National Forest Wild Areas Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
National Forest Wild Areas Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to study and submit to the President areas recommended for inclusion in the wild area system which meet the requirements of this Act. Provides that the President shall advise the United States Senate and the House of Representatives of his recommendations with respect to the designation as a wild area of each area submitted. Provides that each recommendation of the President for such designation shall become effective only if so provided by an Act of Congress. Directs the Secretary to administer units of the wild area system in accord with the following provisions: (1) primitive, natural, and wild conditions will be restored, maintained and protected to provide for public use and enjoyment for recreation, scientific, and educational purposes in a natural setting free from the activities and highly developed works of man, wherein natural attractions prevail in an atmosphere of spacious solitude; (2) public use shall be permitted consistent with the ability of the area to support such use and retain its primitive, natural, and wild chareacteristics; (3) subject to existing private rights, the use of motorized equipment or aircraft shall be limited to the minimum necessary to meet administrative requirements of the Act, including measures required in emergencies involving the health and safety of persons using the area, and the control of fire, insects, and diseases, subject to such conditions as the Secretary deems desirable; and (4) timber harvesting shall not be permitted. Establishes the Sipsey Wild Area within the Bankhead National Forest, State of Alabama.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 12, 1973. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 12, 1973: Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JACK EDWARDS (R-AL) introduced it on April 12, 1973. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 12, 1973, 19509 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19509 days ago, on April 12, 1973.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers