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1 1 (May 8, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govelnv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service lnformning the legislative debate since 1914 May 8, 2023 Funding for Wildfire Management: FY2024 Appropriations for Forest Service and Department of the Interior The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service (FS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) are responsible for wildfire response and management across federal lands within their respective jurisdictions. Both FS and DOI generally receive discretionary appropriations for wildfire management activities through annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations laws. Wildfire management funding for DOI is provided to the department-level Office of Wildland Fire. Wildfire management appropriations fluctuate annually but overall have risen markedly since FY1 994 (see Figure 1). For more information, see CRS Report R46583, Federal Wildfire Management: Ten-Year Funding Trends and Issues (FY2011-FY2020). For FY2023, FS and DOI received a combined $7.208 billion in discretionary appropriations (see Table 1). The combined total consists of $5.438 billion for FS and $1.770 billion for DOI. The FY2023 combined total reflects $4.468 billion in regular appropriations provided through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY2023 (P.L. 117-328, Division G), and $2.740 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations provided through two laws: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58, Division J) and the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations, FY2023 (P.L. 117-328, Division N). For FY2024, issues for Congress include determining the amount of funding for wildfire accounts and activities and the terms and conditions of such funding, including whether to enact related Biden Administration proposals. FY2024 Budget Request The Biden Administration requested a total of $7.100 billion in FY2024 discretionary appropriations for FS and DOI wildfire purposes (see Table 1). The request included $4.297 billion in the agencies' Wildland Fire Management (WFM) accounts and $2.650 billion pursuant to the wildfire adjustment. One component of the combined total is $616.3 million requested for hazardous fuels reduction purposes. For FS, the Administration requested $5.424 billion in FY2024 discretionary appropriations for wildfire purposes. This included $2.970 billion to FS's WFM account, $2.300 billion pursuant to the wildfire adjustment, and $153.0 million to other FS accounts. For DOI, the Administration requested $1.676 billion in FY2024 discretionary appropriations for wildfire purposes. This included $1.326 billion to DOI's WFM account and $350.0 million pursuant to the wildfire adjustment. FY2024 Supplermental Appropriations Through IIJA, FS and DOI are set to receive $670.0 million combined for FY2024 for wildfire risk reduction purposes. Figure I. FS and DOI Discretionary Wildfire Appropriations, FYI 994-FY2023 8iWins, constant FY2O23dolors * FS DOI $6.0 s.o $4 o FY94 FY98 FY03 FY03 FY13 FY18 FY23 Source: CRS analysis of appropriations acts, accompanying explanatory statements, and departmental reporting. Notes: DOI = Department of the Interior; FS = Forest Service. Figures are adjusted to constant dollars using the Office of Management and Budget's GDP Chained Price Index. Wildfire Accounts and Activities FS and DOI each have a WFM account. Within their respective WFM accounts, both agencies receive funding for wildland fire preparedness and suppression activities. DOI also receives funding through its WFM account for fuel reduction and other wildfire activities (e.g., site rehabilitation, assistance programs, research, facilities maintenance). FS also receives appropriations for fuel reduction and other wildfire purposes, but most of this funding has been provided through other appropriations accounts. Unlike DOI, FS has a separate budget line item in its WFM account for salaries and expenses. Since FY2020, FS and DOI have received additional funding for suppression through the wildfire adjustment (2 U.S.C. §901(b)(2)(F)), also known as the wildfire funding fix, a budgetary mechanism that allows for an upward adjustment of the discretionary spending allocations to accommodate a specific amount of additional funding for suppression. A precondition for using the adjustment is that Congress must appropriate a baseline amount of funding for suppression purposes. The baseline is equal to the 10-year suppression obligation average as reported in FY2015 ($1.011 billion for FS; $383.7 million for DOI). For each of FY2020-FY2023, Congress appropriated the baseline suppression funds to the agencies' respective WFM accounts and appropriated the funds provided through the wildfire adjustment to a separate account for each agency, the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund. The wildfire adjustment is available annually through FY2027, and the maximum amount available under the adjustment increases annually.

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