Text of Senate Amendment 5890

On 2026-06-22, Senator John Thune (R-SD) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 5890" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 5890

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 104 (Monday, June 22, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 104 (Monday, June 22, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S2989-S3013] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 5890. Mr. THUNE (for Mr. Curtis (for himself, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Sheehy, and Mr. Padilla)) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by Mr. Thune to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end, add the following: DIVISION E--FIX OUR FORESTS ACT SEC. 5001. SHORT TITLE. This division may be cited as the ``Fix Our Forests Act''. SEC. 5002. DEFINITIONS. In this division: (1) End water user.--The term ``end water user'' has the meaning given the term in section 303(a) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542(a)). (2) Executive director.--The term ``Executive Director'' means the Executive Director of the Wildland Fire Intelligence Center appointed under section 5102(g). (3) Fireshed.--The term ``fireshed'' means a landscape- scale area, as delineated using methods developed through research conducted by the Forest Service, that represents similar source levels of community exposure to wildfire. (4) Fireshed management area.--The term ``fireshed management area'' means a fireshed management area designated under section 5101(a). (5) Fireshed management project.--The term ``fireshed management project'' means any of the following forest or vegetation management activities: (A) A hazardous fuels management activity. (B) Creating a fuel break or fire break. (C) Removing hazard trees, dead trees, or dying trees, as determined by a certified or licensed arborist or forester under the supervision of the Secretary concerned. (D) Developing, approving, or conducting routine maintenance under-- (i) a vegetation management, facility inspection, and operation and maintenance plan under subsection (c) of section 512 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1772); or (ii) an agreement under subsection (d)(1) of that section (43 U.S.C. 1772). (E) Removing trees to address overstocking or crowding in a forest stand, consistent with achieving the appropriate basal area of the forest stand, as determined by a responsible official. (F) Using treatments to address insects or disease or to control vegetation competition or invasive species. (G) A wet-meadow, floodplain, or riparian restoration activity that increases wildfire resistance. (H) A forest stand improvement activity necessary to protect life and property from catastrophic wildfire, as determined by a responsible official. (I) Any combination of activities described in this paragraph. (6) Fireshed registry.--The term ``Fireshed Registry'' means the registry established under section 5103(a). (7) Forest plan.--The term ``forest plan'' means-- (A) a land use plan prepared by the Bureau of Land Management for public land pursuant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712); (B) a land management plan prepared by the Forest Service for a unit of the National Forest System pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604); and (C) a forest management plan (as defined in section 304 of the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3103)) with respect to Indian forest land or rangeland. (8) Governor.--The term ``Governor'' means the Governor or other appropriate executive official of-- (A) a State; or (B) an Indian Tribe. (9) Hazardous fuels management activity.--The term ``hazardous fuels management activity'' means a vegetation management activity, or any combination of such activities, that reduces the risk of wildfire, including mechanical thinning, mastication, prescribed burning, cultural burning (as determined by an Indian Tribe), timber harvest, and grazing. (10) HFRA terms.--The terms ``at-risk community'', ``community wildfire protection plan'', and ``wildland-urban interface'' have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). (11) Indian forest land or rangeland.--The term ``Indian forest land or rangeland'' means-- (A) land that-- (i) is held in trust, or subject to a restriction against alienation, by the United States for an Indian Tribe or a member of an Indian Tribe; and (ii)(I) is Indian forest land (as defined in section 304 of the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act (25 U.S.C. 3103)); or (II)(aa) has a cover of grasses, brush, or any similar vegetation; or (bb) formerly had a forest cover or vegetative cover that is capable of restoration; and (B) land that-- (i) is in the State of Alaska and held by an Alaskan Native Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); and (ii)(I) has a cover of grasses, brush, or any similar vegetation; or (II) formerly had a forest cover or vegetative cover that is capable of restoration. (12) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self- Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). (13) National forest system.--The term ``National Forest System'' has the meaning given the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)). (14) Public land.--The term ``public land'' means-- (A) public lands (as defined in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); [[Page S2990]] (B) the land reconveyed to the United States pursuant to the first section of the Act of February 26, 1919 (40 Stat. 1179, chapter 47) (commonly known as ``Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands'') under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior; and (C) the land revested in the United States by the Act of June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218, chapter 137) (commonly known as ``Oregon and California Railroad Grant lands'') under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior. (15) Relevant committees of congress.--The term ``relevant committees of Congress'' means-- (A) in the Senate-- (i) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; (ii) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; (iii) the Committee on Indian Affairs; and (iv) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and (B) in the House of Representatives-- (i) the Committee on Agriculture; and (ii) the Committee on Natural Resources. (16) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means-- (A) the Secretary; and (B) the Secretary of the Interior. (17) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Agriculture. (18) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' means-- (A) the Secretary, with respect to National Forest System land; and (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public land. (19) Special district.--The term ``special district'' means a political subdivision of a State that-- (A) has significant budgetary autonomy or control; (B) was established by, or pursuant to, the laws of the State for the purpose of performing a limited and specific governmental or proprietary function primarily relating to forest, watershed, or rangeland management or water supply; and (C) is distinct from any other unit of local government within the State. (20) State.--The term ``State'' means-- (A) each of the several States; (B) the District of Columbia; and (C) each territory of the United States. TITLE I--LANDSCAPE-SCALE RESTORATION Subtitle A--Addressing Emergency Wildfire Risks in High-priority Firesheds SEC. 5101. DESIGNATION OF FIRESHED MANAGEMENT AREAS. (a) Designations.-- (1) Initial fireshed designations.--For the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the firesheds of the United States shall comprise-- (A) the 7,688 firesheds described in the report published by the Rocky Mountain Research Station of the Forest Service in 2021; and (B) the additional 1,262 firesheds in the States of Alaska and Hawaii and the territories of the United States designated by the Secretary in the same manner as the firesheds designated in the report described in subparagraph (A). (2) Initial fireshed management area designations.--Subject to paragraph (5), for the period beginning not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act and ending on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each Secretary concerned shall designate and make publicly available on the website of the Secretary concerned a map of the following fireshed management areas: (A) Each landscape-scale fireshed identified as a ``high- risk fireshed'' in the document published by the Forest Service entitled ``Wildfire Crisis Strategy'', dated January 2022, and expanded in 2023. (B) The top 20 percent of firesheds in the continental United States, and the top 25 percent of firesheds in the continental United States if the fireshed has a historical presence of Picea glauca var. densata, identified by the Secretary for wildfire exposure based on the following criteria: (i) Wildfire exposure and corresponding risk to communities, including risk to life, critical infrastructure, and other structures. (ii) Wildfire exposure and corresponding risk to municipal watersheds, including Tribal water supplies and systems. (3) Initial designations in alaska, hawaii, and territories.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall designate in the States of Alaska and Hawaii and the territories of the United States such additional fireshed management areas as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, based on the criteria de