June 11, 2025
Mr. Gallego introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on existing programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land.
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 Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act
.
Sec. 2. Study on wildfire mitigation across land ownership boundaries
(a) Study required
The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on—
(1)
the existing Federal programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit wildfire mitigation from being completed across land ownership boundaries on Federal and non-Federal land;
(2)
whether changes to any program, rule, or authority identified pursuant to paragraph (1) would allow Federal land management agencies (as defined in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801)), the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Fire Administration, States, local governments, and Tribal governments increased capacity or access to funding to mitigate wildfires; and
(3)
the activities carried out pursuant to subsection (e) of section 103 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6513), including—
(A)
how to improve the efficacy of such activities with respect to mitigating wildfire; and
(B)
whether the enactment of such subsection has increased the access of Federal land management agencies and States to funding to mitigate wildfires.
(b) Report
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that contains—
(1)
the results of the study required under subsection (a); and
(2)
recommendations to simplify cross-boundary wildfire mitigation between Federal land management agencies and State, local, and Tribal governments.