Collaborative Forest Health Act

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 108-140.

Congressional Research Service

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jun 23, 2003

Collaborative Forest Health Act - Permits the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior (the Secretaries) to find that a proposed hazardous fuels reduction project that meets certain criteria shall not require an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement.

Directs the Secretaries to identify projects implemented under this section through a collaborative framework to reduce hazardous fuels. Sets a limit of 20 million acres for projects implemented under this section (not including the existing hazardous fuels reduction program).

Prohibits, except in extraordinary circumstances, timber sales and log skidding machines in at-risk communities and the nearby vicinities and in certain municipal watersheds.

Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.

Read full official summaryShow less

Excludes the provisions of this Act relating to expedited planning and implementation from applying to certain Federal lands.

Directs the Secretaries to take certain actions to ensure that the agencies are implementing projects pursuant to this Act that reduce the risk of unnaturally intense wildfires and improve forest health.

Directs the Secretaries to expend at least 70 percent of the hazardous fuels operations funds provided annually only on projects in at-risk communities and nearby vicinities or within municipal watersheds.

Directs the Secretaries to jointly: (1) establish a commission to complete an assessment of the positive or negative impacts and effectiveness of projects implemented under this section; (2) earmark funds for the conduct of a systematic information gathering program on certain insect types that have caused large-scale damage to forest ecosystems; and (3) disburse funds to reduce the risk of wildfire to structures and restore burned areas on tribal lands.

Allows the Secretaries to make cost-share grants to various entities for the removal, transport, and disposal of hazardous fuels around homes and properties.

Read the summary on Congress.gov

PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

People & committees

Who introduced it

Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM] · D–NM

Committees

Energy and Natural Resources Committee

4 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Legislative record

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

Jul 22, 2003
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 108-140.
Jun 23, 2003
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8363-8365)
Jun 23, 2003
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8362-8363)
Jun 23, 2003
Introduced in Senate

Primary sources

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Introduced in Senate · Jun 23, 2003 Formatted Text PDF

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

AI Conversation Starters

Explore the bill from different angles

Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze S.1314 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

View full prompt & sources

Discuss S.1314, 108th Congress: Collaborative Forest Health Act

Official record: https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/senate-bill/1314

Text version to examine: Introduced in Senate · 2003-06-23.

Official full text: https://www.congress.gov/108/bills/s1314/BILLS-108s1314is.htm

Imported record last updated by the source: 2026-09-08T18:09:59Z. Verify current status and distinguish any later version from the version above.

Read the official text before answering. If you cannot access it, say so and ask me to provide it; do not assume a link means you have read the document. Distinguish proposals from enacted law, cite sources, and separate facts, interpretation, and uncertain predictions. Include counterarguments even when using a particular perspective.

Analyze S.1314 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine S.1314 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

View full prompt & sources

Discuss S.1314, 108th Congress: Collaborative Forest Health Act

Official record: https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/senate-bill/1314

Text version to examine: Introduced in Senate · 2003-06-23.

Official full text: https://www.congress.gov/108/bills/s1314/BILLS-108s1314is.htm

Imported record last updated by the source: 2026-09-08T18:09:59Z. Verify current status and distinguish any later version from the version above.

Read the official text before answering. If you cannot access it, say so and ask me to provide it; do not assume a link means you have read the document. Distinguish proposals from enacted law, cite sources, and separate facts, interpretation, and uncertain predictions. Include counterarguments even when using a particular perspective.

Examine S.1314 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine S.1314 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

View full prompt & sources

Discuss S.1314, 108th Congress: Collaborative Forest Health Act

Official record: https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/senate-bill/1314

Text version to examine: Introduced in Senate · 2003-06-23.

Official full text: https://www.congress.gov/108/bills/s1314/BILLS-108s1314is.htm

Imported record last updated by the source: 2026-09-08T18:09:59Z. Verify current status and distinguish any later version from the version above.

Read the official text before answering. If you cannot access it, say so and ask me to provide it; do not assume a link means you have read the document. Distinguish proposals from enacted law, cite sources, and separate facts, interpretation, and uncertain predictions. Include counterarguments even when using a particular perspective.

Examine S.1314 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine S.1314 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

View full prompt & sources

Discuss S.1314, 108th Congress: Collaborative Forest Health Act

Official record: https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/senate-bill/1314

Text version to examine: Introduced in Senate · 2003-06-23.

Official full text: https://www.congress.gov/108/bills/s1314/BILLS-108s1314is.htm

Imported record last updated by the source: 2026-09-08T18:09:59Z. Verify current status and distinguish any later version from the version above.

Read the official text before answering. If you cannot access it, say so and ask me to provide it; do not assume a link means you have read the document. Distinguish proposals from enacted law, cite sources, and separate facts, interpretation, and uncertain predictions. Include counterarguments even when using a particular perspective.

Examine S.1314 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.