I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6525 

To provide mandatory funding for hazardous fuels reduction projects on 

certain Federal land, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 30, 2023 

Ms. HOYLE of Oregon (for herself, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. HARDER of California, 

Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. SALINAS, Mr. SCHIFF, and Ms. STANSBURY) 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 provide mandatory funding for hazardous fuels reduction 

projects on certain Federal land, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Wildfire Resilient 

5 Communities Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FUNDING FOR HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION 

7 PROJECTS ON CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘agency head’’ 

2 means— 

3 (A) the Director of the National Park 

4 Service; 

5 (B) the Chief of the Forest Service; 

6 (C) the Director of the Bureau of Land 

7 Management; 

8 (D) the Director of the United States Fish 

9 and Wildlife Service; and 

10 (E) the Director of the Bureau of Indian 

11 Affairs. 

12 (2) AT-RISK COMMUNITY; FIRE REGIME I; FIRE

13 REGIME II; FIRE REGIME III.—The terms ‘‘at-risk 

14 community’’, ‘‘fire regime I’’, ‘‘fire regime II’’, and 

15 ‘‘fire regime III’’ have the meanings given those 

16 terms in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res17 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 

18 (3) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 

19 means Federal land under the jurisdiction of the ap20 plicable agency head. 

21 (4) HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION

22 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘hazardous fuels reduction 

23 project’’ means the removal or modification of flam24 mable vegetation or woody debris through prescribed 

25 fire, thinning, brush removal, mastication, pruning, 


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1 slash treatment, or a combination of those methods, 

2 on the condition that the method is ecologically ap3 propriate, cost-effective, and selected on a site-spe4 cific basis. 

5 (b) HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION PROJECTS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The agency heads shall 

7 carry out hazardous fuels reduction projects on cov8 ered land. 

9 (2) PROJECT PRIORITIES.—In carrying out 

10 paragraph (1), the agency heads shall prioritize haz11 ardous fuels reduction projects that are— 

12 (A) conducted in areas that— 

13 (i) are within or adjacent to— 

14 (I) at-risk communities; or 

15 (II) high-value watersheds; 

16 (ii) have very high wildfire hazard po17 tential; or 

18 (iii) are in fire regime I, fire regime 

19 II, or fire regime III; or 

20 (B) designed to integrate and simulta21 neously advance 2 or more of the goals estab22 lished in the report of the Secretary of Agri23 culture and the Secretary of the Interior enti24 tled ‘‘The National Strategy: the Final Phase of 

25 the Development of the National Cohesive 


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1 Wildland Fire Management Strategy’’ and 

2 dated April 2014 and the update entitled ‘‘Na3 tional Cohesive Wildland Fire Management 

4 Strategy Addendum Update’’ and dated Janu5 ary 2023— 

6 (i) to create fire-adapted communities; 

7 (ii) to restore and maintain resilient 

8 landscapes; and 

9 (iii) to achieve safe, effective fire re10 sponse. 

11 (c) FUNDING.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the first October 1 fol13 lowing the date of enactment of this Act, out of any 

14 funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

15 the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the 

16 agency heads, in accordance with an allocation for17 mula established by the Secretary of the Treasury, 

18 $30,000,000,000, to remain available until ex19 pended. 

20 (2) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The agency 

21 heads shall be entitled to receive, shall accept, and 

22 shall use to carry out this section the funds trans23 ferred under paragraph (1), without further appro24 priation. 


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1 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE AND PLANNING COSTS.— 

2 Not more than 10 percent of funding made available 

3 under paragraph (1) may be used for administrative 

4 and planning costs. 

5 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS FOR COMMUNITY WILDFIRE 

6 DEFENSE GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 In addition to amounts made available to the Sec8 retary of Agriculture under section 40803(c)(12) of the 

9 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 

10 6592(c)(12)), there is authorized to be appropriated to the 

11 Secretary of Agriculture to carry out section 40803(f) of 

12 the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 6592(f)) $3,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 

14 2027 through 2031. 

15 SEC. 4. COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORA16 TION PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION. 

17 Section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Manage18 ment Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b)(3)— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘spe21 cies;’’ and inserting ‘‘species or pathogens;’’; 

22 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

23 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

24 (C) in subparagraph (H), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

25 after the semicolon at the end; and 


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1 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(I) address standardized monitoring ques3 tions and indicators;’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (c)(3)(A)— 

5 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (B) in clause (ii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

8 end; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(iii) include a Federal Government 

11 staffing plan for providing support to col12 laborative processes established pursuant 

13 to subsection (b)(2);’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (d)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

17 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

19 the period at the end and inserting a semi20 colon; and 

21 (iii) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(G) whether the proposal seeks to use in24 novative implementation mechanisms, including 

25 conservation finance agreements, good neighbor 


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1 agreements entered into under section 8206 of 

2 the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 

3 2113a), and similar implementation mecha4 nisms; 

5 ‘‘(H) whether the proposal seeks to reduce 

6 the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire or increase 

7 ecological restoration activities— 

8 ‘‘(i) within areas across land owner9 ships, including State, Tribal, and private 

10 land; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) within the wildland-urban inter12 face; and 

13 ‘‘(I) whether the proposal seeks to enhance 

14 watershed health and drinking water sources.’’; 

15 and 

16 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

18 ‘‘10’’ and inserting ‘‘20’’; and 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

20 ‘‘2’’ and inserting ‘‘4’’; 

21 (4) in subsection (e)(3), by inserting ‘‘conflict 

22 resolution or collaborative governance,’’ before ‘‘and 

23 woody’’; and 

24 (5) in subsection (f)(6), by striking 

25 ‘‘$80,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 


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1 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000 for fiscal year 

2 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter’’. 

3 SEC. 5. COUNTY STEWARDSHIP FUND. 

4 Section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

5 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub7 section (k); and 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(j) COUNTY STEWARDSHIP FUND.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

12 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known 

13 as the ‘County Stewardship Fund’ (referred to in 

14 this section as the ‘Fund’), to be administered by 

15 the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—Each fiscal year, an amount 

17 equal to 25 percent of the amounts collected as re18 ceipts under subsection (e) during the preceding fis19 cal year shall be deposited in the Fund. 

20 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Fund 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) be used only for purposes described 

23 in paragraph (4); and 

24 ‘‘(B) remain available until expended. 

25 ‘‘(4) PURPOSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, the 

2 Chief or the Director, as applicable, shall dis3 tribute from amounts in the Fund to each 

4 county in which a contract under subsection (b) 

5 was carried out on Federal land in the county 

6 during the preceding fiscal year a payment of 

7 an amount equal to 25 percent of the receipts 

8 generated from that contract. 

9 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—A county receiving 

10 a payment under subparagraph (A) may use 

11 the payment for any governmental purposes.’’. 

Æ 


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