[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6208 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6208
To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to submit to Congress a report on the amount of waste
collected on certain Federal land along the southern border of the
United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 2, 2023
Mr. Tiffany introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture to submit to Congress a report on the amount of waste
collected on certain Federal land along the southern border of the
United States, and for other purposes.
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 ``Trash Reduction And Suppressing Harm
from Environmental Degradation at the Border Act'' or the ``TRASHED
Border Act''.
SEC. 2. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO REDUCE TRASH ALONG THE SOUTHERN
BORDER.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary concerned, in coordination with the
Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish and implement policies
and protocols to prevent and mitigate environmental degradation on
covered Federal lands caused by aliens without lawful immigration
status--
(1) crossing the southern border; or
(2) being housed, or otherwise illegally encroaching or
camping, on National Forest System lands or lands under the
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior.
(b) Protocols.--In developing the policies and protocols under
subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall consider policies and
seek to implement best practices with respect to--
(1) reducing trash accumulation, particularly in
ecologically sensitive areas--
(A) on covered Federal lands; or
(B) where aliens without lawful immigration status
are being housed, or are otherwise illegally
encroaching or camping, on National Forest System lands
or lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the
Interior;
(2) address the destruction of sensitive natural and
archeological resources; and
(3) address the destruction of wildlife habitat.
SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN TRASH ACCUMULATION ON THE
SOUTHERN BORDER.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the
Secretary concerned shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on the amount of waste collected in the following
areas:
(1) Covered Federal lands.
(2) Sites on National Forest System lands or lands under
the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior--
(A) on which aliens without lawful immigration
status are being housed, or are otherwise illegally
encroaching or camping; or
(B) used for the illegal cultivation of narcotics,
including the cultivation of cannabis, by aliens
without lawful immigration status.
(b) Contents of Report.--Each report submitted under subsection (a)
shall include the following with respect to areas covered by the
report:
(1) The total amount of waste collected (in pounds) by
employees and contractors of Federal agencies and the cost of
collecting such waste, including a breakdown by agency, region,
or other unit the Secretary concerned determines appropriate in
illustrating the distribution of waste.
(2) Suggestions on how to reduce environmental degradation
caused by waste.
(3) Data provided by Federal, State, and local agencies,
nonprofit and volunteer organizations, and individuals with
respect to--
(A) the amount of waste collected; and
(B) the number of waste collection events.
(4) The total number of acres of wildlife habitat impacted
by waste.
(5) The discovery of any unauthorized trails or roads.
(6) The number of wildfires started as a result of
unauthorized human activity, including fires started by aliens
without lawful immigration status.
(7) Any other information the Secretary concerned
determines appropriate to demonstrate the amount of waste found
or collected.
(c) Collection Data.--
(1) In general.--In developing the reports required under
subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall--
(A) collaborate in information gathering with
State, local, nonprofit, and volunteer organizations
and individuals assisting in waste collection efforts;
and
(B) to the maximum extent practicable, verify the
information provided by such organizations and
individuals.
(2) Protection of data.--The Secretary concerned shall take
precautions to ensure the privacy of organizations and
individuals submitting data for the purposes of this Act and
prevent the disclosure of personal identifiable information to
the public.
(d) Dates for Submission.--Except for the first report submitted in
accordance with subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees each fiscal year report not
later than 90 days after the last day of the fiscal year covered by the
report.
SEC. 4. PENALTIES AND FINES.
(a) In General.--An alien without lawful immigration status who,
while on covered Federal land, carries out an activity prohibited under
applicable fire and sanitation regulations shall be subject to
penalties and fines.
(b) Penalties Doubled.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall promulgate rules
and regulations to double the penalties and fines for prohibited
activities referred to in subsection (a) carried out on covered Federal
lands.
(c) Enforcement.--The Secretary concerned shall enforce existing
regulations regarding penalties and fines, specifically regarding
applicable fire and sanitation regulations on covered Federal land.
(d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the
Secretary concerned shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report detailing the total amount collected in penalties
and fines under subsection (a).
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Applicable fire and sanitation regulations.--The term
``applicable fire and sanitation regulations'' means the
following provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations, as in
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act:
(A) With respect to lands under the jurisdiction of
the Secretary of the Interior--
(i) sections 2.13 and 2.14 of title 36;
(ii) sections 423.29, 423.31, 423.34,
8365.1-1, 8365.1-7, 8365.2-1, 8365.2-3, 9212.1,
and 9212.2 of title 43; and
(iii) sections 26.34, 27.94, and 27.95 of
title 50.
(B) With respect to National Forest System lands,
sections 261.5 and 261.11 of title 36.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committees on Natural Resources,
Agriculture, Homeland Security, and the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources,
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Homeland Security
& Governmental Affairs, and the Judiciary of the
Senate.
(3) Covered federal lands.--The term ``covered Federal
lands'' means land--
(A) owned by the United States;
(B) located in a unit that shares an exterior
boundary with the southern border; and
(C) administered by--
(i) the National Park Service;
(ii) the Bureau of Land Management;
(iii) the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service;
(iv) the Bureau of Reclamation; or
(v) the Forest Service.
(4) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means--
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to
lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the
Interior; and
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through
the Chief of the Forest Service, with respect to
National Forest System lands.
(5) Southern border.--The term ``southern border'' means
the international land border between the United States and
Mexico.
(6) Waste.--The term ``waste'' means any refuse, garbage,
rubbish, trash, debris, or litter left or created by humans and
disposed of--
(A) without authorization from the Federal agency
administering the area where the waste is found; or
(B) outside of a waste collection receptacle.
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