Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a full committee markup and favorably reported a total of seven bills. Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) released the following statement in response:

"The House Committee on Natural Resources continues to be one of the most productive places on Capitol Hill. Today we're advancing solutions to expand proven forest management tools, increase responsible co-stewardship of federal lands, designate a new memorial, increase affordable housing near federal lands gateway communities and support innovative wildfire suppression technology. The committee is dedicated to finding commonsense solutions for problems facing our nation, and these bills demonstrate the wide variety of results we're delivering for the American people." 

Background

The House Committee on Natural Resources favorably reported a total of seven bills out of committee today:

H.R. 188, introduced by U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), which makes an existing 10,000-acre categorical exclusion only available in the Tahoe Basin available throughout the entire National Forest System and on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

H.R. 1240, introduced by U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), which takes specified lands in Iowa into trust for the benefit of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

H.R. 1314, introduced by U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), which expands the authority of the Department of the Interior (DOI) to enter into public-private partnerships to address housing shortages near national parks.

H.R. 1450, introduced by U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), which revises Good Neighbor Authority to modify the treatment of revenue from timber sale contracts for tribes and counties under good neighbor agreements with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the DOI.

H.R. 3371, introduced by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), which places approximately 40 acres of fee land located within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation into restricted fee status for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to be held in memorial as a sacred site for those killed in the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890.

H.R. 3389, introduced by U.S. Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), which requires USDA and DOI to conduct an evaluation of the Containerized Aerial Fire Fighting System to mitigate and suppress wildfires.

H.R. 3562, introduced by U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), which reauthorizes Forest Service flexible partnerships to create more affordable housing.