Washington, DC….On Thursday evening, the House of Representatives passed the “Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015 (HR 2647) introduced by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) by a vote of 262-167.  19 Democrats voted for the bill including California Members Reps. Bera, Costa, and Garamendi.

The measure would expand categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Protection Act for forest activities, such as salvage after wildfire and forest preservation, for plots of federal land up to 15,000 acres.  The bill would also allow local governments to use Title 3 funds under the Secure Rural Schools program for police and fire training related to activities on federal lands.  Local government jurisdictions are often times the only responders to incidents relating to routine public safety calls and search and rescue missions.  Days before the bill was scheduled for floor action, Republican leadership included a provision on wildfire disaster funding in an effort to garner more support.  The wildfire disaster language in the bill allows the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture to access disaster relief funds after the annually appropriated funds have been fully expended.  This new funding mechanism would help prevent the recent budget phenomenon known as “fire borrowing,” a process in which federal firefighting agencies use funds appropriated specifically for prevention and restoration to fund wildfire suppression.  While HR 2647 passed the House on Thursday, its future in the Senate is far from certain.  Democratic lawmakers in the upper chamber have already expressed their concerns about the environmental provisions.  RCRC and CSAC submitted joint comments earlier this week supporting specific provisions of the measure.