To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.
Latest action · Dec 18, 2024 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 118-924, Part I.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 9, 2023
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
This bill sets out requirements for wildfire suppression and management activities carried out by the Forest Service.
These requirements apply to Forest Service land that (1) has a severe, extreme, or exceptional drought intensity rating; (2) has a National Wildland Fire Preparedness level of 5 (i.e., the highest level of wildland fire activity); or (3) is located in a fireshed ranked in the top 10% of wildfire exposure.
Within 24 hours of detecting a wildfire on covered Forest Service land, the service must use all available resources to extinguish the wildfire. Additionally, the service may not inhibit the firefighting activities of state and local agencies that are authorized to respond to wildfires on covered Forest Service land.
Further, the service may not initiate a backfire or burnout as part of a fire suppression strategy unless it is ordered by the responsible incident commander or is necessary to protect the health and safety of firefighting personnel. The service must use all available resources to control any initiated fire until it is extinguished.
The bill also limits the service's use of prescribed fires (i.e., the controlled application of fire by a team of experts under specified weather conditions to restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire). The service must comply with all applicable laws and regulations concerning prescribed fires and must immediately suppress a prescribed fire that exceeds its prescription.
Cosponsors 7
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 9, 2023 to Jun 21, 2023; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CA | Doug LaMalfa | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| R-WA | Dan Newhouse | Feb 17, 2023 | |
| R-CA | Darrell Issa | Feb 17, 2023 | |
| R-CA | Jay Obernolte | Feb 17, 2023 | |
| R-CA | Ken Calvert | Feb 17, 2023 | |
| R-CA | John S. Duarte | Feb 27, 2023 | |
| R-CA | Kevin Kiley | Jun 21, 2023 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Feb 9, 2023 |
| Forestry and Horticulture Subcommittee | Referred Mar 9, 2023 | |
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Feb 9, 2023Discharged Sep 20, 2023Markup Sep 20, 2023Reported Dec 19, 2024 |
| Federal Lands Subcommittee | Referred Feb 21, 2023Hearings May 23, 2023Discharged Sep 20, 2023 |
Actions 9
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 18, 2024Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 118-924, Part I.
- Sep 20, 2023Subcommittee on Federal Lands Discharged
- Sep 20, 2023Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Sep 20, 2023Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- May 23, 2023Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Mar 9, 2023Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry.
- Feb 21, 2023Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
- Feb 9, 2023Introduced in House
- Feb 9, 2023Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Dec 5, 2024H.R. 934, a bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposesAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on September 20, 2023
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 27, February 9, 2023, page H828.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 118-30 | H.R. 188; H.R. 934; H.R. 1450; H.R. 1726; H.R. 3389; H.R. 3396; H.R. 3499; H.R. 3522; AND H.R.____, ‘‘FOREST SERVICE FLEXIBLE HOUSING PARTNERSHIPS ACT OF 2023’’72 pages | Natural Resources Committee | May 23, 2023 |
Titles 1
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Agriculture and Food.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 9, 2023Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
