```

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9682 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9682

  To mitigate environmental degradation and wildland fires caused by 
illegal immigration along the southern border of the United States, and 
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 19, 2024

 Mr. Calvert 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 mitigate environmental degradation and wildland fires caused by 
illegal immigration 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 ``Ending Major Borderland 
Environmental Ruin from Wildfires (EMBER) Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) 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 
                and Governmental Affairs, and the Judiciary of the 
                Senate.
            (2) Border state.--The term ``Border State'' means a State 
        that abuts the southern border.
            (3) Covered federal lands.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``covered Federal lands'' 
                means land--
                            (i) owned by the United States;
                            (ii) located in a unit that shares an 
                        exterior boundary with the southern border; and
                            (iii) 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.
                    (B) Exclusion.--The term ``covered Federal lands'' 
                does not include Federal lands held in trust for Indian 
                Tribes.
            (4) Operational control.--The term ``operational control'' 
        has the meaning given such term in section 2(b) of the Secure 
        Fence Act of 2006 (8 U.S.C. 1701 note; Public Law 109-367).
            (5) 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.
            (6) Southern border.--The term ``southern border'' means 
        the international border between the United States and Mexico.

SEC. 3. SOUTHERN BORDER FUELS MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish a 
program to be known as the ``Southern Border Fuels Management 
Initiative'' (in this section referred to as the ``Initiative'').
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Initiative is to carry out 
vegetation management activities along the southern border in order 
to--
            (1) reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire along the 
        southern border and improve landscape resilience;
            (2) improve operational control of the southern border; and
            (3) improve visibility and sight lines along the southern 
        border to increase safety for law enforcement.
    (c) Activities.--In carrying out the Initiative, the Secretary 
shall--
            (1) reduce hazardous fuels along the southern border;
            (2) address invasive or non-native species along the 
        southern border that contribute to wildfire risk or decrease 
        operation efficiency of border patrol operations;
            (3) install fuel breaks along the southern border; and
            (4) set targets for acres to treat under the program for 
        each fiscal year.
    (d) Coordination.--In carrying out the Initiative, the Secretary 
shall coordinate and may enter into memorandums of understanding with 
the Forest Service, U.S. Border Patrol, and State, local, or Tribal law 
enforcement agencies.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out this section 
$3,660,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2031.
    (f) Termination.--The Initiative shall terminate 7 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. MITIGATING ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND WILDLAND FIRES CAUSED 
              BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned, in coordination with 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish and implement 
policies and protocols to mitigate, avoid, or prevent--
            (1) wildland fires ignited by aliens without lawful 
        immigration status; and
            (2) environmental degradation on covered Federal lands 
        caused by aliens without lawful immigration status crossing the 
        southern border.
    (b) Protocols.--In developing the protocols under subsection (a), 
the Secretary concerned shall consider policies to--
            (1) reduce trash accumulation along the southern border, 
        particularly in ecologically sensitive areas;
            (2) prevent the ignition of wildland fires by aliens 
        without lawful immigration status, particularly in areas where 
        there is a risk of--
                    (A) loss of life or property;
                    (B) damage to critical wildlife habitat;
                    (C) damage to public infrastructure; and
                    (D) degradation of watersheds or public water 
                sources;
            (3) address the destruction of sensitive natural and 
        archeological resources; and
            (4) address the destruction of wildlife habitat.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
            (1) a description of the policies and protocols established 
        under subsection (a);
            (2) a catalog of all reported incidents of environmental 
        degradation and wildland fires ignited by aliens without lawful 
        immigration status, including--
                    (A) the number of acres burned and total number of 
                fires ignited;
                    (B) a description of each incident of environmental 
                degradation and the total number of such incidents;
                    (C) the estimated cost of cleaning up or 
                remediating such environmental degradation;
                    (D) the number of such aliens connected to each 
                fire and whether or not they were apprehended; and
                    (E) the area in which incidents of environmental 
                degradation occurred, including areas congressionally 
                designated for the protection of natural resources; and
            (3) additional resources or authorities necessary to 
        mitigate, avoid, or prevent wildland fires and environmental 
        degradation caused by aliens without lawful immigration status 
        crossing the southern border.
    (d) Updated Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
        United States shall update its November 2011 report entitled 
        ``Federal Agencies Could Better Utilize Law Enforcement 
        Resources in Support of Wildland Fire Management Activities''.
            (2) Additional states considered.--In updating the report 
        under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall include 
        information on each Border State.
                                 <all>
```