[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 565 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 565
To require the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
to enter into an agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation to establish the Community Resilience and Restoration Fund.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 26, 2023
Mr. Neguse (for himself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Huffman, and Ms. Stansbury)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
to enter into an agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation to establish the Community Resilience and Restoration Fund.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Land Restoration and Resiliency Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND RESTORATION FUND.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall enter into a cooperative
agreement with the Foundation to establish the Community Resilience and
Restoration Fund at the Foundation to--
(1) improve community safety in the face of climactic
extremes through conservation and protection of restoration and
resilience lands;
(2) to protect, conserve, and restore restoration and
resilience lands in order to help communities respond and adapt
to natural threats, including wildfire, drought, extreme heat,
and other threats posed or exacerbated by the impacts of global
climate;
(3) to build the resilience of restoration and resilience
lands to adapt to, recover from, and withstand natural threats,
including wildfire, drought, extreme heat, and other threats
posed or exacerbated by the impacts of global climate change;
(4) to protect and enhance the biodiversity of wildlife
populations across restoration and resilience lands;
(5) to support the health of restoration and resilience
lands for the benefit of present and future generations;
(6) to foster innovative, nature-based solutions that help
meet the goals of this section; and
(7) to enhance the Nation's natural carbon sequestration
capabilities and help communities strengthen natural carbon
sequestration capacity where applicable.
(b) Management of the Fund.--The Foundation shall manage the Fund--
(1) pursuant to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.); and
(2) in such a manner that, to the greatest extent
practicable and consistent with the purposes for which the Fund
is established--
(A) ensures that amounts made available through the
Fund are accessible to historically underserved
communities, including Tribal communities, communities
of color, and rural communities; and
(B) avoids project selection and funding overlap
with those projects and activities that could otherwise
receive funding under--
(i) the National Oceans and Coastal
Security Fund, established under the National
Oceans and Coastal Security Act (16 U.S.C.
7501); or
(ii) other coastal management focused
programs.
(c) Competitive Grants.--
(1) In general.--To the extent amounts are available in the
Fund, the Foundation shall award grants to eligible entities
through a competitive grant process in accordance with
procedures established pursuant to the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.)
to carry out eligible projects and activities, including
planning eligible projects and activities.
(2) Proposals.--The Foundation, in coordination with the
Secretary, shall establish requirements for proposals for
competitive grants under this section.
(d) Use of Amounts in the Fund.--
(1) Planning.--Not less than 8 percent of amounts
appropriated annually to the Fund may be used to plan eligible
projects and activities, including capacity building.
(2) Administrative costs.--Not more than 4 percent of
amounts appropriated annually to the Fund may be used by the
Foundation for administrative expenses of the Fund or
administration of competitive grants offered under the Fund.
(3) Priority.--Not less than 10 percent of the funds
appropriated in a fiscal year to the Fund or $10,000,000
(whichever is the lesser amount) shall be awarded in such
fiscal year to support eligible projects and activities for
Indian Tribes.
(4) Coordination.--The Secretary and Foundation shall
ensure, to the greatest extent practicable and through
meaningful consultation, that input from Indian Tribes,
including traditional ecological knowledge, is incorporated in
the planning and execution of eligible projects and activities.
(e) Reports.--
(1) Annual reports.--Beginning at the end the first full
fiscal year after the date of enactment of this section, and
not later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year in
which amounts are deposited into the Fund, the Foundation shall
submit to the Secretary a report on the operation of the Fund
including--
(A) an accounting of expenditures made under the
Fund, including leverage and match where applicable;
(B) an accounting of any grants made under the
Fund, including a list of recipients and a brief
description of each project and its purposes and goals;
and
(C) measures and metrics to track benefits created
by grants administered under the Fund, including
enhanced biodiversity, water quality, natural carbon
sequestration, and resilience.
(2) 5-year reports.--Not later than 90 days after the end
of the fifth full fiscal year after the date of enactment of
this section, and not later than 90 days after the end every
fifth fiscal year thereafter, the Foundation shall submit to
the Secretary a report containing--
(A) a description of any socioeconomic,
biodiversity, community resilience, or climate
resilience or mitigation (including natural carbon
sequestration), impacts generated by projects funded by
grants awarded by the Fund, including measures and
metrics illustrating these impacts;
(B) a description of land health benefits derived
from projects funded by grants awarded by the Fund,
including an accounting of--
(i) lands treated for invasive species;
(ii) lands treated for wildfire threat
reduction, including those treated with
controlled burning or other natural fire-
management techniques; and
(iii) lands restored either from wildfire
or other forms or degradation, including over-
grazing and sedimentation;
(C) key findings for Congress, including any
recommended changes to the authorization or purposes of
the Fund;
(D) best practices for other Federal agencies in
the administration of funds intended for land and
habitat restoration;
(E) information on the use and outcome of funds
specifically set aside for planning and capacity
building pursuant to section 6; and
(F) any other information that the Foundation
considers relevant.
(3) Submission of reports to congress.--Not later than 10
days after receiving a report under this section, the Secretary
shall submit the report to the Committee on Natural Resources
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Environment and Public Works of the Senate.
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is hereby
authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $100,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2024 through 2029 to carry out this section.
(f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) The term ``eligible entity'' means a Federal agency,
State, the District of Columbia, a territory of the United
States, a unit of local government, an Indian Tribe, a
nonprofit organization, or an accredited institution of higher
education.
(2) The term ``eligible projects and activities'' means
projects and activities carried out by an eligible entity on
public lands, tribal lands, or private land, or any combination
thereof, to further the purposes for which the Fund is
established, including planning and capacity building and
projects and activities carried out in coordination with
Federal, State, or tribal departments or agencies, or any
department or agency of a subdivision of a State.
(3) The term ``Foundation'' means the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation established under the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).
(4) The term ``Fund'' means the Community Resilience and
Restoration Fund established under subsection (a).
(5) The term ``Indian Tribe'' means the governing body of
any individually identified and federally recognized Indian or
Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community,
affiliated Tribal group, or component reservation in the list
published pursuant to section 104(a) of the Federally
Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131(a)).
(6) The term ``restoration and resilience lands'' means
fish, wildlife, and plant habitats, and other important natural
areas in the United States, on public lands, private land
(after obtaining proper consent from the landowner), or land of
Indian Tribes, including grasslands, shrublands, prairies,
chapparal lands, forest lands, deserts, and riparian or wetland
areas within or adjacent to these ecosystems.
(7) The term ``public lands'' means lands owned or
controlled by the United States.
(8) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the
Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service.
(9) The term ``State'' means a State of the United States,
the District of Columbia, any Indian Tribe, and any
commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
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