69–006 

110TH CONGRESS REPT. 110–704 " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session Part 1 

‘‘FEDERAL LAND ASSISTANCE, MANAGEMENT AND 

ENHANCEMENT ACT’’ OR ‘‘FLAME ACT’’ 

JUNE 10, 2008.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. RAHALL, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 5541] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 5541) to provide a supplemental funding source for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities on Department of the Interior and National Forest System lands, to require 

the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a cohesive wildland fire management strategy, and for other 

purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 

with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do 

pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act’’ or ‘‘FLAME Act’’. 

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Flame Fund for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities. 

Sec. 3. Cohesive wildland fire management strategy. 

Sec. 4. Review of certain wildfires to evaluate cost containment in wildland fire suppression activities. 

Sec. 5. Reducing risk of wildfires in fire-ready communities. 

SEC. 2. FLAME FUND FOR CATASTROPHIC EMERGENCY WILDLAND FIRE SUPPRESSION ACTIVITIES. 

(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ means the following: 


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(A) Public lands, as defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

(B) Units of the National Park System. 

(C) Refuges of the National Wildlife Refuge System. 

(D) Lands held in trust by the United States for the benefit of Indian 

tribes or individual Indians. 

(E) Lands in the National Forest System, as defined in section 11(a) of 

the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

U.S.C. 1609(a)). 

(2) FLAME FUND.—The term ‘‘Flame Fund’’ means the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Fund established by this section. 

(3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to Federal land described 

in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of paragraph (1); and 

(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System 

land. 

(4) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ means the Secretary of the Interior 

and the Secretary of Agriculture, acting jointly. 

(b) ESTABLISHMENT AND AVAILABILITY OF FLAME FUND.— (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the Treasury of the United 

States a fund to be known as the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and 

Enhancement Fund. 

(2) CONTENTS.—The Flame Fund shall consist of the following amounts: 

(A) Amounts appropriated to the Flame Fund pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (c). 

(B) Amounts transferred to the Flame Fund pursuant to subsection (d). 

(3) AVAILABILITY.—Subject to subsection (e), amounts in the Flame Fund shall 

be available to the Secretaries to pay the costs of catastrophic emergency 

wildland fire suppression activities that are separate from amounts annually 

appropriated to the Secretaries for the predicted annual workload for wildland 

fire suppression activities, based on analyses of historical workloads and anticipated increased workloads due to changing environmental or demographic conditions. 

(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Flame Fund such funds as may be necessary to carry out this 

section. It is the intent of Congress that the amount appropriated to the Flame 

Fund for fiscal year 2009 and each subsequent fiscal year equal the average 

amount expended by the Secretaries for emergency wildland fire suppression activities over the five fiscal years preceding that fiscal year. 

(2) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—Amounts appropriated to the Flame Fund for 

fiscal year 2009 are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 501 of H. Con. Res. 376 (109th Congress), as made applicable to the House 

of Representatives by section 511(a)(4) of H. Res. 6 (110th Congress), and for 

subsequent fiscal years pursuant to corresponding congressional resolutions authorizing the designation of emergency spending. 

(3) NOTICE OF INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—The Secretaries shall notify the congressional committees specified in subsection (h)(2) whenever only an estimated two 

months worth of funding remains in the Flame Fund. 

(d) TRANSFER OF EXCESS WILDLAND FIRE SUPPRESSION AMOUNTS INTO FLAME

FUND.—At the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary concerned shall transfer to the 

Flame Fund amounts appropriated to the Secretary concerned for wildland fire suppression activities for the fiscal year, but not obligated for wildland fire suppression 

activities before the end of the fiscal year. 

(e) USE OF FLAME FUND.—

(1) DECLARATION REQUIRED.—Amounts in the Flame Fund shall be made 

available to the Secretary concerned only after the Secretaries issue a declaration that a wildland fire suppression activity is eligible for funding through the 

Flame Fund. 

(2) DECLARATION CRITERIA.—A declaration by the Secretaries under paragraph (1) shall be based on the following criteria: 

(A) In the case of an individual wildland fire incident—

(i) the fire covers 300 or more acres; 

(ii) the severity of the fire, which may be based on incident complexity or the potential for increased complexity; and 

(iii) the threat posed by the fire, including the potential for loss of 

lives, property, or critical resources. 

(B) Consistent with subsection (f), in the case of a firefighting season, cumulative wildland fire suppression activities, when the costs of those activiVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:58 Jun 12, 2008 Jkt 069006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6621 E:\HR\OC\HR704P1.XXX HR704P1

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ties for the Secretary concerned are projected to exceed amounts annually 

appropriated. 

(3) TRANSFER OF AMOUNTS TO SECRETARY CONCERNED.—After issuance of a 

declaration under paragraph (1) and upon the request of the Secretary concerned, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Flame Fund to the 

Secretary concerned such amounts as the Secretaries determine are necessary 

for wildland fire suppression activities associated with the declared suppression 

emergency. 

(4) STATE, PRIVATE, AND TRIBAL LAND.—Use of the Flame Fund for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities on State and private 

land and, where applicable, tribal land shall be consistent with existing agreements where the Secretaries have agreed to assume responsibility for wildland 

fire suppression activities on the land. 

(f) TREATMENT OF ANTICIPATED AND PREDICTED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary concerned shall continue to fund anticipated and predicted wildland fire suppression activities within the appropriate agency budget for each fiscal year. Use of the additional funding made available through the Flame Fund is intended to supplement 

the budgeted and appropriated agency funding and is to be used only for purposes 

and in instances consistent with this section. 

(g) PROHIBITION ON OTHER TRANSFERS.—All amounts in the Flame Fund, as well 

as all funds appropriated for the purpose of wildland fire suppression on Federal 

land, must be obligated before the Secretary concerned may transfer funds from 

non-fire accounts for wildland fire suppression. 

(h) ACCOUNTING AND REPORTS.— (1) ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING SYSTEM.—The Secretaries shall establish an 

accounting and reporting system for the Flame Fund compatible with existing 

National Fire Plan reporting procedures. 

(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources, the Committee on Indian Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate an annual report on the use of the funds from the 

Flame Fund, together with any recommendations that the Secretaries may have 

to improve the administrative control and oversight of the Flame Fund. 

(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The annual report required by paragraph (2) shall 

be made available to the public. 

SEC. 3. COHESIVE WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY. 

(a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 

of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report that contains a cohesive wildland fire management strategy, consistent with the recommendations contained in recent Comptroller General 

reports regarding this issue. 

(b) ELEMENTS OF STRATEGY.—The strategy required by subsection (a) shall address the findings of the Comptroller General in the reports referred to in such subsection and include the following elements: 

(1) A system to identify the most cost effective means for allocating fire management budget resources. 

(2) An illustration of plans by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

of Agriculture to reinvest in non-fire programs. 

(3) A description of how the Secretaries will employ appropriate management 

response. 

(4) A system for assessing the level of risk to communities. 

(5) A system to ensure that the highest priority fuels reduction projects are 

being funded first. 

(c) NOTICE OF PRESCRIBED FIRES.—As part of the strategy required by subsection 

(a) for the Forest Service, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that, before any 

prescribed fire is used on National Forest System land, owners of adjacent private 

land are notified in writing of the date and scope of the proposed prescribed fire. 

SEC. 4. REVIEW OF CERTAIN WILDFIRES TO EVALUATE COST CONTAINMENT IN WILDLAND 

FIRE SUPPRESSION ACTIVITIES. 

(a) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a review, using independent panels, of each wildfire incident 

for which the Secretary concerned incurs expenses in excess of $10,000,000. 

(b) REPORT.—The Secretary concerned shall submit to the Committee on Natural 

Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on Appropriations of 

the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

the Committee on Indian Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report containing the results of each review conducted under subsection (a). 


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SEC. 5. REDUCING RISK OF WILDFIRES IN FIRE-READY COMMUNITIES. 

(a) FIRE-READY COMMUNITY DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘fire-ready community’’ means a community that—

(1) is located within a priority area identified pursuant to subsection (b); 

(2) has a cooperative fire agreement that articulates the roles and responsibilities for Federal, State and local government entities in local wildfire suppression and protection; 

(3) has local codes that require fire-resistant home design and building materials; 

(4) has a community wildfire protection plan (as defined in section 101 of the 

Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6502)); and 

(5) is engaged in a successful collaborative process that includes multiple interested persons representing diverse interests and is transparent and nonexclusive, such as a resource advisory committee established under section 205 

of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 

(Public Law 106–393; 16 U.S.C. 500 note). 

(b) FIRE RISK MAPPING.—As soon as is practicable after the date of the enactment 

of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior (in this 

section referred to as the ‘‘Secretaries’’) shall develop regional maps of communities 

most at risk of wildfire and in need of hazardous fuel treatment and maintenance. 

The maps shall identify priority areas for hazardous fuels reduction projects, including—

(1) at-risk communities in fire-prone areas of the wildland-urban interface (as 

defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

6502)); 

(2) watersheds and municipal drinking water sources; 

(3) emergency evacuation corridors; 

(4) electricity transmission corridors; and 

(5) low-capacity or low-income communities. 

(c) LOCAL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING CAPABILITY GRANTS.—

(1) GRANTS AVAILABLE.—The Secretaries may provide cost-share grants to 

fire-ready communities to assist such communities in carrying activities authorized by paragraph (2). 

(2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Grant funds may be used for the following: 

(A) Education programs to raise awareness of homeowners and citizens 

about wildland fire protection practices, including FireWise or similar programs. 

(B) Training programs for local firefighters on wildland firefighting techniques and approaches. 

(C) Equipment acquisition to facilitate wildland fire preparedness. 

(D) Implementation of a community wildfire protection plan. 

(d) WILDLAND FIRE COST-SHARE AGREEMENTS.—In developing any wildland fire 

cost-share agreement with a State Forester or equivalent official, the Secretaries 

shall, to the greatest extent possible, encourage the State and local communities involved to become fire-ready communities. 

(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

to the Secretaries to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 5541 is to provide a supplemental funding 

source for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities on Department of the Interior and National Forest System 

lands, to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

Agriculture to develop a cohesive wildland fire management strategy, and for other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Federal land management agencies are facing escalating costs of 

fighting wildland fire, and these costs are eroding other programs 

and impacting the core mission of these agencies. Over the past 18 

years, the Wildland Fire Management portion of the Forest Service 

Budget has increased from 13 percent to 48 percent. The largest 

component of Wildland Fire Management spending is fire suppression. 


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Current wildland fire suppression budgeting practice for both the 

Department of the Interior and the Forest Service is regulated by 

the 10-year fire suppression average. The 10-year average originated from an agreement between CBO, OMB, and the Committee 

on Budget a decade ago or more. Both the current and previous Administrations have used the 10-year average because it provides a 

method of budgeting for an activity that is largely unpredictable. 

According to the Forest Service, their annual fire suppression costs 

have exceeded $1 billion in five of the past eight years, meaning 

that the 10-year average suppression cost figure continues to increase while the overall budget for the Forest Service has been 

shrinking. 

The skyrocketing cost of fighting fires has forced drastic reductions in other Forest Service accounts, a trend that continues in the 

Fiscal Year 2009 budget request. The most significant cut this year 

was to State and Private Forestry, which this year’s budget request 

cuts by 58%. The FY09 budget request proposes a 13% decrease in 

fire preparedness and a 4% decrease in funding for hazardous fuels 

treatments ($297 million, down from $310 million in the FY 2008 

enacted level). The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 authorized $760 million annually for hazardous fuels treatments on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. Combined with the BLM FY 2009 budget request for hazardous fuels 

reduction of $202.8 million, the total Administration request for 

hazardous fuels reduction on federal lands is $499.8 million, only 

65% of the level authorized by Congress. 

Both the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior have 

had to ‘‘rob Peter to pay Paul’’ by borrowing funds from other agency accounts to cover these escalating costs. According to both agencies, in Fiscal Year 2008, the Forest Service spent $741 million 

more than was budgeted for wildland fire suppression, and the Department of the Interior spent $249 million more than was budgeted for wildland fire suppression. 

In the case of the Forest Service, very large fires threatening 

people and property account for the vast majority of wildland fire 

suppression costs, as 2% of fires account for 80% of total expenditures. 

Current and forecasted climatic conditions and demographic 

trends indicate that wildfire challenges will continue to increase in 

the coming years. While wildland fire is an important and necessary ecological process that renews the productivity of fire-adapted ecosystems, researchers are concerned that the frequency and 

intensity of wildfires is increasing. Also increasing are the impacts 

of wildland fire on people and infrastructure due to changes in the 

rate and location of growth across the West. A May 11, 2007 article 

in USA Today stated that since 2000, roughly 450,000 people—

enough to populate a city the size of Atlanta—moved to rural western areas at most risk from wildfire. The article further stated that 

about 3.5 million people now inhabit these areas, and the population risk in high-fire areas grew 15% faster than the West as a 

whole. This results in significantly higher costs for wildland fire 

suppression activities than are currently reflected in the agency 

budget requests fixed by the 10-year average. 

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found that federal land management agencies lack a cohesive wildland fire manVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:58 Jun 12, 2008 Jkt 069006 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR704P1.XXX HR704P1

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agement strategy identifying the long-term options and funding 

needs for reducing excess vegetation, responding to wildland fire, 

and containing costs. The GAO has requested that the agencies 

complete a cohesive wildland fire management strategy for nearly 

a decade. In May 2006, GAO released a follow-up report (GAO–06– 671R) finding that ‘‘the agencies still have not prepared a tactical 

plan outlining the critical steps and associated time frames for 

completing a cohesive wildland fire management strategy, as we 

recommended.’’ While the Forest Service and the BLM released a document in 

February 2006 entitled ‘‘Protecting People and Natural Resources,’’ the GAO stated that the interagency document ‘‘does not identify 

long-term options and related funding for reducing fuels and responding to wildland fire as we called for.’’ The GAO then stated 

in testimony before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, 

and Public Lands on June 19, 2007, that ‘‘perhaps most 

important[ly], without a clear vision of what they are trying to 

achieve and a systematic approach for achieving it, the agencies— and Congress and the American people—have little assurance that 

their cost-containment efforts will lead to substantial improvement’’. 

In a report entitled Implementation of the Healthy Forests Initiative (report no. 08601–6–AT), the USDA Inspector General also 

found that the Forest Service lacks a system to ensure that the 

highest priority fuels reduction projects are being funded first. The 

IG found that the Forest Service lacked a consistent analytical 

process for assessing the level of risk that communities faced from 

wildland fire and determining if a hazardous fuels project would be 

cost-beneficial. 

H.R. 5541 has received the support of the five former Chiefs of 

the Forest Service, the Western Governors’ Association, the National Association of State Foresters, the National Association of 

Counties, members of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, 

the National Federation of Federal Employees, the Wilderness Society, the National Parks Conservation Association, and nearly 40 

other organizations. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 5541 was introduced on March 6, 2008 by Committee on 

Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D–WV) and is cosponsored on a bipartisan basis by more than 40 members. The bill was 

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the 

Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and 

Public Lands. The bill was also referred to the Committee on the 

Budget and the Committee on Agriculture. On April 10, 2008, the 

Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing on the bill. 

On April 17, 2008, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to 

consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged from further 

consideration of the legislation. Chairman Nick Rahall (D–WV) offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to require that 

annual reports on the FLAME Fund are made available to the public; to require the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to conduct a review of wildland fire incidents that result in expenses 

greater than $10,000,000; to require the Secretaries to notify Congress whenever funding in the FLAME Fund drops to a level estiVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:58 Jun 12, 2008 Jkt 069006 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR704P1.XXX HR704P1

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mated to cover only two months’ worth of expenditures; and to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildland fires to communities. 

Representative Bill Sali (R–ID) offered an amendment to the 

amendment in the nature of a substitute that would amend the 

Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to legislate categorical exclusions from the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The 

Sali amendment was ruled non-germane. 

Representative Henry Brown (R–SC) offered an amendment to 

the amendment in the nature of a substitute that would require 

the Secretary of Agriculture to notify private property owners in 

writing of prescribed fire activities. The Brown amendment was 

adopted by voice vote. 

The amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Chairman Rahall was then adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, 

was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by 

voice vote. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title; table of contents 

Section 1 cites the short title of the bill as the ‘‘Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act’’, and lists a table of 

contents. 

Section 2. FLAME Fund for catastrophic emergency wildland fire 

suppression activities 

Section 2 of the FLAME Act as amended establishes a federal 

FLAME Fund for catastrophic, emergency wildland fire suppression activities. This would include federal lands managed by the 

Bureau of Land Management, units of the National Park System, 

the National Wildlife Refuge System, land held in trust by the 

United States for the benefit of Indian tribes or individual Indians, 

and National Forest System land. 

The FLAME Fund would be separate from the regularly budgeted and appropriated wildland fire suppression funding and is to 

be used only for suppression of catastrophic, emergency wildland 

fires. The federal land management agencies will continue to fund 

anticipated and predicted wildland fire suppression activities within their annual budgets. 

Section 2(c)(2) of H.R. 5541, as amended, specifically provides 

that amounts appropriated to the FLAME Fund annually be designated as emergency spending pursuant to congressional resolutions authorizing the designation of emergency spending. Under 

the bill as amended, monies for the FLAME fund will be appropriated annually by such sums as may be necessary, but it is the 

intent that the appropriations will be based on the average costs 

incurred by the federal land management agencies for emergency 

wildland suppression activities over the preceding five fiscal years. 

Section 2(c)(3) of H.R. 5541, as amended, requires the Secretaries 

to notify Congress any time an estimated two months of funding 

remains in the FLAME Fund. 

Section 2(e) of H.R. 5541 as amended, provides that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior may declare 

catastrophic, emergency wildland fire suppression activities eligible 

for the FLAME fund only by issuing a Suppression Emergency DecVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:58 Jun 12, 2008 Jkt 069006 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR704P1.XXX HR704P1

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laration. The declaration shall evaluate the size, severity, and 

threat of the individual wildland fire incident. The FLAME Fund 

would be available for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities on state and private land where consistent with 

existing agreements by which the agencies have agreed to assume 

responsibility for wildland fire suppression activities on those 

lands. 

Section 3. Cohesive wildland fire management strategy 

Section 3 requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

of Agriculture to submit a report to Congress one year after enactment containing a cohesive wildland fire management strategy. 

Section 3 requires the report to address the GAO and USDA IG 

recommendations by including a system identifying the most costeffective means for allocating fire management resources, a system 

for assessing the level of risk to communities, an illustration of 

plans to re-invest in non-fire programs, a description of use of appropriate management response, and a system ensuring that the 

highest priority fuels reduction projects are being funded first. 

Section 4. Review of certain wildfires to evaluate cost containment 

in wildland fire suppression activities 

Section 4 requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

of Agriculture to conduct a review, using independent panels, of 

each wildfire incident for which the Secretary concerned incurs expenses in excess of $10,000,000 and submit the results of each review to Congress. 

Section 5. Reducing risk of wildlfires in fire-ready communities 

Section 5(a) defines fire-ready communities as communities that 

are located within a priority area identified in subsection (b); have 

cooperative agreements that articulate roles in local wildlfire suppression and protection; have local codes that require fire-resistant 

home design and building materials; have a community wildfire 

protection plan; and are engaged in a successful collaborative process. 

Section 5(b) requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to develop regional maps of communities most 

at risk of wildfire and in need of hazardous fuel treatment and 

maintenance. 

Section 5(c) authorizes the Secretaries to provide cost-share 

grants to fire-ready communities for education programs to raise 

awareness of homeowners and citizens about wildland fire protection practices; training programs for local firefighters on wildland 

firefighting techniques; equipment acquisition to facilitate wildland 

fire preparedness; and implementation of a community wildfire protection plan. 

Section 5(d) states that in developing any wildland fire cost-share 

agreement with a State Forester or equivalent official, the Secretaries shall, to the greatest extent possible, encourage the State 

and local communities involved to become fire-ready communities. 

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 


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Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States 

grants 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. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to provide a supplemental funding source for catastrophic emergency wildland fire suppression activities on Department of the Interior and National Forest System lands, to require 

the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a cohesive wildland fire management strategy, and for other 

purposes. 

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: 

H.R. 5541—Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act (FLAME Act) 

Summary: H.R. 5541 would establish the Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement Fund (Flame Fund) to finance some fire suppression activities managed by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The bill also 

would authorize those agencies to provide grants to certain communities to improve local fire fighting capabilities. Lastly, the bill 

would require the agencies to submit several new reports to the 

Congress regarding the incidence and management of wildland 

fires. 

CBO expects that creating the Flame Fund and authorizing appropriations to that fund for fire suppression would have no effect 

on the federal budget because agencies already receive appropriations under existing authorities and have permanent authority to 

transfer funds from other accounts to cover fire suppression costs. 

Implementing this legislation might change the timing of appropriations for fire suppression but not the total cost of that activity. 

CBO estimates that carrying out other provisions of the bill, including new reporting requirements and grant programs, would 


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cost $100 million over the 2009–2013 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Enacting the legislation would not 

affect revenues or direct spending. 

H.R. 5541 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 5541 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources 

and environment). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Spending for Grants and Reports: 

Estimated Authorization Level ......................................... 20 20 20 20 20 

Estimated Outlays ............................................................ 12 18 20 25 25 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be enacted near the beginning of fiscal year 2009 and 

that necessary amounts will be appropriated near the start of each 

fiscal year. Estimated outlays are based on historical spending patterns for similar activities. 

Flame Fund 

H.R. 5541 would establish the Flame Fund and authorize appropriations to the fund equaling the average amount obligated for fire 

suppression over the five preceding years. Those amounts would be 

in addition to annual appropriations made under existing authorities to cover the ‘‘predicted annual workload for wildland fire suppression activities.’’ Agencies could continue to transfer funds from 

other accounts to cover those costs, if necessary, after all funds specifically appropriated for suppression have been obligated. 

Under current law, annual appropriations for fire suppression 

are typically equal to the rolling average of annual obligations for 

those activities over the previous 10 years. When the 10-year average is not sufficient to cover those costs, the agencies are authorized to transfer funds from any other accounts to pay suppression 

costs. In many years, the 10-year average has not been sufficient 

to cover actual costs, requiring agencies to use transfer authority. 

When agencies transfer funds form other accounts, they are required to reimburse those accounts when additional appropriations 

become available. Supplemental appropriations also may be provided. 

CBO expects that the appropriation of additional funds authorized by the legislation, could result in fewer transfers from other 

program accounts to pay for suppression, but establishing the 

Flame Fund would not change the total amount spent on suppression. Although the timing of appropriations for suppression could 

change (if fewer supplemental appropriations would be required), 

this bill would not modify the total cost of suppression activities. 

Grants and reporting requirements 

H.R. 5541 would authorize the Secretaries to provide grants to 

communities in fire-prone areas near wildlands to help them enVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:58 Jun 12, 2008 Jkt 069006 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR704P1.XXX HR704P1

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hance their fire fighting capability. The grants could be used to develop education programs and to purchase equipment. The bill also 

would require the Secretaries to submit reports to the Congress detailing how they use amounts available in the Flame Fund and the 

strategies they use for managing and paying for wildland fire activities. 

Based on information from the Forest Service and BLM and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates 

that implementing those provisions would cost about $100 million 

over the 2009–2013 period. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 5541 contains 

no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in 

UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. Assuming appropriation of estimated amounts, local communities would receive $100 million over the 2009–2013 period for 

training and activities related to firefighting. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Tyler Kruzich and Deborah 

Reis; Impact on state local, and tribal governments: Melissa 

Merrell; Impact on the private-sector: Amy Petz. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

H.R. 5541 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e) 

or 9(f) of rule XXI. 

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 no changes in existing law. 


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ADDITIONAL VIEWS 

We welcome efforts to address the growing problem of finding 

funds to pay for the suppression of wildfires on public lands. H.R. 

5541 establishes a fund (Federal Land Assistance, Management, 

and Enhancement Fund or FLAME) for use when certain criteria 

are met and the cumulative suppression costs for the season exceed 

the annual appropriations. However, the enormous cost of suppressing wildfires is a symptom, not the cause of the problem and 

we strongly urge the expansion of H.R. 5541 to apply the lessons 

of history and the insights provided by science to improve the management of our forest and rangelands to ensure that they are 

healthy, biologically diverse, productive and present a reduced 

threat to the safety of forest communities. By limiting this debate 

to changes in accounts and funding mechanisms for wildfire suppression we are missing a crucial opportunity. We should couple 

this with meaningful reform in our forest management practices. 

The one thing repeated by every witness on the panels at the hearing on this bill, from both Republicans and Democrats, was the 

critical need to reduce hazardous fuels on our public lands. That 

is ultimately the only way we can truly ease the budgetary burdens 

of wildfires. Anything short of that just shifts the wildfire funding 

problem to future Congresses. 

In addressing the magnitude of the fires we are facing and the 

ongoing increase in fire suppression costs, more must be done than 

just adjusting funding sources. History has shown, as the witnesses 

testified last week that we will continue to have larger and larger 

fires, until we reduce fuel-loading. This means communities in the 

western United States will see homes burned, watersheds damaged 

and even lives lost unless we do what we can to protect them and 

pre-empt devastating fires—the kind of pre-emption pointed to by 

Governor Napolitano that protected so many people and homes in 

the 2006 Woody Fire near Flagstaff. 

During the hearing on H.R. 5541, Governor Napolitano highlighted the close relationship between pre-fire management and the 

costs of fire-fighting itself. As the Governor testified, the 2006 

Woody Fire near Flagstaff, Arizona, was halted before it reached 

100 acres because of the hazardous fuels treatments that had been 

done in that area. According to Governor Napolitano, those treatments dramatically minimized the fire’s devastation. 

Similarly, our colleague Norm Dicks testified last week about the 

large fuel loads that continue to accumulate. He pointed out that 

today we are seeing much longer fire seasons because of climate 

change. Congressman Dicks further commented that larger fires 

have resulted from the increasing tree density and fuel loads. 

These large fires then release enormous amounts of carbon into the 

atmosphere, further compounding the influence of climate change 

to the overall problem. 


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We must provide a broad range of tools, including those that 

allow hazardous fuels to be reduced thereby protecting communities, homes, and potentially the lives of homeowners near and in 

federally-managed lands. 

Across the west, many communities have put the time and energy into developing Community Wildlife Protection Plans, but implementation of many of these plans has been significantly delayed, 

in large part, because of the NEPA process. These CWPPs, as my 

colleagues know, are cooperative plans, requiring community collaboration and input in the formation of the plan. By delaying 

treatment for the safety of communities, we permit those communities to be threatened by large fires. With this bill we should be 

not only providing an additional funding mechanism for wildfire 

suppression, but we should also be providing the tools necessary for 

timely treatments to protect these communities from the large and 

devastating fires and preserve our pristine national forests. 

During the Poe Cabin fire in Idaho, in one area the fire moved 

some three miles in a mere 20 minutes, burning as hot as 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. In that area, several homes that had defensible 

space around them due to fuel reductions on private land survived 

the fire. One homeowner was able to get his wife out while he himself stayed just a bit longer to finish loading his truck. However, 

because of the fast moving and intense fire, combined with the 

heavy fuel-loading on federal ground, he became trapped by the fire 

and was unable to leave. While this could have quickly become a 

tragic story, this man lived and his house survived, thanks to fuelreduction that had been done on private land around his home. 

In today’s climate, we cannot address funding for suppressing 

these large wildfires without addressing a primary cause as well— the increasing and unchecked fuel loads in our national forests that 

surround or are adjacent to homes and communities. H.R. 5541 

only addresses one aspect of the problem—the suppression funding 

side—without providing real relief and dealing with the underlying 

problem to help prevent wildfires, or at least prevent the spread of 

the large and devastating fires. 

DON YOUNG. 

ROB BISHOP. 

ROBERT J. WITTMAN. 

STEVAN PEARCE. 

BILL SALI. 

CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS. 

ADRIAN SMITH. 

Æ 


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