Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House passed Representative Matt Rosendale and Representative Kim Schrier’s bipartisan bill to fund the remediation and restoration of damaged public lands. The National Forest Restoration and Remediation Act was introduced earlier this year and would allow the Forest Service to collect and keep the interest earned on settlement funds in order to supplement restoration efforts.

Rep. Rosendale’s remarks on the bill can be found HERE.

“The National Forest Restoration and Remediation Act is common-sense legislation that would allow the Forest Service to use accumulated interest on settlement agreement funds to restore and protect damaged forest lands without any additional costs to taxpayers, said Representative Rosendale. “While the Department of the Interior is already able to use interest on settlement funds, the Forest Service is not—which leads to delays in restoration work and has the potential for budget shortfalls. I’m happy to join Congresswoman Schrier in this bipartisan effort to restore and preserve damaged public lands—and pleased to see our bill pass the House.”

“The Forest Service is responsible for overseeing the remediation and restoration of lands damaged by mining activities and human-caused wildfires. When the negligent actions of companies or individuals result in damages to Forest Service property, officials enter a settlement agreement with the responsible parties to hold them accountable,” said Rep. Schrier. “This bipartisan, commonsense legislation would allow the Forest Service to collect and keep the interest earned on settlement funds, much like other Federal agencies do, in order to supplement restoration efforts. As we confront another potentially devastating wildfire season, it’s important to ensure the Forest Service can use accrued interest to protect and remediate forests.”

Right now, the Forest Service does not have the authority to retain interest on settlement funds like other Federal agencies, such as the Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The National Forest Restoration and Remediation Act would allow the Forest Service to retain interest on settlement funds and apply those additional resources to complete necessary restoration work. Without this additional funding, the value of settlement funds diminishes over time and the Forest Service can face long-term budget shortfalls for forest restoration efforts.  If this bill had been in place between Fiscal Years 2015 and 2019, the Forest Service would have received more than $7.5 million to supplement restoration efforts on Forest Service lands.

###