRE SAFE ELECTRICAL CORRIDORS.

       (a) In General.--In any special use permit or easement on 
     National Forest System land provided to an electrical 
     utility, the Secretary may provide permission to cut and 
     remove trees or other vegetation from within the vicinity of 
     distribution lines or transmission lines without requiring a 
     separate timber sale, if that cutting and removal is 
     consistent with--
       (1) the applicable land and resource management plan; and
       (2) other applicable environmental laws (including 
     regulations).
       (b) Use of Proceeds.--A special use permit or easement that 
     includes permission for cutting and removal described in 
     subsection (a) shall include a requirement that, if the 
     applicable electrical utility sells any portion of the 
     material removed under the permit or easement, the electrical 
     utility shall provide to the Secretary, acting through the 
     Chief of the Forest Service, any proceeds received from the 
     sale, less any transportation costs incurred in the sale.
       (c) Effect.--Nothing in subsection (b) shall require the 
     sale of any material removed under a permit or easement that 
     includes permission for cutting and removal described in 
     subsection (a).

  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 53, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Carbajal) and a Member opposed each will control 5 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Chairman, my amendment to H.R. 471 simply allows the U.S. Forest 
Service to approve the removal of hazardous trees or vegetation near 
power poles or power lines on Federal land without the need for a 
timber sale.
  Unfortunately, catastrophic wildfires continue to ravage California 
and the Western United States. We do need some commonsense solutions 
that balance sustainable forest management practices with reducing 
wildfire risks. My amendment strives to find this balance.
  I firmly believe that if we can take action to prevent wildfires, we 
should. We know it pays to be prepared. We also know there are 
solutions that can help mitigate the impacts of wildfires, but apart 
from this, I also know that we need to act to address the underlying 
intensity of these extreme weather events fueled by the climate crisis.
  Apart from supporting my amendment, I also urge my colleagues to 
continue to work to find commonsense solutions to act on this crisis 
impacting so many American families.
  My thoughts continue to be with the people who have lost loved ones 
and their homes in these horrific fires.
  I also thank the brave first responders and firefighters who have 
been battling these fires.
  Mr. Chairman, again, I urge passage of my amendment, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1345

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the 
amendment, even though I am not opposed to it.
  The Acting CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Arkansas is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the amendment 
offered by Representative Carbajal, which would enable the Forest 
Service to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on 
Federal land without being required to do a formal timber sale.
  This would help address a very serious wildfire threat. Downed hazard 
trees within utility rights-of-way remain one of the biggest ignition 
threats and have sparked some of the most significant and deadly fires 
in the country's history.
  For example, the largest single wildfire in California's State 
history, the Dixie fire, ignited when a hazard tree fell onto electric 
lines. Similarly, the Camp fire, the deadliest wildfire in California's 
history, was caused by a faulty electrical transmission line. The Camp 
fire killed 85 people and destroyed the communities of Paradise and 
Concow.
  In recent years, catastrophic fires in Maui and Texas have also been 
linked to downed utility lines, and early reports suggest this may have 
been the cause of the Eaton fire near Pasadena and Altadena, 
California.
  To mitigate these threats, utility companies try to maintain clear 
rights-of-way by removing hazard trees within their utility corridors. 
This is done under a special use permit.
  However, to dispose of the felled timber, utility companies are 
required to go through a lengthy timber sale process. This frequently 
leads to wood waste stacking up in piles, which further increases 
wildfire risk.
  It is an unnecessary burden that is preventing active management in 
some of the highest risk areas in our national forests. This amendment 
will allow the Forest Service to permit utility companies to fully 
remove hazard trees and other vegetation within the vicinity of 
distribution or transmission lines without going through a separate 
timber sale.
  If utilities eventually sell the material, this amendment requires 
the proceeds to be returned to the Forest Service. This amendment was a 
bipartisan effort during the 118th Congress and a similar stand-alone 
bill was passed unanimously out of the House Committee on Natural 
Resources.
  This is a good amendment. It is a commonsense amendment that will 
empower expedited wildfire mitigation efforts near at-risk communities, 
and it is a great example of why we need to take action to change 
bureaucratic policies that have gotten in the way of commonsense forest 
management.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to the amount of time 
remaining on both sides.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman has 3\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Huffman).
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Chair, we still have concerns, obviously, with the 
underlying bill, but we do support Congressman Carbajal's good 
amendment. I thank him for his leadership in working on this issue.
  Vegetation management around utility lines is a very important 
priority.

[[Page H335]]

That is why the Forest Service and BLM require operating plans and 
agreements for maintenance and vegetation of these lines through our 
public land.
  This amendment aims to improve the process and make it easier for 
utility companies to complete that work, especially when hazardous 
conditions exist. That is a good thing, and we should all support it.
  I should mention that it doesn't fix the underlying problem with 
section 203 of the bill, which includes some language that will have 
unintended consequences on this issue.
  Utility line operators are already responsible and liable for hazard 
tree mitigation around their lines, but the Forest Service has told us 
that the current language in this bill could potentially increase 
liability for utilities by a factor of 15 making it even more 
challenging for them to get the insurance that they need to operate.
  Utility lines often spark fires. We need to make sure they are 
operated more safely and efficiently, but it is also critical that 
whatever relief we seek is carefully drafted and thoughtfully drafted.
  Mr. Chair, unfortunately, there is still a lot of work to do on the 
underlying parts of this bill. Hopefully, that work will take place in 
the Senate.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Chairman, I think my amendment provides a glimmer 
of hope in this bill that certainly could use some improvements. I am 
happy that my amendment is being considered.
  Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Carbajal).
  The amendment was agreed to.
  The Acting CHAIR. There being no further amendments, under the rule, 
the committee rises.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mrs. 
Fischbach) having assumed the chair, Mr. Gimenez, Acting Chair of the 
Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that 
that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 471) to 
expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 
improve forest management activities on National Forest System lands, 
on public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
Management, and on Tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, 
fire-prone forested lands, and for other purposes, and, pursuant to 
House Resolution 53, he reported the bill, as amended by that 
resolution, back to the House with sundry amendments adopted in the 
Committee of the Whole.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is 
ordered.
  Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment reported from the 
Committee of the Whole? If not, the Chair will put them en gros.
  The question is on the amendments.
  The amendments were agreed to.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam 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 question will be postponed.

                          ____________________