Darrell Issa

Green Tape Elimination Act of 2025

This bill exempts hazardous fuel reduction activities on federal lands from certain environmental and historic preservation regulations. Hazardous fuel means any vegetative material that is susceptible to burning, such as trees and grasses. Hazardous fuel reduction activities include installing firebreaks, using prescribed fire, and removing the hazardous fuels.

First, the bill states that hazardous fuel reduction activities are not to be considered a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for 10 years. NEPA requires agencies to identify and evaluate the impacts of major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment prior to finalizing certain decisions. Thus, the bill exempts such actions from environmental review under NEPA during that time period.

Next, the bill exempts hazardous fuel reduction activities from the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Migratory Bird Conservation Act for 10 years.

The bill also directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to exclude certain air quality data when determining whether there are exceedances or violations of the national ambient air quality standard for air pollutants. In the event a hazardous fuel reduction activity has a significant impact on air quality, the EPA must exclude that data when making such determination.

Direct Hire To Fight Fires

This bill provides permanent direct-hire authority to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior to fill wildland firefighter and firefighting support positions in the Forest Service and Interior agencies.

The bill also requires USDA and Interior to implement policies to recruit and retain wildland firefighters and related personnel, such as by streamlining the hiring process and reducing barriers for firefighters transferring between agencies.

Further, the bill requires USDA and Interior to annually report related data to Congress, including the number of firefighters needed for the coming year, the number of firefighting vacancies in each state, and existing barriers to filling such vacancies. The report must also be made available on a public website.