THE DAILY WHIP: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017

H.Res. 595– Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 2936– Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017 (Rep. Westerman – Agriculture/Natural Resources)(One hour of debate).  The Rules Committee has recommended a structured Rule that provides for one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Agriculture and the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Natural Resources.  The Rule provides for consideration of 7 amendments, debatable for 10 minutes, equally controlled by the proponent and opponent of the amendment. The Rule allows one motion to recommit, with or without instructions, and waives all points of order against the legislation.  Members are urged to VOTE NO.

H.R. 2936 – Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017 (Rep. Westerman – Agriculture/Natural Resources) (One Hour of Debate).  This bill seeks to address wildfires by changing the way we pay for fire suppression and manage forests on our federal lands.  The bill modifies federal forest management practices to increase timber production on forest lands as a means of reducing wildfire risk. The bill seeks to end the Forest Service's and Interior Department's "fire borrowing" of fire prevention funding for fire suppression efforts by providing funding to fight certain catastrophic wildfires from FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund once their fire suppression budgets have been exhausted.

The bill also establishes five new categories of categorical exclusions (CE) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that could result in timber harvesting with limited environmental review or public comment.  For example, the bill creates a 10,000-acre CE—the acreage increases to 30,000 if certain conditions are met—to address insect or disease infestation, among other purposes, including timber production. If this provision were used, it could result in nearly 50 square mile timber projects—an area roughly the size of San Francisco—with limited environmental review or public input.   

Additionally, H.R. 2936 limits legal challenges by requiring litigants to post a bond when challenging forest restoration projects.  Plaintiffs would only get their bond back if they prevailed on all claims and they would not recover attorney’s fees even if they won as currently required by the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA).  This provision of H.R. 2936 would discourage American citizens from holding their government accountable and ensuring the Nation’s federal forests are protected.

The bill also requires that 50 percent of Secure Rural Schools Act Title II funding be spent on timber management projects rather than stream and watershed protection or road maintenance as required under current law. 

The Rule makes in order 7 amendments, debatable for 10 minutes, equally divided between the offeror and an opponent.  The amendments are:

Reps. Schrader/DeFazio/Panetta Amendment. Strikes “produce timber” as a forest management activity designated for Categorical Exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Rep. Khanna Amendment. Strikes Subtitle B of Title III, the Forest Management Activity Arbitration Pilot Program, from the bill.
Rep. O’Halleran Amendment. Strikes section 801, which exempts changes to a forest management plan from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and section 903, which requires the Forest Service to change its regulations for “extraordinary circumstances” thereby limiting environmental review and public comment under NEPA.
Rep. Cardenas Amendment. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with other relevant Departments, to conduct a study to evaluate the feasibility, safety and cost effectiveness of using unmanned aerial vehicles for the purposes of supporting wildfire response and suppression as well as forest restoration and management.
Reps. DeFazio/Schrader/Walden Amendment. Adds land exclusions (the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, Wild and Scenic River Act areas, wilderness areas, National Trail System lands) to Sec. 913, which changes BLM’s management of certain lands in Western Oregon.
Reps. LaMalfa/DeSaulnier Amendment. Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to create a “wildland firefighter” occupational series.
Rep. Pearce Amendment. Establishes a forest management and mechanical thinning pilot program in several New Mexico National Forests. Legislates a “categorical exclusion” for such activities under NEPA.

Bill Text for H.R. 2936:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 2936:
House Report Part 1 (HTML Version)
House Report Part 2 (HTML Version)
House Report Part 1 (PDF Version)
House Report Part 2 (PDF Version)

Suspension (8 bills)

1. H.R. 3903 – Encouraging Public Offerings Act of 2017, as amended (Rep. Budd – Financial Services)
2. H.R. 1585 – Fair Investment Opportunities for Professional Experts Act, as amended (Rep. Schweikert – Financial Services)
3. H.R. 3279 – Helium Extraction Act of 2017 (Rep. Cook – Natural Resources)
4. H.R. 1074 – To repeal the Act entitled “An Act to confer jurisdiction on the State of Iowa over offenses committed by or against Indians on the Sac and Fox Indian Reservation” (Rep. Blum – Natural Resources)
5. H.R. 2600 – To provide for the conveyance to the State of Iowa of the reversionary interest held by the United States in certain land in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and for other purposes, as amended (Rep. Young (IA) – Natural Resources)
6. H.R. 1488 – The Indiana Dunes National Park Act, as amended (Rep. Visclosky – Natural Resources)
7. H.R. 425 – FTO Passport Revocation Act of 2017, as amended (Rep. Poe – Foreign Affairs)
8. H.Res. 422 – Urging adherence to the "one country, two systems" policy as prescribed in the Joint Declaration between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of the Hong Kong, as amended (Rep. Engel – Foreign Affairs)