(a) In general

Not later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal year for which additional new budget authority is used, pursuant to section 901(b)(2)(F)(i) of title 2, as added by section 102 of this division, the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture (as applicable), in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall—

(1) prepare an annual report with respect to the additional new budget authority;

(2) submit to the Committees on Appropriations, the Budget, and Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations, the Budget, and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate the annual report prepared under paragraph (1); and

(3) make the report prepared under paragraph (1) available to the public.

(b) Components

Terms Used In 43 USC 1748a-2

  • Budget authority: Authority provided by law to enter into obligations that will result in outlays of Federal funds. Budget authority may be classified by the period of availability (one-year, multiyear, no-year), by the timing of congressional action (current or permanent), or by the manner of determining the amount available (definite or indefinite).
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.

The annual report prepared under subsection (a)(1) shall—

(1) document obligations and outlays of the additional new budget authority for wildfire suppression operations;

(2) identify risk-based factors that influenced management decisions with respect to wildfire suppression operations;

(3) analyze a statistically significant sample of large fires, including an analysis for each fire of—

(A) cost drivers;

(B) the effectiveness of risk management techniques and whether fire operations strategy tracked the risk assessment;

(C) any resulting ecological or other benefits to the landscape;

(D) the impact of investments in wildfire suppression operations preparedness;

(E) effectiveness of wildfire suppression operations, including an analysis of resources lost versus dollars invested;

(F) effectiveness of any fuel treatments on fire behavior and suppression expenditures;

(G) levels of exposure experienced by firefighters;

(H) suggested corrective actions; and

(I) any other factors the Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Agriculture (as applicable) determines to be appropriate;


(4) include an accounting of overall fire management and spending by the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture, which shall be analyzed by fire size, cost, regional location, and other factors;

(5) describe any lessons learned in the conduct of wildfire suppression operations; and

(6) include any other elements that the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture (as applicable) determines to be necessary.

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