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[House Report 111-394]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     111-394

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

 
                       BLM CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT

                                _______
                                

January 12, 2010.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3759]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 3759) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior 
to grant economy-related contract extensions of certain timber 
contracts between the Secretary of the Interior and timber 
purchasers, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that 
the bill as amended do pass.
  Amend the title so as to read:

    A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to grant 
economy related contract extensions of certain timber contracts 
between the Secretary of the Interior and timber purchasers, 
and for other purposes.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 3759 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to grant economy-related contract extensions of 
certain timber contracts between the Secretary of the Interior 
and timber purchasers.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Nation's recent economic downturn has dramatically 
impacted the forest products industry, especially those 
companies reliant on wood from federal lands. At the peak of 
the housing market in June 2006, housing starts reached more 
than 2.2 million; that compares to fewer than 500,000 housing 
starts in January 2009. The timber industry has been directly 
affected by the fall of the housing market and the continued 
uncertainty about its recovery.
    Currently, the U.S. Forest Service has several options for 
helping timber companies adjust economically unviable timber 
contracts, but the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) does not 
have the same authorities. As a result, there are many timber 
companies which negotiated contracts three years ago with the 
BLM but can no longer afford to remove the timber based on the 
current contract terms.
    In an attempt to help rural economies and struggling timber 
companies, H.R. 3759 would allow the Secretary of the Interior 
to add three years to the current contract expiration date. 
This would give companies the opportunity to wait for a better 
economic climate in which to remove timber from BLM lands, 
rather than mutually agreeing with the BLM to cancel their 
current contracts.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3759 was introduced on October 8, 2009 by 
Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR). The bill was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to 
the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. 
On November 5, 2009, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the 
bill, at which a representative of the Department of the 
Interior testified that the Administration supports the goal of 
the legislation.
    On November 18, 2009, the Subcommittee was discharged from 
further consideration of H.R. 3759 and the full Natural 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Subcommittee 
Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) offered a long title amendment to 
correct an error in the long title. The amendment was agreed to 
by unanimous consent. H.R. 3759, as amended, was then favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

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

                   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. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to authorize 
the Secretary of the Interior to grant economy-related contract 
extensions of certain timber contracts between the Secretary of 
the Interior and timber purchasers, 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. 3759--BLM Contract Extension Act

    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3759 would not 
significantly affect the federal budget. Enacting the bill 
would have a negligible impact on direct spending and would not 
affect revenues. H.R. 3759 contains no intergovernmental or 
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    H.R. 3759 would permit the Secretary of the Interior to 
extend, by up to three years, the expiration date of certain 
timber contracts. Under such contracts, timber purchasers 
harvest federally owned timber, generating offsetting receipts 
(a credit against direct spending) to the federal government. 
Based on information from the Bureau of Land Management, CBO 
estimates that extending those contracts would not 
significantly affect total receipts from timber harvests over 
the next 10 years. The amount of timber harvested from federal 
lands is largely driven by market conditions. Enacting H.R. 
3759 could result in additional receipts from timber contracts 
that are extended under the bill, but we expect that those 
increases largely would be offset by forgone receipts from 
harvesting activity that would otherwise occur under other 
contracts.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis 
and Megan Carroll. This estimate was 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. 3759 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 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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