[House Report 119-673]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Rept. 119-673
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { Part 1
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CROSS-BOUNDARY WILDFIRE SOLUTIONS ACT
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June 2, 2026.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3922]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3922) to direct the Comptroller General of the
United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules,
and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation
across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal
land, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that
the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency'' means--
(A) each Federal land management agency (as defined
in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation
Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801));
(B) the Natural Resources Conservation Service;
(C) the Environmental Protection Agency;
(D) the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
(E) the United States Fire Administration;
(F) States;
(G) Indian Tribes; and
(H) local governments.
(2) Covered authority.--The term ``covered authority''
means--
(A) the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16
U.S.C. 6501 et seq.);
(B) the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978
(16 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.);
(C) the good neighbor authority under section 8206 of
the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a);
(D) the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (25
U.S.C. 3101 et seq.);
(E) the collaborative forest landscape restoration
program under section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303); and
(F) any other statutory authority that facilitates
cross-boundary wildfire mitigation or forest health
improvement activities, as determined by the
Comptroller General of the United States.
SEC. 3. STUDY ON WILDFIRE MITIGATION ACROSS LAND OWNERSHIP BOUNDARIES.
(a) Study Required.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study on--
(1) the existing Federal programs, rules, and authorities
that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation from being completed
across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal
land;
(2) whether changes to any program, rule, or authority
(including changes to existing statutory definitions)
identified pursuant to paragraph (1) would--
(A) allow a covered agency increased capacity or
access to funding to mitigate wildfires or improve
forest health; and
(B) enable better community protection and prevent
the loss of structures due to wildfire; and
(3) the activities carried out pursuant to a covered
authority, including--
(A) how to improve the efficacy of such activities
with respect to mitigating wildfire; and
(B) whether the enactment of such covered authority
has increased capacity or access to funding to mitigate
wildfires for a covered agency.
(b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit
to the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of
the Senate a report that contains--
(1) the results of the study required under subsection (a);
and
(2) recommendations to simplify cross-boundary wildfire
mitigation between Federal land management agencies and State,
local, and Tribal governments.
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 3922 is to direct the Comptroller
General of the United States to conduct a study on existing
programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit
wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal
and non-Federal land, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Over the past 25 years, wildfires have grown in frequency,
intensity, and cost.\1\ Wildfires do not respect political or
jurisdictional boundaries, and often burn through a patchwork
of federal, state, tribal, local, and private lands governed by
different agencies, rules, and programs.\2\ For example, the
2017 Carr Fire in California burned nearly 230,000 acres of
federal and private land; in 2020, three major wildfires in
Colorado burned more than 665,000 acres of federal and non-
federal land; and the 2021 Dixie Fire in California burned more
than 1 million acres of federal, state, and private land.\3\ To
minimize wildfire risk across all jurisdictions, cross-boundary
collaboration and cooperation are essential. Tools such as Good
Neighbor Authority have been highly successful in allowing
states, tribes, and counties to conduct cross-boundary
treatments that restore ecosystem health and reduce the
likelihood and severity of catastrophic wildfires.\4\ However,
more can be done to identify federal barriers to cross-boundary
forest management, improve coordination with non-federal
entities, and address federal fragmentation or duplication in
cross-boundary wildfire mitigation efforts.\5\
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\1\Anne A. Riddle, ``Wildfire Statistics,'' Congressional Research
Service, June 1, 2023, https://www.crs.gov/Reports/
IF10244?source=search&guid=b82a4d954677449b918a65ece823396f&
index=0.
\2\National League of Cities, ``Federal Response to Escalating
Wildfires,'' July 5, 2023, https://www.nlc.org/article/2023/07/05/
federal-response-to-escalating-wildfires/.
\3\Damon Arthur, ``Trump blames California for wildfires, but many
of the worst have been on federal land,'' Record Searchlight, January
9, 2019, https://www.redding.com/story/news/2018/11/11/trump-blames-
state-fires-but-many-worst-federal-land/1971196002/; Emily Hansen,
``Staff Budget Briefing FY 2021-22, Department of Budget Safety,''
Joint Budget Committee, https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/
files/fy2021-22_pubsafbrf.pdf; The Office of Governor Gavin Newsom,
``California Secures Federal Assistance to Support Response to Monument
Fire in Trinity County and Dixie Fire in Lassen County,'' https://
www.gov.ca.gov/2021/08/17/california-
secures-federal-assistance-to-support-response-to-monument-fire-
in-trinity-county-and-dixie-fire-in-lassen-county/.
\4\16 U.S.C. 2113a.
\5\Chris Currie, ``Testimony Before the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate: Wildfire Disasters:
Opportunities to Improve Federal Response, Recovery, and Mitigation,''
U.S. Government Accountability Office, March 14, 2024, https://
www.gao.gov/assets/870/868633.pdf; William M. Downing, et al., ``Human
ignitions on private lands drive USFS cross-boundary wildfire
transmission and community impacts in the western US,'' Scientific
Reports, February 15, 2022, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-
06002-3.
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H.R. 3922 bridges this gap by directing the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study of wildfire
mitigation efforts across federal and non-federal lands. GAO
has already conducted similar studies in the past, releasing a
report entitled ``Wildland Fire Risk Reduction: Multiple
Factors Affect Federal-Nonfederal Collaboration, but Action
Could Be Taken to Better Measure Progress'' in 2017.\6\ H.R.
3922 builds on this progress by requiring a study on existing
federal programs, rules, and authorities that either facilitate
or hinder wildfire mitigation and community protection across
jurisdictional and ownership boundaries. The study will assess
whether policy changes to such programs could expand capacity
for more active forest management. By facilitating greater
federal and local coordination on wildfire prevention, this
legislation also directly advances the goals of President
Trump's Executive Order 14308, ``Empowering Commonsense
Wildfire Prevention and Response.''\7\
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\6\U.S. Government Accountability Office, ``Wildland Fire Knows No
Boundaries . . .,'' August 22, 2017, https://www.gao.gov/blog/2017/08/
22/wildland-fire-knows-no-boundaries.
\7\Executive Office of the President, ``Empowering Commonsense
Wildfire Prevention and Response,'' June 12, 2025, Executive Order
14308, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/06/18/2025-11358/
empowering-commonsense-wildfire-prevention-andresponse.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3922 was introduced on June 11, 2025, by
Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands. The bill was also referred to
the Committee on Agriculture. On January 14, 2026, the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on the bill. On
February 11, 2026, the Committee on Natural Resources met to
consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Federal Lands was
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3922 by unanimous
consent. Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO) offered an Amendment
in the Nature of a Substitute designated Neguse #1 ANS. The
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute was agreed to by
unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
HEARINGS
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure:
hearing by the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held on January
14, 2026.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 titles the legislation the ``Cross-Boundary
Wildfire Solutions Act.''
Section 2. Definitions
Section 2 defines key terms in the bill.
Section 3. Study on forest health and wildfire mitigation across land
ownership boundaries
Section 3 directs the Comptroller General of the United
States to conduct a study examining whether existing federal
programs, rules, and authorities enable or inhibit wildfire
mitigation across federal and non-federal land boundaries; any
potential changes to programs or authorities that would improve
funding or capacity to mitigate wildfires among federal and
non-federal agencies; the effectiveness of cross-boundary
wildfire mitigation projects carried out under certain
statutory authorities; and whether changes to any of these
authorities would improve community protection and prevent the
loss of structures from wildfire. Section 3 also requires the
Comptroller General to report to Congress, no later than two
years after the enactment of the bill, the results of the study
and its recommendations to simplify cross-boundary wildfire
mitigation.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
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H.R. 3922 would direct the Comptroller General to report to
the Congress on the legal and programmatic barriers to
conducting wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries
on federal and nonfederal land and on changes that would
improve federal, state, and tribal governments' capacity to
mitigate wildfires. Using information about the cost of similar
reports, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3922 would cost
less than $500,000 over the 2026-2031 period. Any spending
would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is David Rafferty.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to direct the Comptroller General of
the United States to conduct a study on existing programs,
rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire
mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-
Federal land, and for other purposes.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT
According to the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 3922
contains no unfunded mandates as defined by the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act.
EXISTING PROGRAMS
Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the
U.S. Constitution.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
As ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources,
H.R. 3922 would make no changes in existing law.
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