Description:
H.R. 1567 would require the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior to report on efforts to reduce wildfires and to standardize data collection for those activities. The bill would require each department to report the number of acres of federal land that underwent vegetation management to reduce the risk of wildfire in the previous year. The bill would require those reports to be submitted as supporting material with the President’s annual budget request. The bill also would require each department to standardize procedures for collecting data related to wildfire reduction and to report to the Congress on those efforts. CBO estimates that the total cost to implement H.R. 1567 would be $23 million over the 2023-2028 period. Such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. The bulk of those costs would stem from the need to hire additional staff and to upgrade data systems. Using information from both departments, CBO estimates that—combined—they would need 30 additional staff members, at an average annual cost of $100,000, to meet the bill’s requirements. After accounting for anticipated inflation, CBO estimates that compensating additional staff and upgrading data systems would cost $22 million over the 2023-2028 period. The bill also would require the Government Accountability Office to report to the Congress on its implementation two years after enactment. Using information about the cost of similar reports, CBO estimates the cost of that provision at $1 million over the 2023-2028 period.
