Treating Tribes and Counties As Good Neighbors Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1450) to amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to modify the treatment of revenue from timber sale contracts and certain payments made by counties to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior under good neighbor agreements, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1450
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 ``Treating Tribes and Counties as Good Neighbors Act''. SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN REVENUE AND PAYMENTS UNDER GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENTS.
(a) Good Neighbor Authority.--Section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ``or Indian tribe''; and
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``, Indian tribe,'' after ``Governor'';
(B) in paragraph (2)(C)--
(i) by striking clause (i) and inserting the following:
``(i) In general.--Funds received from the sale of timber by a Governor, an Indian tribe, or a county under a good neighbor agreement shall be retained and used by the Governor, Indian tribe, or county, as applicable--
``(I) to carry out authorized restoration services under the good neighbor agreement; and
``(II) if there are funds remaining after carrying out subclause (I), to carry out authorized restoration services under other good neighbor agreements.''; and
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``2023'' and inserting ``2028'';
(C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``, Indian tribe,'' after ``Governor''; and
(D) by striking paragraph (4).
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 8206(a) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ``, Indian tribe,'' after ``Governor''; and
(2) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``, Indian tribe,'' after ``Governor''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act apply to any project initiated pursuant to a good neighbor agreement (as defined in section 8206(a) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)))--
(1) before the date of enactment of this Act, if the project was initiated after the date of enactment of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-334; 132 Stat. 4490); or
(2) on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. 1450, the bill now under consideration.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support Congressman Fulcher's bill, the Treating Tribes and Counties as Good Neighbors Act.
This legislation would greatly enhance the collaborative stewardship of our Federal lands with Tribal and county partners. This is a bipartisan effort that passed out of the House Natural Resources and Agriculture Committees unanimously, and it is my hope that we can pass this thoughtful proposal in a similar fashion here on the House floor today.
The Federal Government owns roughly 640 million acres, an astonishing 28 percent of the entire country. States, Tribes, and counties all have a very clear interest in how these lands are managed.
When Federal lands are mismanaged, it is those closest to the lands that are most impacted. There is no clearer example of this reality than the forest health and wildfire crisis affecting vast swaths of Federal lands. Fire knows no boundaries between managed land and unmanaged lands. It knows no jurisdictional boundaries.
As Federal land managers struggle to address this worsening problem, Congress developed the Good Neighbor Authority to empower States to assist in active forest management efforts on Federal lands.
Under the Good Neighbor Authority, the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management had the ability to authorize States to undertake restoration projects such as hazardous fuel reduction, habitat improvement, and road restoration on Federal lands within their borders.
By all accounts, this program for States has been very successful. Since 2014, over 490 projects have begun in 38 States. Just last year, approximately 274 million board feet of timber was sold under Good Neighbor agreements.
The 2018 farm bill extended Good Neighbor Authority to counties and Tribes in the hopes that even more active forest management could be accomplished. Unfortunately, the participation of counties and Tribes has been limited.
Current law does not give Tribes and counties the same authority that States have benefited from to retain timber receipts for use on additional restoration work. This reality removes a substantial incentive for counties and Tribes to pursue Good Neighbor projects, and the numbers have shown this to be true. There are currently only six counties and five Tribes that have entered into Good Neighbor agreements.
H.R. 1450 offers a solution to this dilemma by extending the authority to retain timber receipts from Good Neighbor projects to counties and Tribes to fund additional restoration projects, bringing them into parity with the treatment that States currently receive.
In addition to providing important parity, this bill will also improve cross-boundary work by allowing restoration projects to occur on non-Federal lands. As I mentioned earlier, wildfires know no boundaries.
Good Neighbor Authority has unquestionably been a successful program that has not yet reached its full potential. I believe that Congressman Fulcher's bill will improve this program and pave the way for Tribes and counties to partner on much-needed forest management efforts. Fully empowering counties and Tribes to utilize this authority will reduce wildfire risks and improve the health of our Federal lands for generations to come. I applaud Congressman Fulcher for his leadership on this important issue.
Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I must say it is an honor to work with a colleague like Chairman Thompson who cares so much about forest health, and I appreciate the ranking member in the minority for supporting this bill as well, as it did pass unanimously out of both committees.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, the magnitude of our forest health crises demands an all-hands-on-deck approach that utilizes all of the tools in the toolbox.
The Good Neighbor Authority has proven to be an exceptional tool when used by the States. We need to improve and expand on that with H.R. 1450 by including Tribes and counties.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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