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) intro-
duced 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 consider-
ation 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildfire Resilient 
Communities Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FUNDING FOR HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION 
PROJECTS ON CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:22 Dec 07, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6525.IH
H6525
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(1) AGENCY HEAD.—The term ‘‘agency head’’ 
means— 
(A) the Director of the National Park 
Service; 
(B) the Chief of the Forest Service; 
(C) the Director of the Bureau of Land 
Management; 
(D) the Director of the United States Fish 
and Wildlife Service; and 
(E) the Director of the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs. 
(2) AT-RISK COMMUNITY; FIRE REGIME I; FIRE 
REGIME II; FIRE REGIME III.—The terms ‘‘at-risk 
community’’, ‘‘fire regime I’’, ‘‘fire regime II’’, and 
‘‘fire regime III’’ have the meanings given those 
terms in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res-
toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 
(3) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 
means Federal land under the jurisdiction of the ap-
plicable agency head. 
(4) 
HAZARDOUS
FUELS
REDUCTION 
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘hazardous fuels reduction 
project’’ means the removal or modification of flam-
mable vegetation or woody debris through prescribed 
fire, thinning, brush removal, mastication, pruning, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:22 Dec 07, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6525.IH
H6525
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
slash treatment, or a combination of those methods, 
on the condition that the method is ecologically ap-
propriate, cost-effective, and selected on a site-spe-
cific basis. 
(b) HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION PROJECTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The agency heads shall 
carry out hazardous fuels reduction projects on cov-
ered land. 
(2) PROJECT
PRIORITIES.—In carrying out 
paragraph (1), the agency heads shall prioritize haz-
ardous fuels reduction projects that are— 
(A) conducted in areas that— 
(i) are within or adjacent to— 
(I) at-risk communities; or 
(II) high-value watersheds; 
(ii) have very high wildfire hazard po-
tential; or 
(iii) are in fire regime I, fire regime 
II, or fire regime III; or 
(B) designed to integrate and simulta-
neously advance 2 or more of the goals estab-
lished in the report of the Secretary of Agri-
culture and the Secretary of the Interior enti-
tled ‘‘The National Strategy: the Final Phase of 
the Development of the National Cohesive 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:22 Dec 07, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6525.IH
H6525
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(3) ADMINISTRATIVE AND PLANNING COSTS.— 
Not more than 10 percent of funding made available 
under paragraph (1) may be used for administrative 
and planning costs. 
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS FOR COMMUNITY WILDFIRE 
DEFENSE GRANT PROGRAM. 
In addition to amounts made available to the Sec-
retary of Agriculture under section 40803(c)(12) of the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 
6592(c)(12)), there is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary of Agriculture to carry out section 40803(f) of 
the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 
6592(f)) $3,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 
2027 through 2031. 
SEC. 4. COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORA-
TION PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION. 
Section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Manage-
ment Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(3)— 
(A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘spe-
cies;’’ and inserting ‘‘species or pathogens;’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (G), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(C) in subparagraph (H), by adding ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon at the end; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:22 Dec 07, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6525.IH
H6525
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(I) address standardized monitoring ques-
tions and indicators;’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)(3)(A)— 
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(B) in clause (ii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iii) include a Federal Government 
staffing plan for providing support to col-
laborative processes established pursuant 
to subsection (b)(2);’’; 
(3) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting a semi-
colon; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(G) whether the proposal seeks to use in-
novative implementation mechanisms, including 
conservation finance agreements, good neighbor 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:22 Dec 07, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6525.IH
H6525
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
agreements entered into under section 8206 of 
the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 
2113a), and similar implementation mecha-
nisms; 
‘‘(H) whether the proposal seeks to reduce 
the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire or increase 
ecological restoration activities— 
‘‘(i) within areas across land owner-
ships, including State, Tribal, and private 
land; and 
‘‘(ii) within the wildland-urban inter-
face; and 
‘‘(I) whether the proposal seeks to enhance 
watershed health and drinking water sources.’’; 
and 
(B) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘10’’ and inserting ‘‘20’’; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘2’’ and inserting ‘‘4’’; 
(4) in subsection (e)(3), by inserting ‘‘conflict 
resolution or collaborative governance,’’ before ‘‘and 
woody’’; and 
(5) 
in 
subsection 
(f)(6), 
by 
striking 
‘‘$80,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:22 Dec 07, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6525.IH
H6525
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000 for fiscal year 
2024 and each fiscal year thereafter’’. 
SEC. 5. COUNTY STEWARDSHIP FUND. 
Section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 
of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub-
section (k); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(j) COUNTY STEWARDSHIP FUND.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 
Treasury of the United States a fund to be known 
as the ‘County Stewardship Fund’ (referred to in 
this section as the ‘Fund’), to be administered by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—Each fiscal year, an amount 
equal to 25 percent of the amounts collected as re-
ceipts under subsection (e) during the preceding fis-
cal year shall be deposited in the Fund. 
‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Fund 
shall— 
‘‘(A) be used only for purposes described 
in paragraph (4); and 
‘‘(B) remain available until expended. 
‘‘(4) PURPOSES.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:22 Dec 07, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6525.IH
H6525
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, the 
Chief or the Director, as applicable, shall dis-
tribute from amounts in the Fund to each 
county in which a contract under subsection (b) 
was carried out on Federal land in the county 
during the preceding fiscal year a payment of 
an amount equal to 25 percent of the receipts 
generated from that contract. 
‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—A county receiving 
a payment under subparagraph (A) may use 
the payment for any governmental purposes.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:22 Dec 07, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H6525.IH
H6525
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB