Sponsor
Thomas P. TIFFANY
Representative · R-WI
Representative · R-WI
The bill increases transparency and standardized oversight of hazardous fuels treatments—giving communities, taxpayers, and Congress better data—at the cost of additional reporting burdens and administrative expense that must be absorbed by agencies without new funding, which may divert resources from on-the-ground treatments.
Homeowners and communities in wildfire-prone areas will get clearer, standardized data on acres treated and treatment effectiveness, helping them assess local wildfire risk reduction and recovery progress.
Taxpayers and Congress gain transparency on costs per acre and program spending efficiency, making it easier to evaluate fiscal performance of hazardous fuels reduction programs.
Standardized tracking, effectiveness analysis, and a GAO review with required recommendations could improve federal program management and oversight, helping target treatments to highest-risk areas over time.
Federal land-management agencies (e.g., USDA, DOI) must meet new reporting deadlines without any new funding, forcing staff time and attention to be reallocated from on-the-ground fuels reduction work.
New reporting and verification requirements will increase administrative costs within existing budgets, potentially reducing funds available for actual hazardous fuels treatments.
Strict standardized counting rules (e.g., 'count each acre once') and narrow definitions could under- or over-count complex treatment mosaics, producing misleading effectiveness metrics for communities and managers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires Agriculture and Interior to report standardized annual data on acres treated for hazardous fuels on Federal lands, implement tracking procedures, and post reports publicly.
Requires the Agriculture and Interior Departments to produce and publish a standardized annual report on acres of Federal land where hazardous fuels reduction activities were completed, including location, risk levels, activity type, cost per acre, and measures of effectiveness. It directs the Departments to implement standardized data-tracking procedures quickly, report those procedures and recommendations to Congress, and tasks the GAO with a study of implementation and tracking within two years. The law defines key terms, requires public posting of reports, and explicitly does not authorize new funding; implementation is subject to available appropriations.
Official title: To require that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior submit accurate reports regarding hazardous fuels reduction activities, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Thomas P. TIFFANY · Last progress March 4, 2026