HR 204 · 119th CongressPassed Chamber

ACRES Act

Latest updateJan 21, 2025

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H244-245)

Public Lands and Natural Resources

Sponsor

Thomas Tiffany

Introduced

January 3, 2025

Latest action

March 4, 2026

Legislative Progress

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Introduced

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Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Latest Action

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Plain-Language Summary

AI Generated

The Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior currently track hazardous fuels reduction activities—vegetation management work like prescribed burns and mechanical thinning designed to reduce wildfire risk—but lack standardized reporting methods across their agencies and regions. This inconsistency makes it difficult for Congress and the public to assess how much work is actually being completed, where it occurs, and whether it effectively reduces wildfire danger. Different field offices use different data systems and definitions, creating gaps in accountability and making budget decisions harder to justify.

The ACRES Act requires the Secretary of Agriculture (for National Forest System lands) and the Secretary of the Interior (for public lands and National Park System units) to implement standardized procedures for tracking hazardous fuels reduction activities within 90 days of enactment. Beginning with the next fiscal year budget submission, both secretaries must include detailed annual reports showing the number of acres treated, broken down by location (including proximity to homes and communities), wildfire risk level before and after treatment, activity type, cost per acre, and effectiveness data. The reports must be made publicly available on both departments' websites, and each acre is counted only once even if multiple treatments occur there.

Within two weeks of implementing the new tracking procedures, each secretary must report to Congress on their standardized methods and recommend any policy changes needed to improve data collection. The Government Accountability Office will conduct a two-year study assessing implementation challenges and submit findings to Congress. The bill requires no new funding—agencies must absorb these reporting and tracking duties within existing budgets. Over time, this standardized approach should enable better comparison of hazardous fuels work across regions and clearer measurement of whether treatments actually reduce wildfire risk.

Key Provisions

1Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior to submit annual reports detailing acres of federal land treated through hazardous fuels reduction activities, including location, wildfire risk levels, treatment type, cost per acre, and effectiveness data.
2Mandates that both secretaries implement standardized data collection and verification procedures within 90 days to ensure accurate tracking of hazardous fuels reduction work across all federal lands.
3Directs each secretary to submit a report to Congress within two weeks of implementing standardized procedures, describing the procedures themselves and recommending any program or policy changes needed to improve data tracking.
4Requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study within two years on implementation of the Act and report findings to Congress regarding any limitations in reporting or data tracking.
5Establishes that all reports and data must be made publicly available on the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior websites, and specifies that no additional federal funding is authorized for these requirements.

★ Why this matters

Federal agencies will now report hazardous fuels reduction work using consistent methods and definitions, making it possible to accurately measure progress toward wildfire risk reduction. Congress and the public will gain transparent, comparable data on where treatment occurs, how much it costs, and whether it actually reduces wildfire danger. This standardization eliminates double-counting of acres and enables better budget justification and program evaluation across the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior.

● Who this affects

Forest managers and land administrators at the Department of Agriculture (U.S. Forest Service) and Department of the Interior (Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service) who will implement new data tracking systems. Congressional appropriators and budget committees who will receive standardized annual reports to inform funding decisions. Homeowners and communities in the wildland-urban interface who depend on hazardous fuels reduction work to reduce wildfire risk. Environmental organizations and researchers who currently struggle to access consistent data on federal wildfire prevention efforts. The Government Accountability Office, which will conduct the implementation study.

Bill Text

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<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 204

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 22, 2025

   Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

                                 AN ACT

 
 To require that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
 Interior submit accurate reports regarding hazardous fuels reduction 
                  activities, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Accurately Counting Risk Elimination 
Solutions Act'' or the ``ACRES Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCURATE HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION REPORTS.

    (a) Inclusion of Hazardous Fuels Reduction Report in Materials 
Submitted in Support of the President's Budget.--
            (1) In general.--Beginning with the first fiscal year that 
        begins after the date of the enactment of this Act, and each 
        fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary concerned shall include 
        in the materials submitted in support of the President's budget 
        pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a 
        report on the number of acres of Federal land on which the 
        Secretary concerned carried out hazardous fuels reduction 
        activities during the preceding fiscal year.
            (2) Requirements.--For purposes of the report required 
        under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall--
                    (A) in determining the number of acres of Federal 
                land on which the Secretary concerned carried out 
                hazardous fuels reduction activities during the period 
                covered by the report--
                            (i) record acres of Federal land on which 
                        hazardous fuels reduction activities were 
                        completed during such period; and
                            (ii) record each acre described in clause 
                        (i) once in the report, regardless of whether 
                        multiple hazardous fuels reduction activities 
                        were carried out on such acre during such 
                        period; and
                    (B) with respect to the acres of Federal land 
                recorded in the report, include information on--
                            (i) which such acres are located in the 
                        wildland-urban interface;
                            (ii) the level of wildfire risk (high, 
                        moderate, or low) on the first and last day of 
                        the period covered by the report;
                            (iii) the types of hazardous fuels 
                        activities completed for such acres, 
                        deline…

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