Title: Stewardship End Result Contracting Improvement Act of 2017
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Stewardship End Result Contracting Improvement Act of 2017
This bill amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to authorize the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to obligate funds to cover any potential cancellation or termination costs (cancellation ceiling) in stages that are economically or programmatically viable with respect to an agreement or contract for a stewardship end result contracting project. The Forest Service and BLM shall submit written notice to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget 30 days before entering into a multiyear agreement or contract that includes a cancellation ceiling exceeding $25 million if proposed funding for the costs of cancelling the agreement or contract up to the ceiling is not included.
If the offset value of the forest products to be removed exceeds the value of the resource improvement treatments, the Forest Service and BLM may: (1) use the excess to satisfy any outstanding liabilities for cancelled agreements or contracts; or (2) if there are no such outstanding liabilities, apply the excess to other authorized stewardship projects.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 485 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 485

    To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to provide 
cancellation ceilings for stewardship end result contracting projects, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 1, 2017

Mr. Flake (for himself, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. McCain, Mr. Risch, Mr. Crapo, 
Mr. Gardner, Mr. Heller, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Daines, Mr. Tester, and Mr. 
    Bennet) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to provide 
cancellation ceilings for stewardship end result contracting projects, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stewardship End Result Contracting 
Improvement Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING PROJECTS.

    (a) Cancellation Ceilings.--Section 604(d) of the Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(d)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and (7) as 
        paragraphs (6), (7), and (8), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
            ``(5) Cancellation ceilings.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Chief and the Director may 
                obligate funds to cover any potential cancellation or 
                termination costs for an agreement or contract under 
                subsection (b) in stages that are economically or 
                programmatically viable.
                    ``(B) Notice.--
                            ``(i) Submission to congress.--Not later 
                        than 30 days before entering into a multiyear 
                        agreement or contract under subsection (b) that 
                        includes a cancellation ceiling in excess of 
                        $25,000,000, but does not include proposed 
                        funding for the costs of cancelling the 
                        agreement or contract up to the cancellation 
                        ceiling established in the agreement or 
                        contract, the Chief and the Director shall 
                        submit to the Committees on Energy and Natural 
                        Resources and Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                        Forestry of the Senate and the Committees on 
                        Natural Resources and Agriculture of the House 
                        of Representatives a written notice that 
                        includes--
                                    ``(I)(aa) the cancellation ceiling 
                                amounts proposed for each program year 
                                in the agreement or contract; and
                                    ``(bb) the reasons for the 
                                cancellation ceiling amounts proposed 
                                under item (aa);
                                    ``(II) the extent to which the 
                                costs of contract cancellation are not 
                                included in the budget for the 
                                agreement or contract; and
                                    ``(III) a financial risk assessment 
                                of not including budgeting for the 
                                costs of agreement or contract 
                                cancellation.
                            ``(ii) Transmittal to omb.--At least 14 
                        days before the date on which the Chief and 
                        Director enter into an agreement or contract 
                        under subsection (b), the Chief and Director 
                        shall transmit to the Director of the Office of 
                        Management and Budget a copy of the written 
                        notice submitted under clause (i).''; and
            (3) in paragraph (6) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)), by 
        striking ``, the Chief may'' and inserting ``and section 
        2(a)(1) of the Act of July 31, 1947 (commonly known as the 
        `Materials Act of 1947') (30 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)), the Chief and 
        the Director may''.
    (b) Excess Offset Value.--Section 604(g)(2) of the Healthy Forests 
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(g)(2)) is amended by striking 
subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) use the excess to satisfy any outstanding 
                liabilities for cancelled agreements or contracts; or
                    ``(B) if there are no outstanding liabilities under 
                subparagraph (A), apply the excess to other authorized 
                stewardship projects.''.
    (c) Reporting.--Section 604(i) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 
Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(i)) is amended by striking ``Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on 
Agriculture of the House of Representatives'' and inserting 
``Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committees on Natural 
Resources and Agriculture of the House of Representatives''.
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