[House Report 106-947]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Rept. 106-947
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 1
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COMMUNITY FOREST RESTORATION ACT
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October 6, 2000.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1288]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(S. 1288) to provide incentives for collaborative forest
restoration projects on National Forest System and other public
lands in New Mexico, and for other purposes, having considered
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and
recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of S. 1288 is to provide incentives for
collaborative forest restoration projects on National Forest
System and other public lands in New Mexico, and for other
purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Some forest lands in New Mexico are in an unhealthy state.
Some are overcrowded with high fuel loads that increase risk of
catastrophic wildfire, while others are understocked as a
result of past management practices. Restoring these forests to
a more stable, natural ecological condition can be accomplished
through a variety of stewardship activities best implemented by
a mix of federal and local stakeholders.
This bill provides for the establishment of federal cost-
share grants for local stakeholders to conduct stewardship
projects aimed at restoring healthy forests. Projects will
focus on reducing risk of fire, reestablishing pre-suppression
fire patterns, preserving old and large trees, replanting
deforested areas, and improving the utilization of small
diameter trees. Projects will be designed, implemented and
monitored by a diverse group of federal and local stakeholders,
will be based on science, and will be selected to enhance local
training and employment opportunities. Projects may last up to
four years, may not exceed a total cost of $150,000 per year or
$450,000 over the life of the project, and must include at
least a 20 percent cost share of cash or in-kind contributions
from non-federal sources.
Projects will be evaluated and recommended by an advisory
panel consisting of 12 to 15 individuals including
representatives from the State of New Mexico, federal land
management agencies, tribes, academia, and other interest
groups. The Secretary of Agriculture will establish a
monitoring program to assess accomplishments for at least 15
years following a project, and will report to Congress after
five years on the efficacy of the projects in achieving the
objectives of the bill.
For additional information, please see Senate Report 106-
176.
COMMITTEE ACTION
S. 1288 was introduced in the Senate on June 28, 1999, by
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). It passed the Senate with an
amendment by unanimous consent on November 19, 1999. In the
House of Representatives, the bill was referred to the
Committee on Resources and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. The Subcommittee
held a hearing on the bill on May 11, 2000. On May 16, 2000,
the Subcommittee met to consider the bill. No amendments were
offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the Full
Committee on Resources by voice vote. On July 26, 2000, the
Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. No
amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 entitles the bill the ``Community Forest
Restoration Act''.
Section 2. Findings
Section 2 presents the findings.
Section 3. Purposes
Section 3 sets forth the purposes of the bill.
Section 4. Definitions
Section 4 defines the terms used in the bill.
Section 5. Establishment of program
Section 5 describes the establishment of the program.
Subsection 5(a) requires the Secretary of Agriculture to
establish a cooperative forest restoration program in New
Mexico to provide cost-share grants to stakeholders for
experimental forest restoration projects. The Committee intends
that a portion of the funds authorized and appropriated to
implement the bill may be used for completing the National
Environmental Policy Act environmental analyses necessary to
permit the stewardship projects to be done. The Committee also
intends that any commercial products arising from any
stewardship project conducted under this bill will remain the
property of the owner from whose land the products are
obtained, unless the products are sold or otherwise accounted
for in the contract process.
Subsection 5(b) sets forth the eligibility requirements for
projects to receive funding under the bill.
Section 6. Selection process
Section 6 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to convene
and consult with a technical advisory panel prior to selecting
projects that will receive funding.
Section 7. Monitoring and evaluation
Section 7 requires the Secretary to establish a monitoring
and evaluation process to assess the accomplishments of the
collaborative forest restoration programs.
Section 8. Report
Section 8 requires the Secretary to submit a five-year
report to Congress that assesses the projects funded through
the collaborative forest restoration program.
Section 9. Authorization of appropriations
Section 9 authorizes to be appropriated $5 million annually
to carry out this bill.
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 Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
The functions of the proposed advisory committee authorized
in this bill are not currently being nor could they be
performed by one or more agencies, an advisory committee
already in existence or by enlarging the mandate of an existing
advisory committee.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8, and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority
to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on
Government Reform on this bill.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 2, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1288, the Community
Forest Restoration Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Steven Lieberman
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
A. 1288--Commnity Forest Restoration Act
Summary: CBO estimates that implementing S. 1288 would cost
$19 million over the 2001-2005 period assuming appropriation of
the specified amounts. The legislation would not affect direct
spending or receipts; thus, pay-as-you-go procedures would not
apply. S. 1288 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
S. 1288 would direct the Forest Service to establish a
cooperative program for forest restoration in New Mexico to
provide grants for experimental forest restoration projects.
The legislation would authorize the appropriation of $5 million
a year for that program. S. 1288 would specify the eligibility
requirements for projects to receive funding under the program
and would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convene an
advisory committee to recommend projects that meet those
criteria.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this
estimate, we assume that S. 1288 will be enacted by the end of
fiscal year 2000 and that the authorized amounts will be
provided by as specified by the legislation. Outlay estimates
are based on information from the Forest Service and historical
spending patterns for similar activities. The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 1288 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and the environment).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
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2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
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CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level................................................ 5 5 5 5 5
Estimated Outlays.................................................. 1 3 5 5 5
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Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
Estimated impact on state, local, and tribal governments:
S. 1288 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in
UMRA. The state of New Mexico, local governments in that state,
or tribal governments could receive grant funds if they choose
to participate in the program established by this legislation.
In order to receive such funds, these governments would be
required to provide matching funds equal to at least 20 percent
of the total cost of each project and to meet certain
eligibility requirements. The costs of complying with these
conditions would be voluntary.
Estimated impact on the private sector: This legislation
contains no new private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
Previous CBO estimate: On October 4, 1999, CBO transmitted
a cost estimate for S. 1288 as ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on September 22,
1999. The Senate version did not specify an amount authorized
to be appropriated to implement the program established under
the legislation, and, at that time. we estimated that the
program would cost about $1 million a year. In contrast, this
estimate reflects the House version's specific authorization of
$5 million a year.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Megan Carroll.
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie
Miller and Susan Van Deventer.
Impact on the Private Sector: Lauren Marks.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
compliance with public law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
preemption of state, local or tribal law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
changes in existing law
If enacted, this bill would make not changes in existing
law.