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[House Report 106-947]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

106th Congress                                            Rept. 106-947
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                      Part 1

======================================================================

 
                    COMMUNITY FOREST RESTORATION ACT

                                _______
                                

                October 6, 2000.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1288]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(S. 1288) to provide incentives for collaborative forest 
restoration projects on National Forest System and other public 
lands in New Mexico, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of S. 1288 is to provide incentives for 
collaborative forest restoration projects on National Forest 
System and other public lands in New Mexico, and for other 
purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Some forest lands in New Mexico are in an unhealthy state. 
Some are overcrowded with high fuel loads that increase risk of 
catastrophic wildfire, while others are understocked as a 
result of past management practices. Restoring these forests to 
a more stable, natural ecological condition can be accomplished 
through a variety of stewardship activities best implemented by 
a mix of federal and local stakeholders.
    This bill provides for the establishment of federal cost-
share grants for local stakeholders to conduct stewardship 
projects aimed at restoring healthy forests. Projects will 
focus on reducing risk of fire, reestablishing pre-suppression 
fire patterns, preserving old and large trees, replanting 
deforested areas, and improving the utilization of small 
diameter trees. Projects will be designed, implemented and 
monitored by a diverse group of federal and local stakeholders, 
will be based on science, and will be selected to enhance local 
training and employment opportunities. Projects may last up to 
four years, may not exceed a total cost of $150,000 per year or 
$450,000 over the life of the project, and must include at 
least a 20 percent cost share of cash or in-kind contributions 
from non-federal sources.
    Projects will be evaluated and recommended by an advisory 
panel consisting of 12 to 15 individuals including 
representatives from the State of New Mexico, federal land 
management agencies, tribes, academia, and other interest 
groups. The Secretary of Agriculture will establish a 
monitoring program to assess accomplishments for at least 15 
years following a project, and will report to Congress after 
five years on the efficacy of the projects in achieving the 
objectives of the bill.
    For additional information, please see Senate Report 106-
176.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    S. 1288 was introduced in the Senate on June 28, 1999, by 
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). It passed the Senate with an 
amendment by unanimous consent on November 19, 1999. In the 
House of Representatives, the bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. The Subcommittee 
held a hearing on the bill on May 11, 2000. On May 16, 2000, 
the Subcommittee met to consider the bill. No amendments were 
offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the Full 
Committee on Resources by voice vote. On July 26, 2000, the 
Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. No 
amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 entitles the bill the ``Community Forest 
Restoration Act''.

Section 2. Findings

    Section 2 presents the findings.

Section 3. Purposes

    Section 3 sets forth the purposes of the bill.

Section 4. Definitions

    Section 4 defines the terms used in the bill.

Section 5. Establishment of program

    Section 5 describes the establishment of the program.
    Subsection 5(a) requires the Secretary of Agriculture to 
establish a cooperative forest restoration program in New 
Mexico to provide cost-share grants to stakeholders for 
experimental forest restoration projects. The Committee intends 
that a portion of the funds authorized and appropriated to 
implement the bill may be used for completing the National 
Environmental Policy Act environmental analyses necessary to 
permit the stewardship projects to be done. The Committee also 
intends that any commercial products arising from any 
stewardship project conducted under this bill will remain the 
property of the owner from whose land the products are 
obtained, unless the products are sold or otherwise accounted 
for in the contract process.
    Subsection 5(b) sets forth the eligibility requirements for 
projects to receive funding under the bill.

Section 6. Selection process

    Section 6 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to convene 
and consult with a technical advisory panel prior to selecting 
projects that will receive funding.

Section 7. Monitoring and evaluation

    Section 7 requires the Secretary to establish a monitoring 
and evaluation process to assess the accomplishments of the 
collaborative forest restoration programs.

Section 8. Report

    Section 8 requires the Secretary to submit a five-year 
report to Congress that assesses the projects funded through 
the collaborative forest restoration program.

Section 9. Authorization of appropriations

    Section 9 authorizes to be appropriated $5 million annually 
to carry out this bill.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                  FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    The functions of the proposed advisory committee authorized 
in this bill are not currently being nor could they be 
performed by one or more agencies, an advisory committee 
already in existence or by enlarging the mandate of an existing 
advisory committee.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8, and Article IV, section 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority 
to enact this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of 
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on 
Government Reform on this bill.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, August 2, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1288, the Community 
Forest Restoration Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                           Steven Lieberman
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

A. 1288--Commnity Forest Restoration Act

    Summary: CBO estimates that implementing S. 1288 would cost 
$19 million over the 2001-2005 period assuming appropriation of 
the specified amounts. The legislation would not affect direct 
spending or receipts; thus, pay-as-you-go procedures would not 
apply. S. 1288 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
    S. 1288 would direct the Forest Service to establish a 
cooperative program for forest restoration in New Mexico to 
provide grants for experimental forest restoration projects. 
The legislation would authorize the appropriation of $5 million 
a year for that program. S. 1288 would specify the eligibility 
requirements for projects to receive funding under the program 
and would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convene an 
advisory committee to recommend projects that meet those 
criteria.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this 
estimate, we assume that S. 1288 will be enacted by the end of 
fiscal year 2000 and that the authorized amounts will be 
provided by as specified by the legislation. Outlay estimates 
are based on information from the Forest Service and historical 
spending patterns for similar activities. The estimated 
budgetary impact of S. 1288 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 
(natural resources and the environment).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
                                                                       2001     2002     2003     2004     2005
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Authorization Level................................................        5        5        5        5        5
Estimated Outlays..................................................        1        3        5        5        5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
    Estimated impact on state, local, and tribal governments: 
S. 1288 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in 
UMRA. The state of New Mexico, local governments in that state, 
or tribal governments could receive grant funds if they choose 
to participate in the program established by this legislation. 
In order to receive such funds, these governments would be 
required to provide matching funds equal to at least 20 percent 
of the total cost of each project and to meet certain 
eligibility requirements. The costs of complying with these 
conditions would be voluntary.
    Estimated impact on the private sector: This legislation 
contains no new private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
    Previous CBO estimate: On October 4, 1999, CBO transmitted 
a cost estimate for S. 1288 as ordered reported by the Senate 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on September 22, 
1999. The Senate version did not specify an amount authorized 
to be appropriated to implement the program established under 
the legislation, and, at that time. we estimated that the 
program would cost about $1 million a year. In contrast, this 
estimate reflects the House version's specific authorization of 
$5 million a year.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Megan Carroll.
    Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie 
Miller and Susan Van Deventer.
    Impact on the Private Sector: Lauren Marks.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    compliance with public law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                preemption of state, local or tribal law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        changes in existing law

    If enacted, this bill would make not changes in existing 
law.

                                
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