IIB 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 204 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JANUARY 22, 2025 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
To require that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec-
retary of the Interior submit accurate reports regarding 
hazardous fuels reduction activities, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accurately Counting 
Risk Elimination Solutions Act’’ or the ‘‘ACRES Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ACCURATE HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION RE-
PORTS. 
(a) INCLUSION OF HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION 
REPORT IN MATERIALS SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF THE 
PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the first fis-
cal year that begins after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Sec-
retary concerned shall include in the materials sub-
mitted in support of the President’s budget pursuant 
to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a re-
port on the number of acres of Federal land on 
which the Secretary concerned carried out hazardous 
fuels reduction activities during the preceding fiscal 
year. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of the re-
port required under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
concerned shall— 
(A) in determining the number of acres of 
Federal land on which the Secretary concerned 
carried out hazardous fuels reduction activities 
during the period covered by the report— 
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(i) record acres of Federal land on 
which hazardous fuels reduction activities 
were completed during such period; and 
(ii) record each acre described in 
clause (i) once in the report, regardless of 
whether multiple hazardous fuels reduction 
activities were carried out on such acre 
during such period; and 
(B) with respect to the acres of Federal 
land recorded in the report, include information 
on— 
(i) which such acres are located in the 
wildland-urban interface; 
(ii) the level of wildfire risk (high, 
moderate, or low) on the first and last day 
of the period covered by the report; 
(iii) the types of hazardous fuels ac-
tivities completed for such acres, delin-
eating between whether such activities 
were conducted— 
(I) in a wildfire managed for re-
source benefits; or 
(II) through a planned project; 
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(iv) the cost per acre of hazardous 
fuels activities carried out during the pe-
riod covered by the report; 
(v) the region or system unit in which 
the acres are located; and 
(vi) the effectiveness of the hazardous 
fuels reduction activities on reducing the 
risk of wildfire. 
(3) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary concerned 
shall make each report submitted under paragraph 
(1) publicly available on the website of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture and the Department of the Inte-
rior, as applicable. 
(b) ACCURATE DATA COLLECTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
concerned shall implement standardized procedures 
for tracking data related to hazardous fuels reduc-
tion activities carried out by the Secretary con-
cerned. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The standardized procedures 
required under paragraph (1) shall include— 
(A) regular, standardized data reviews of 
the accuracy and timely input of data used to 
track hazardous fuels reduction activities; 
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(B) verification methods that validate 
whether such data accurately correlates to the 
hazardous fuels reduction activities carried out 
by the Secretary concerned; 
(C) an analysis of the short- and long-term 
effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction 
activities on reducing the risk of wildfire; and 
(D) for hazardous fuels reduction activities 
that occur partially within the wildland-urban 
interface, methods to distinguish which acres 
are located within the wildland-urban interface 
and which acres are located outside the 
wildland-urban interface. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 weeks after im-
plementing the standardized procedures required 
under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall 
submit to Congress a report that describes— 
(A) such standardized procedures; and 
(B) program and policy recommendations 
to Congress to address any limitations in track-
ing data related to hazardous fuels reduction 
activities under this subsection. 
(c) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall— 
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(1) conduct a study on the implementation of 
this Act, including any limitations with respect to— 
(A) reporting hazardous fuels reduction ac-
tivities under subsection (a); or 
(B) tracking data related to hazardous 
fuels reduction activities under subsection (b); 
and 
(2) submit to Congress a report that describes 
the results of the study under paragraph (1). 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) HAZARDOUS
FUELS
REDUCTION
ACTIV-
ITY.—The term ‘‘hazardous fuels reduction activ-
ity’’— 
(A) means any vegetation management ac-
tivity to reduce the risk of wildfire, including 
mechanical treatments and prescribed burning; 
and 
(B) does not include the awarding of con-
tracts to conduct hazardous fuels reduction ac-
tivities. 
(2) FEDERAL
LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 
lands’’ means lands under the jurisdiction of the 
Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri-
culture. 
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(3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec-
retary concerned’’ means— 
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re-
spect to National Forest System lands; and 
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re-
spect to public lands and units of the National 
Park System. 
(4) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 
‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res-
toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 
(e) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No addi-
tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 
of this Act, and the activities authorized by this Act are 
subject to the availability of appropriations made in ad-
vance for such purposes. 
Passed the House of Representatives January 21, 
2025. 
Attest: 
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 
Clerk. 
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