[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4949]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    A BILL TO AMEND THE SIKES ACT TO PROMOTE THE USE OF COOPERATIVE 
AGREEMENTS UNDER SUCH ACT FOR LAND MANAGEMENT RELATED TO DEPARTMENT OF 
DEFENSE READINESS ACTIVITIES AND TO AMEND TITLE 10, UNITED STATES CODE, 
TO FACILITATE INTERAGENCY COOPERATION IN CONSERVATION PROGRAMS TO AVOID 
       OR REDUCE ADVERSE IMPACTS ON MILITARY READINESS ACTIVITIES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 26, 2014

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I have introduced a bill to amend the 
Sikes Act to promote the use of cooperative agreements for land 
management related to the Department of Defense (DoD) readiness 
activities. The bill provides common sense reforms to the Sikes Act. 
These reforms afford both programs with greater flexibility to leverage 
cooperative agreements and other federal funds to meet program 
requirements.
  In particular, the bill would provide additional enhancements to the 
authorities provided to DoD under the Sikes Act and parallels a similar 
amendment made in the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act to the 
REPI program. Specifically, the provision would authorize DoD, pursuant 
to a cooperative agreement under the Sikes Act, to provide funds for 
the long term maintenance and improvement of natural resources on non-
DoD lands without first having to protect such lands through 
acquisition of easements. This will greatly enhance the ability of DoD 
to take action to relieve or eliminate current or anticipated 
challenges that could restrict, impede, or otherwise interfere with, 
whether directly or indirectly, current or anticipated military 
activities. For example, this provision would help DoD meet its 
obligations under the Endangered Species Act and other applicable 
statutory and regulatory requirements through actions on non-DoD lands 
pursuant to a cooperative agreement with a state or local agency or a 
private landowner. This authority would help avoid or reduce the need 
to restrict training and testing activities on DoD lands.
  A similar version of this bill was included as section 314 of the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 as passed in 
the House of Representatives. My bill makes some improvements to 
section 314 and addresses concerns raised by the Department of Defense 
regarding percentage of funds allowed for administration of the program 
as well as auditing requirements. I look forward to working with the 
relevant Committee to incorporate this bill as a provision in the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015.
  Again, the bill is a common sense approach to better enabling DoD to 
meet its conservation goals and requirements while protecting its 
ability to meet readiness requirements. In a time of fiscal austerity, 
it is important for Congress to provide the Administration with the 
tools and authorities to be flexible and adaptable to challenges with 
innovative thinking and minimal investment. I urge my colleagues to 
support this measure.

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