Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB204 Compare Versions

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Old	New		Differences
1		-	I
2	1		119THCONGRESS
3	2		1
4	3		STSESSION H. R. 204
5		-	To require that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior
6		-	submit accurate reports regarding hazardous fuels reduction activities,
7		-	and for other purposes.
8		-	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
9		-	JANUARY3, 2025
10		-	Mr. T
11		-	IFFANYintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
12		-	mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agri-
13		-	culture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
14		-	each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
15		-	tion of the committee concerned
16		-	A BILL
	4	+	AN ACT
17	5		To require that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec-
18	6		retary of the Interior submit accurate reports regarding
19	7		hazardous fuels reduction activities, and for other pur-
20	8		poses.
21	9		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
22		-	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
23		-	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
24		-	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accurately Counting 4
25		-	Risk Elimination Solutions Act’’ or the ‘‘ACRES Act’’. 5
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28		-	•HR 204 IH
29		-	SEC. 2. ACCURATE HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION RE-1
30		-	PORTS. 2
	10	+	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2
	11	+	•HR 204 EH
	12	+	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1
	13	+	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accurately Counting 2
	14	+	Risk Elimination Solutions Act’’ or the ‘‘ACRES Act’’. 3
	15	+	SEC. 2. ACCURATE HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION RE-4
	16	+	PORTS. 5
31	17		(a) I
32		-	NCLUSION OFHAZARDOUSFUELSREDUCTION 3
	18	+	NCLUSION OFHAZARDOUSFUELSREDUCTION 6
33	19		R
34		-	EPORT INMATERIALSSUBMITTED INSUPPORT OF THE 4
	20	+	EPORT INMATERIALSSUBMITTED INSUPPORT OF THE 7
35	21		P
36		-	RESIDENT’SBUDGET.— 5
	22	+	RESIDENT’SBUDGET.— 8
37	23		(1) I
38		-	N GENERAL.—Beginning with the first fis-6
39		-	cal year that begins after the date of the enactment 7
40		-	of this Act, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Sec-8
41		-	retary concerned shall include in the materials sub-9
42		-	mitted in support of the President’s budget pursuant 10
43		-	to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a re-11
44		-	port on the number of acres of Federal land on 12
45		-	which the Secretary concerned carried out hazardous 13
46		-	fuels reduction activities during the preceding fiscal 14
47		-	year. 15
	24	+	N GENERAL.—Beginning with the first fis-9
	25	+	cal year that begins after the date of the enactment 10
	26	+	of this Act, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Sec-11
	27	+	retary concerned shall include in the materials sub-12
	28	+	mitted in support of the President’s budget pursuant 13
	29	+	to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a re-14
	30	+	port on the number of acres of Federal land on 15
	31	+	which the Secretary concerned carried out hazardous 16
	32	+	fuels reduction activities during the preceding fiscal 17
	33	+	year. 18
48	34		(2) R
49		-	EQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of the re-16
50		-	port required under paragraph (1), the Secretary 17
51		-	concerned shall— 18
52		-	(A) in determining the number of acres of 19
53		-	Federal land on which the Secretary concerned 20
54		-	carried out hazardous fuels reduction activities 21
55		-	during the period covered by the report— 22
56		-	(i) record acres of Federal land on 23
57		-	which hazardous fuels reduction activities 24
58		-	were completed during such period; and 25
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61		-	•HR 204 IH
62		-	(ii) record each acre described in 1
63		-	clause (i) once in the report, regardless of 2
64		-	whether multiple hazardous fuels reduction 3
65		-	activities were carried out on such acre 4
66		-	during such period; and 5
67		-	(B) with respect to the acres of Federal 6
68		-	land recorded in the report, include information 7
69		-	on— 8
70		-	(i) which such acres are located in the 9
71		-	wildland-urban interface; 10
72		-	(ii) the level of wildfire risk (high, 11
73		-	moderate, or low) on the first and last day 12
74		-	of the period covered by the report; 13
75		-	(iii) the types of hazardous fuels ac-14
76		-	tivities completed for such acres, delin-15
77		-	eating between whether such activities 16
78		-	were conducted— 17
79		-	(I) in a wildfire managed for re-18
80		-	source benefits; or 19
81		-	(II) through a planned project; 20
82		-	(iv) the cost per acre of hazardous 21
83		-	fuels activities carried out during the pe-22
84		-	riod covered by the report; 23
85		-	(v) the region or system unit in which 24
86		-	the acres are located; and 25
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90		-	(vi) the effectiveness of the hazardous 1
91		-	fuels reduction activities on reducing the 2
92		-	risk of wildfire. 3
	35	+	EQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of the re-19
	36	+	port required under paragraph (1), the Secretary 20
	37	+	concerned shall— 21
	38	+	(A) in determining the number of acres of 22
	39	+	Federal land on which the Secretary concerned 23
	40	+	carried out hazardous fuels reduction activities 24
	41	+	during the period covered by the report— 25 3
	42	+	•HR 204 EH
	43	+	(i) record acres of Federal land on 1
	44	+	which hazardous fuels reduction activities 2
	45	+	were completed during such period; and 3
	46	+	(ii) record each acre described in 4
	47	+	clause (i) once in the report, regardless of 5
	48	+	whether multiple hazardous fuels reduction 6
	49	+	activities were carried out on such acre 7
	50	+	during such period; and 8
	51	+	(B) with respect to the acres of Federal 9
	52	+	land recorded in the report, include information 10
	53	+	on— 11
	54	+	(i) which such acres are located in the 12
	55	+	wildland-urban interface; 13
	56	+	(ii) the level of wildfire risk (high, 14
	57	+	moderate, or low) on the first and last day 15
	58	+	of the period covered by the report; 16
	59	+	(iii) the types of hazardous fuels ac-17
	60	+	tivities completed for such acres, delin-18
	61	+	eating between whether such activities 19
	62	+	were conducted— 20
	63	+	(I) in a wildfire managed for re-21
	64	+	source benefits; or 22
	65	+	(II) through a planned project; 23 4
	66	+	•HR 204 EH
	67	+	(iv) the cost per acre of hazardous 1
	68	+	fuels activities carried out during the pe-2
	69	+	riod covered by the report; 3
	70	+	(v) the region or system unit in which 4
	71	+	the acres are located; and 5
	72	+	(vi) the effectiveness of the hazardous 6
	73	+	fuels reduction activities on reducing the 7
	74	+	risk of wildfire. 8
93	75		(3) T
94		-	RANSPARENCY.—The Secretary concerned 4
95		-	shall make each report submitted under paragraph 5
96		-	(1) publicly available on the website of the Depart-6
97		-	ment of Agriculture and the Department of the Inte-7
98		-	rior, as applicable. 8
	76	+	RANSPARENCY.—The Secretary concerned 9
	77	+	shall make each report submitted under paragraph 10
	78	+	(1) publicly available on the website of the Depart-11
	79	+	ment of Agriculture and the Department of the Inte-12
	80	+	rior, as applicable. 13
99	81		(b) A
100		-	CCURATEDATACOLLECTION.— 9
	82	+	CCURATEDATACOLLECTION.— 14
101	83		(1) I
102		-	N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 10
103		-	the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 11
104		-	concerned shall implement standardized procedures 12
105		-	for tracking data related to hazardous fuels reduc-13
106		-	tion activities carried out by the Secretary con-14
107		-	cerned. 15
	84	+	N GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 15
	85	+	the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 16
	86	+	concerned shall implement standardized procedures 17
	87	+	for tracking data related to hazardous fuels reduc-18
	88	+	tion activities carried out by the Secretary con-19
	89	+	cerned. 20
108	90		(2) E
109		-	LEMENTS.—The standardized procedures 16
110		-	required under paragraph (1) shall include— 17
111		-	(A) regular, standardized data reviews of 18
112		-	the accuracy and timely input of data used to 19
113		-	track hazardous fuels reduction activities; 20
114		-	(B) verification methods that validate 21
115		-	whether such data accurately correlates to the 22
116		-	hazardous fuels reduction activities carried out 23
117		-	by the Secretary concerned; 24
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121		-	(C) an analysis of the short- and long-term 1
122		-	effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction 2
123		-	activities on reducing the risk of wildfire; and 3
124		-	(D) for hazardous fuels reduction activities 4
125		-	that occur partially within the wildland-urban 5
126		-	interface, methods to distinguish which acres 6
127		-	are located within the wildland-urban interface 7
128		-	and which acres are located outside the 8
129		-	wildland-urban interface. 9
	91	+	LEMENTS.—The standardized procedures 21
	92	+	required under paragraph (1) shall include— 22
	93	+	(A) regular, standardized data reviews of 23
	94	+	the accuracy and timely input of data used to 24
	95	+	track hazardous fuels reduction activities; 25 5
	96	+	•HR 204 EH
	97	+	(B) verification methods that validate 1
	98	+	whether such data accurately correlates to the 2
	99	+	hazardous fuels reduction activities carried out 3
	100	+	by the Secretary concerned; 4
	101	+	(C) an analysis of the short- and long-term 5
	102	+	effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction 6
	103	+	activities on reducing the risk of wildfire; and 7
	104	+	(D) for hazardous fuels reduction activities 8
	105	+	that occur partially within the wildland-urban 9
	106	+	interface, methods to distinguish which acres 10
	107	+	are located within the wildland-urban interface 11
	108	+	and which acres are located outside the 12
	109	+	wildland-urban interface. 13
130	110		(3) R
131		-	EPORT.—Not later than 2 weeks after im-10
132		-	plementing the standardized procedures required 11
133		-	under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall 12
134		-	submit to Congress a report that describes— 13
135		-	(A) such standardized procedures; and 14
136		-	(B) program and policy recommendations 15
137		-	to Congress to address any limitations in track-16
138		-	ing data related to hazardous fuels reduction 17
139		-	activities under this subsection. 18
	111	+	EPORT.—Not later than 2 weeks after im-14
	112	+	plementing the standardized procedures required 15
	113	+	under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall 16
	114	+	submit to Congress a report that describes— 17
	115	+	(A) such standardized procedures; and 18
	116	+	(B) program and policy recommendations 19
	117	+	to Congress to address any limitations in track-20
	118	+	ing data related to hazardous fuels reduction 21
	119	+	activities under this subsection. 22
140	120		(c) GAO S
141		-	TUDY.—Not later than 2 years after the 19
142		-	date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 20
143		-	of the United States shall— 21
144		-	(1) conduct a study on the implementation of 22
145		-	this Act, including any limitations with respect to— 23
146		-	(A) reporting hazardous fuels reduction ac-24
147		-	tivities under subsection (a); or 25
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151		-	(B) tracking data related to hazardous 1
152		-	fuels reduction activities under subsection (b); 2
153		-	and 3
154		-	(2) submit to Congress a report that describes 4
155		-	the results of the study under paragraph (1). 5
	121	+	TUDY.—Not later than 2 years after the 23
	122	+	date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 24
	123	+	of the United States shall— 25 6
	124	+	•HR 204 EH
	125	+	(1) conduct a study on the implementation of 1
	126	+	this Act, including any limitations with respect to— 2
	127	+	(A) reporting hazardous fuels reduction ac-3
	128	+	tivities under subsection (a); or 4
	129	+	(B) tracking data related to hazardous 5
	130	+	fuels reduction activities under subsection (b); 6
	131	+	and 7
	132	+	(2) submit to Congress a report that describes 8
	133	+	the results of the study under paragraph (1). 9
156	134		(d) D
157		-	EFINITIONS.—In this Act: 6
	135	+	EFINITIONS.—In this Act: 10
158	136		(1) H
159		-	AZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION ACTIV -7
160		-	ITY.—The term ‘‘hazardous fuels reduction activ-8
161		-	ity’’— 9
162		-	(A) means any vegetation management ac-10
163		-	tivity to reduce the risk of wildfire, including 11
164		-	mechanical treatments and prescribed burning; 12
165		-	and 13
166		-	(B) does not include the awarding of con-14
167		-	tracts to conduct hazardous fuels reduction ac-15
168		-	tivities. 16
	137	+	AZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION ACTIV -11
	138	+	ITY.—The term ‘‘hazardous fuels reduction activ-12
	139	+	ity’’— 13
	140	+	(A) means any vegetation management ac-14
	141	+	tivity to reduce the risk of wildfire, including 15
	142	+	mechanical treatments and prescribed burning; 16
	143	+	and 17
	144	+	(B) does not include the awarding of con-18
	145	+	tracts to conduct hazardous fuels reduction ac-19
	146	+	tivities. 20
169	147		(2) F
170		-	EDERAL LANDS .—The term ‘‘Federal 17
171		-	lands’’ means lands under the jurisdiction of the 18
172		-	Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri-19
173		-	culture. 20
174		-	(3) S
175		-	ECRETARY CONCERNED .—The term ‘‘Sec-21
176		-	retary concerned’’ means— 22
177		-	(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-23
178		-	spect to National Forest System lands; and 24
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182		-	(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-1
183		-	spect to public lands and units of the National 2
184		-	Park System. 3
	148	+	EDERAL LANDS .—The term ‘‘Federal 21
	149	+	lands’’ means lands under the jurisdiction of the 22
	150	+	Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri-23
	151	+	culture. 24 7
	152	+	•HR 204 EH
	153	+	(3) SECRETARY CONCERNED .—The term ‘‘Sec-1
	154	+	retary concerned’’ means— 2
	155	+	(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-3
	156	+	spect to National Forest System lands; and 4
	157	+	(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-5
	158	+	spect to public lands and units of the National 6
	159	+	Park System. 7
185	160		(4) W
186		-	ILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE .—The term 4
187		-	‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 5
188		-	the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res-6
189		-	toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 7
	161	+	ILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE .—The term 8
	162	+	‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 9
	163	+	the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res-10
	164	+	toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 11
190	165		(e) N
191		-	OADDITIONALFUNDSAUTHORIZED.—No addi-8
192		-	tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 9
193		-	of this Act, and the activities authorized by this Act are 10
194		-	subject to the availability of appropriations made in ad-11
195		-	vance for such purposes. 12
196		-	Æ
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	166	+	OADDITIONALFUNDSAUTHORIZED.—No addi-12
	167	+	tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 13
	168	+	of this Act, and the activities authorized by this Act are 14
	169	+	subject to the availability of appropriations made in ad-15
	170	+	vance for such purposes. 16
	171	+	Passed the House of Representatives January 21,
	172	+	2025.
	173	+	Attest:
	174	+	Clerk. 119
	175	+	TH
	176	+	CONGRESS
	177	+	1
	178	+	ST
	179	+	S
	180	+	ESSION
	181	+
	182	+	H. R. 204
	183	+	AN ACT
	184	+	To require that the Secretary of Agriculture and
	185	+	the Secretary of the Interior submit accurate re-
	186	+	ports regarding hazardous fuels reduction activi-
	187	+	ties, and for other purposes.