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Union Calendar No. 149 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2875 

[Report No. 109–273, Part I] 

To amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to provide for the conduct 

of projects that protect forests, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 14, 2005 

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon (for himself and Mr. UDALL of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture and Education 

and the Workforce, 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 

NOVEMBER 7, 2005 

Reported from the Committee on Resources with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

NOVEMBER 7, 2005 

Committees on Agriculture and Education and the Workforce discharged; 

committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 14, 2005] 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to provide 

for the conduct of projects that protect forests, and 

for other purposes. 
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Lands Corps 

5 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC LANDS CORPS ACT 

7 OF 1993. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 203 of the Public Lands 

9 Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1722) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8), (9), (10), 

11 and (11) as paragraphs (9), (10), (11), and (13), re12 spectively; 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(8) PRIORITY PROJECT.—The term ‘priority 

16 project’ means an appropriate conservation project 

17 conducted on eligible service lands to further 1 or 

18 more of the purposes of the Healthy Forests Restora19 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.), as follows: 

20 ‘‘(A) To reduce wildfire risk to a commu21 nity, municipal water supply, or other at-risk 

22 Federal land. 

23 ‘‘(B) To protect a watershed or address a 

24 threat to forest and rangeland health, including 

25 catastrophic wildfire. 
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1 ‘‘(C) To address the impact of insect or dis2 ease infestations or other damaging agents on 

3 forest and rangeland health. 

4 ‘‘(D) To protect, restore, or enhance forest 

5 ecosystem components to— 

6 ‘‘(i) promote the recovery of threatened 

7 or endangered species; 

8 ‘‘(ii) improve biological diversity; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) enhance productivity and carbon 

10 sequestration.’’; and 

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (11) (as redes12 ignated by paragraph (1)) the following: 

13 ‘‘(12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

14 means— 

15 ‘‘(A) with respect to National Forest System 

16 land, the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

17 ‘‘(B) with respect to Indian lands, Hawai18 ian home lands, or land administered by the De19 partment of the Interior, the Secretary of the In20 terior.’’. 

21 (b) QUALIFIED YOUTH OR CONSERVATION CORPS.— 

22 Section 204(c) of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 

23 U.S.C. 1723(c)) is amended— 
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of the Interior 

2 and the Secretary of Agriculture are’’ and inserting 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) PREFERENCE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of enter8 ing into contracts and cooperative agreements 

9 under paragraph (1), the Secretary may give 

10 preference to qualified youth or conservation 

11 corps located in a specific area that have a sub12 stantial portion of members who are economi13 cally, physically, or educationally disadvantaged 

14 to carry out projects within the area. 

15 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY PROJECTS.—In carrying out 

16 priority projects in a specific area, the Secretary 

17 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, give 

18 preference to qualified youth or conservation 

19 corps located in that specific area that have a 

20 substantial portion of members who are economi21 cally, physically, or educationally disadvan22 taged.’’. 

23 (c) CONSERVATION PROJECTS.—Section 204(d) of the 

24 Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1723(d)) is 

25 amended— 
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1 (1) in the first sentence— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary of the Inte3 rior and the Secretary of Agriculture may each’’ 

4 and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘such Secretary’’ and in7 serting ‘‘the Secretary’’; 

8 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Appro9 priate conservation’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) PROJECTS ON INDIAN LANDS.—Appropriate 

11 conservation’’; and 

12 (3) by striking the third sentence and inserting 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(3) DISASTER PREVENTION OR RELIEF

15 PROJECTS.—The Secretary may authorize appro16 priate conservation projects and other appropriate 

17 projects to be carried out on Federal, State, local, or 

18 private land as part of a Federal disaster prevention 

19 or relief effort.’’. 

20 (d) CONSERVATION CENTERS AND PROGRAM SUP21 PORT.—Section 205 of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 

22 (16 U.S.C. 1724) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking the heading and inserting the fol24 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 205. CONSERVATION CENTERS AND PROGRAM SUP2 PORT.’’; 

3 (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND USE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may establish 

7 and use conservation centers owned and operated by 

8 the Secretary for— 

9 ‘‘(A) use by the Public Lands Corps; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the conduct of appropriate conserva11 tion projects under this title. 

12 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE FOR CONSERVATION CEN13 TERS.—The Secretary may provide to a conservation 

14 center established under paragraph (1) any services, 

15 facilities, equipment, and supplies that the Secretary 

16 determines to be necessary for the conservation center. 

17 ‘‘(3) STANDARDS FOR CONSERVATION CEN18 TERS.—The Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) establish basic standards of health, nu20 trition, sanitation, and safety for all conserva21 tion centers established under paragraph (1); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) ensure that the standards established 

24 under subparagraph (A) are enforced. 

25 ‘‘(4) MANAGEMENT.—As the Secretary deter26 mines to be appropriate, the Secretary may enter into 
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1 a contract or other appropriate arrangement with a 

2 State or local government agency or private organiza3 tion to provide for the management of a conservation 

4 center.’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide any 

7 services, facilities, equipment, supplies, technical assistance, 

8 oversight, monitoring, or evaluations that are appropriate 

9 to carry out this title.’’. 

10 (e) LIVING ALLOWANCES AND TERMS OF SERVICE.— 

11 Section 207 of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 

12 U.S.C. 1726) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(a) LIVING ALLOWANCES.—The Secretary shall pro16 vide each participant in the Public Lands Corps and each 

17 resource assistant with a living allowance in an amount 

18 established by the Secretary.’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(c) HIRING.—The Secretary may— 

21 ‘‘(1) grant to a member of the Public Lands 

22 Corps credit for time served with the Public Lands 

23 Corps, which may be used toward future Federal hir24 ing; and 
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1 ‘‘(2) provide to a former member of the Public 

2 Lands Corps noncompetitive hiring status for a pe3 riod of not more than 120 days after the date on 

4 which the member’s service with the Public Lands 

5 Corps is complete.’’. 

6 (f) FUNDING.—The Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in section 210 (16 U.S.C. 1729), by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(c) OTHER FUNDS.—Amounts appropriated pursu11 ant to the authorization of appropriations under section 

12 211 are in addition to amounts allocated to the Public 

13 Lands Corps through other Federal programs or projects.’’; 

14 and 

15 (2) by inserting after section 210 the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 211. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 

19 $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2011. 

20 Of the amounts appropriated for any fiscal year to carry 

21 out this title, not less than two-thirds shall be used to con22 duct priority projects. 

23 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any 

24 other provision of law, amounts appropriated for any fiscal 

25 year to carry out this title shall remain available for obliga-
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1 tion and expenditure until the end of the fiscal year fol2 lowing the fiscal year for which the amounts are appro3 priated.’’. 

4 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Public Lands 

5 Corps Act of 1993 is amended— 

6 (1) in section 204 (16 U.S.C. 1723)— 

7 (A) in subsection (b)— 

8 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

9 ‘‘Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 

10 of Agriculture’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

11 (ii) in the third sentence, by striking 

12 ‘‘Secretaries’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

13 and 

14 (iii) in the fourth sentence, by striking 

15 ‘‘Secretaries’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘Secretary 

18 of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

20 (2) in section 205 (16 U.S.C. 1724)— 

21 (A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Secretary 

22 of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; and 
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1 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘Secretary 

2 of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

4 (3) in section 206 (16 U.S.C. 1725)— 

5 (A) in subsection (a)— 

6 (i) in the first sentence— 

7 (I) by striking ‘‘Secretary of the 

8 Interior and the Secretary of Agri9 culture are each’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec10 retary is’’; and 

11 (II) by striking ‘‘such Secretary’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’; 

13 (ii) in the third sentence, by striking 

14 ‘‘Secretaries’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

15 and 

16 (iii) in the fourth sentence, by striking 

17 ‘‘Secretaries’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

18 and 

19 (B) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by 

20 striking ‘‘Secretary of the Interior or the Sec21 retary of Agriculture’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec22 retary’’; and 

23 (4) in section 210 (16 U.S.C. 1729)— 

24 (A) in subsection (a)— 
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1 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Sec2 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

3 Agriculture are each’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec4 retary is’’; and 

5 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 

6 ‘‘Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

7 of Agriculture are each’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec8 retary is’’; and 

9 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Secretary 

10 of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’. 
Union Calendar No. 149 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2875 

[Report No. 109–273, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to 

forests, and for other purposes. provide for the conduct of projects that protect 

NOVEMBER 7, 2005 

Reported from the Committee on Resources with an 

amendment 

NOVEMBER 7, 2005 

Committees on Agriculture and Education and the WorkWhole House on the State of the Union force discharged; committed to the Committee of the