[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3637 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3637
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 with respect to
third-party contracts for wildfire hazard fuel removal, to amend the
National Forest Management Act with respect to the threshold for
advertised timber sales, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 29, 2025
Mr. LaMalfa (for himself, Mr. Costa, and Mr. Carter of Georgia)
introduced the following bill; which was referred 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 with respect to
third-party contracts for wildfire hazard fuel removal, to amend the
National Forest Management Act with respect to the threshold for
advertised timber sales, 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 ``Locally Led Restoration Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTS FOR WILDFIRE HAZARD FUEL REMOVAL.
(a) In General.--Section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act
of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ``(including contracts
proposed by such entities)'' after ``private entities''; and
(2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following:
``(8) Salvage requirements.--
``(A) In general.--A contract or agreement for a
stewardship contracting project proposed by a private
person or other public or private entity may only be
entered into under subsection (b) if--
``(i) the land management goals of the
project include the removal of vegetation; and
``(ii) at least 10 percent of the
vegetation proposed to be removed is salvage.
``(B) Salvage defined.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), the term `salvage' includes wildfire
kill, beetle kill, and dead or dying organic material.
``(9) Notifications and responses.--
``(A) Notification of opportunity to submit
proposals.--Not less than once per year, the Chief and
the Director shall publicly notice the opportunity to
submit proposals for stewardship contracting projects
under subsection (b).
``(B) Response to proposal.--
``(i) In general.--In the case of a
stewardship contracting project proposed by a
private person or other public or private
entity, the Chief and the Director shall not
later than 120 days after receiving such a
proposal, provide the person or entity
submitting such proposal a response with
respect to such proposal.
``(ii) Notice of denial.--In the case of a
response referred to in clause (i) that is a
denial, such response may--
``(I) identify the specific factors
that caused, and explain the reasons
that support, the denial; and
``(II) identify potential courses
of action for overcoming specific
issues that led to the denial.
``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed as requiring the Chief or
the Director to enter into a contract or an agreement
with respect to a stewardship contracting project
proposed by a private person or other public or private
entity.
``(10) Environmental review.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 120 days after
the date on which a private person or other public or
private entity submits to the Chief or the Director a
proposal to enter into a stewardship contracting
project under subsection (b), the Chief or the Director
may issue public notice of initiation of any necessary
environmental review.
``(B) Agreements and contracts.--Following
completion of any necessary environmental review, the
Chief or the Director may enter into an agreement or
contract with the private person or other public or
private entity under subsection (b).
``(11) Conflicting proposals.--In the case of conflicting
proposals for a stewardship contracting project under
subsection (b), the Chief and the Director shall have sole
discretion in determining which such proposals, if any, are
accepted.
``(12) Other requirements.--A contract or agreement entered
into under this section--
``(A) shall be made on a best value basis, as
determined by the Chief and the Director;
``(B) may not be carried out--
``(i) on acres that are--
``(I) included in the National
Wilderness Preservation System; or
``(II) located within an
inventoried roadless area; or
``(ii) on any area where removal of
vegetation is prohibited by Federal statute;
and
``(C) may only be carried out if the Chief and the
Director determine the stewardship contracting project
is in accordance with the forest plan or land and
resource management plan applicable to the land on
which the project will be carried out.''.
(b) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit
a report to Congress that includes, with respect to the preceding 5-
year period, information on--
(1) the number of project proposals under section 604 of
the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c)
received by the Chief of the Forest Service and the Director of
the Bureau of Land Management;
(2) the number of contracts and agreements entered into
under such section; and
(3) the number of acres on which forest thinning and
hazardous fuels reduction were carried out pursuant to such
contracts and agreements.
SEC. 3. THRESHOLD FOR ADVERTISED SALES.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
threshold above which the Secretary of Agriculture shall advertise
timber sales, absent extraordinary conditions, established in section
14(d) of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C.
472a(d)), is adjusted by the amendments made by subsection (b) to
reflect the inflation that has occurred since the date of enactment of
such section and to address any inflation that may occur after the date
of enactment of this section.
(b) Threshold Adjustment.--Section 14(d) of the National Forest
Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a(d)) is amended by--
(1) striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$55,000''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``Beginning the
first year after the date of enactment of the Locally Led
Restoration Act of 2025, the amount in the first sentence of
this subsection shall be adjusted annually by the Secretary for
changes in the Consumer Price Index of All Urban Consumers
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department
of Labor.''.
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