Bill Details
HR.204 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2026-07-23 - Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 490.
Introduced Date
2025-01-03
Policy Area
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Committees
View committees (3)
12
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would make federal land agencies report more clearly and more accurately on wildfire risk reduction work. It would require the Agriculture Department and the Interior Department to count each acre only once when they report on hazardous fuels reduction, even if more than one treatment was done there. The reports would also have to show where the work happened, what kind of treatment was used, how much it cost, whether the land was in areas where homes and wildlands meet, and how effective the work was at lowering wildfire risk. The bill also calls for better data tracking rules, public posting of the reports, and a later review by the Government Accountability Office to see how well the law is working.
- Starting with the next fiscal year after enactment, the two departments must include these acreage reports in the budget materials sent to Congress.
- The reports must break out information such as wildfire risk levels, whether the work was done through a planned project or in a managed wildfire, and the region or unit where the acres are located.
- Within 90 days, the departments must create standard procedures for tracking this work, including checks for data accuracy and ways to separate acres inside and outside the wildland-urban interface.
- After the new tracking system is in place, the departments must send Congress a report explaining the procedures and suggesting any policy changes needed to improve tracking; the bill also requires a GAO study within two years.
Official Summaries
Accurately Counting Risk Elimination Solutions Act or the ACRES Act
This bill establishes requirements regarding reports about hazardous fuels reduction activities and standardized procedures for tracking data for hazardous fuels reduction. Hazardous fuels reduction activities means any vegetation management activities that reduce the risk of wildfire but excludes the award of contracts to conduct hazardous fuels reduction activities.
First, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior must include in the materials submitted in support of the President's budget each fiscal year a report on the number of acres of federal land on which such activities were carried out during the preceding year.
Next, USDA and Interior must implement standardized procedures for tracking data related to such activities. The standardized procedures must include
- regular, standardized data reviews of the accuracy and timely input of data used to track hazardous fuels reduction activities;
- verification methods that validate whether such data accurately correlates to such activities;
- an analysis of the short- and long-term effectiveness of such activities on reducing the risk of wildfire; and
- for hazardous fuels reduction activities that occur partially within the wildland-urban interface, methods to distinguish which acres are located within and which located outside the wildland-urban interface.
Finally, the Government Accountability Office must (1) conduct a study on this bill's implementation, and (2) submit a report to Congress with the results of the study.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 204 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 204
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 22, 2025
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the
Interior submit accurate reports regarding hazardous fuels reduction
activities, 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 ``Accurately Counting Risk Elimination
Solutions Act'' or the ``ACRES Act''.
SEC. 2. ACCURATE HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION REPORTS.
(a) Inclusion of Hazardous Fuels Reduction Report in Materials
Submitted in Support of the President's Budget.--
(1) In general.--Beginning with the first fiscal year that
begins after the date of the enactment of this Act, and each
fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary concerned shall include
in the materials submitted in support of the President's budget
pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a
report on the number of acres of Federal land on which the
Secretary concerned carried out hazardous fuels reduction
activities during the preceding fiscal year.
(2) Requirements.--For purposes of the report required
under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall--
(A) in determining the number of acres of Federal
land on which the Secretary concerned carried out
hazardous fuels reduction activities during the period
covered by the report--
(i) record acres of Federal land on which
hazardous fuels reduction activities were
completed during such period; and
(ii) record each acre described in clause
(i) once in the report, regardless of whether
multiple hazardous fuels reduction activities
were carried out on such acre during such
period; and
(B) with respect to the acres of Federal land
recorded in the report, include information on--
(i) which such acres are located in the
wildland-urban interface;
(ii) the level of wildfire risk (high,
moderate, or low) on the first and last day of
the period covered by the report;
(iii) the types of hazardous fuels
activities completed for such acres,
delineating between whether such activities
were conducted--
(I) in a wildfire managed for
resource benefits; or
(II) through a planned project;
(iv) the cost per acre of hazardous fuels
activities carried out during the period
covered by the report;
(v) the region or system unit in which the
acres are located; and
(vi) the effectiveness of the hazardous
fuels reduction activities on reducing the risk
of wildfire.
(3) Transparency.--The Secretary concerned shall make each
report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly available on the
website of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of
the Interior, as applicable.
(b) Accurate Data Collection.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall
implement standardized procedures for tracking data related to
hazardous fuels reduction activities carried out by the
Secretary concerned.
(2) Elements.--The standardized procedures required under
paragraph (1) shall include--
(A) regular, standardized data reviews of the
accuracy and timely input of data used to track
hazardous fuels reduction activities;
(B) verification methods that validate whether such
data accurately correlates to the hazardous fuels
reduction activities carried out by the Secretary
concerned;
(C) an analysis of the short- and long-term
effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction
activities on reducing the risk of wildfire; and
(D) for hazardous fuels reduction activities that
occur partially within the wildland-urban interface,
methods to distinguish which acres are located within
the wildland-urban interface and which acres are
located outside the wildland-urban interface.
(3) Report.--Not later than 2 weeks after implementing the
standardized procedures required under paragraph (1), the
Secretary concerned shall submit to Congress a report that
describes--
(A) such standardized procedures; and
(B) program and policy recommendations to Congress
to address any limitations in tracking data related to
hazardous fuels reduction activities under this
subsection.
(c) GAO Study.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall--
(1) conduct a study on the implementation of this Act,
including any limitations with respect to--
(A) reporting hazardous fuels reduction activities
under subsection (a); or
(B) tracking data related to hazardous fuels
reduction activities under subsection (b); and
(2) submit to Congress a report that describes the results
of the study under paragraph (1).
(d) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Hazardous fuels reduction activity.--The term
``hazardous fuels reduction activity''--
(A) means any vegetation management activity to
reduce the risk of wildfire, including mechanical
treatments and prescribed burning; and
(B) does not include the awarding of contracts to
conduct hazardous fuels reduction activities.
(2) Federal lands.--The term ``Federal lands'' means lands
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the
Secretary of Agriculture.
(3) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
National Forest System lands; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to
public lands and units of the National Park System.
(4) Wildland-urban interface.--The term ``wildland-urban
interface'' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of
the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511).
(e) No Additional Funds Authorized.--No additional funds are
authorized to carry out the requirements of this Act, and the
activities authorized by this Act are subject to the availability of
appropriations made in advance for such purposes.
Passed the House of Representatives January 21, 2025.
Attest:
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,
Clerk.