America's Healthy Forest Restoration and Research Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
America's Healthy Forests Restoration and Research Act of 2003 - Permits the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System lands, and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, to plan and conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects (fuels projects) on specified types of Federal lands.
Directs the Secretary concerned to give priority to fuels projects that provide for the protection of communities and watersheds.
Requires the Secretary concerned to plan and conduct fuels projects in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and other applicable laws, with an exemption from specified provisions of such Act pertaining to analysis of alternative options to proposed agency actions.
Directs the Secretary concerned to provide for collaboration among governments, Indian tribes, and interested persons during the formulation of each fuels project.
Sets forth special requirements regarding judicial review of fuels projects. Provides injunctive relief for agency actions on Federal lands, including fuels projects, to restore fire-adapted forests or rangeland systems.
Authorizes the Secretary concerned to make grants to: (1) improve the commercial value of forest biomass to produce electric energy, sensible heat, transportation fuels, substitutes for petroleum-based products, wood-based products, pulp, or other commercial products; and (2) offset the cost of projects to add value to biomass.
Amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to permit the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service, to provide assistance to State foresters and officials for the purpose of expanding State forest capacities and activities to address watershed issues on non-Federal forested lands and potentially forested lands. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a technical assistance program to protect water quality; and (2) establish a watershed forestry cost-share program.
Directs the Secretary concerned to establish an accelerated program to conduct, and promote comprehensive information gathering on the effects to forests of insect and disease infestation and severe weather. Allows the Secretary concerned to conduct applied silvicultural assessments on threatened Federal lands.
The summary continues for 7 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 23, 2003. 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 July 23, 2003: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 108th Congress (2003-04), 498 of the 8,623 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.8 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?
Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced it on July 23, 2003, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
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 July 23, 2003, 8497 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8497 days ago, on July 23, 2003.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 108th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2005 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers