IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 279 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that allocating the 
appropriate resources to wildland fire management is needed to protect 
the environment, the economy, and the people of the United States, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 26, 2013 
Mr. TIPTON (for himself, Mr. PEARCE, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. COFFMAN, Mr. 
LAMBORN, and Mr. GARDNER) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the 
Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
allocating the appropriate resources to wildland fire man-
agement is needed to protect the environment, the econ-
omy, and the people of the United States, and for other 
purposes. 
Whereas the thoughts and prayers of the Members of the 
House of Representatives go out to individuals and fami-
lies who have lost loved ones and homes to wildfire; 
Whereas the Members of the House of Representatives ex-
press the utmost gratitude to wildland fire firefighters 
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•HRES 279 IH 
and first responders who bravely protect life and prop-
erty; 
Whereas nearly 10 million acres of land burned in the United 
States in 2012; 
Whereas the acreage burned by wildfires has steadily in-
creased over the past decade; 
Whereas the most destructive fire in the history of the State 
of Colorado and the largest fire in the history of the 
State of New Mexico destroyed hundreds of homes and 
hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat in 
2012; 
Whereas Federal forest and land management officials con-
tinue to request fewer funds to fight wildfires; 
Whereas the funding available for wildland fire suppression 
in the Wildland Fire Management Account of the Forest 
Service was cut by $461 million from fiscal year 2011 to 
fiscal year 2013; 
Whereas the Wildland Fire Hazardous Fuels Reduction Ac-
count of the Forest Service was cut by $22 million from 
fiscal year 2011 to fiscal year 2013 and the latest budget 
request asks for another $116 million decrease; 
Whereas the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program, a 
program that benefits local economies and improves the 
overall health of the landscape, has taken a 20 percent 
cut in funding over the past 2 years; 
Whereas senior Forest Service officials have described a Fed-
eral land management system hamstrung by ‘‘analysis 
paralysis’’; 
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•HRES 279 IH 
Whereas decades of Federal mismanagement have increased 
fuel loads on Federal forest land and led to increased risk 
of catastrophic wildfire; 
Whereas the Forest Service has replaced responsible, environ-
mentally sound timber thinning with allowing fires to 
burn through overcrowded forests; 
Whereas the bark beetle epidemic has destroyed 40 million 
acres of forest in North America; and 
Whereas academic studies indicate that bark-beetle-infected 
trees can still be salvaged for timber to be used in mills 
and contribute to small businesses and local economies: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) allocating the appropriate resources to 
wildland fire management is needed to protect the 
environment, the economy, and the people of the 
United States; 
(2) the bravery of the men and women who risk 
their lives to extinguish these conflagrations should 
never be questioned; 
(3) a healthy forest policy must include pre-
scribed thinning; 
(4) funding to fight and prevent wildfires is es-
sential to public safety, environmental protection, 
and economic growth; 
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•HRES 279 IH 
(5) people who live in or near national forests 
in the United States have a right to expect the 
greatest possible protection for their homes and 
property; 
(6) the Government should not continue to ac-
quire more land when hundreds of millions of acres 
already controlled by the Government are mis-
managed; and 
(7) the Forest Service should proactively man-
age Federal forest lands in a manner that— 
(A) protects life and property; 
(B) prevents catastrophic wildfire; 
(C) promotes forest and watershed health; 
and 
(D) creates jobs and economic development 
in the forest products industry. 
Æ 
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