Title 16 — ConservationRelease 119-73

§579e Forest service budget restructure

Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 3— - FORESTS; FOREST SERVICE; REFORESTATION; MANAGEMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 579e

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Create a new "Forest Service Operations" account by October 1, 2020 to pay for the Forest Service’s basic admin costs. It must cover salaries and expenses for key administrative offices, building maintenance and leases, utilities and IT (including cybersecurity), and other needed administrative support. After the account exists, the Secretary may use Department funds for fiscal year 2021 in that account, including any continuing appropriations available before a regular appropriations Act. The Secretary may move any unobligated Forest Service balances into the new account, but must notify the House and Senate Appropriations Committees within 5 days of a transfer. Money provided for wildfire suppression under section 901(b)(2)(F) of title 2 may not be moved. By November 1, 2020 the Secretary must set a preliminary baseline and send a report to those committees showing each transfer and account, a table for each appropriation comparing FY2020 enacted levels, congressional adjustments, rescissions if any, and transfers and the resulting levels, a breakdown by budget activity and by program/project/activity as in the Budget Appendix, and identification of funds set aside for specific activities.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §579e

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish the ‘Forest Service Operations’ account not later than October 1, 2020, for the necessary expenses of the Forest Service: (1) for the base salary and expenses of employees in the Chief’s Office, the Work Environment and Performance Office, the Business Operations Deputy Area, and the Chief Financial Officer’s Office to carry out administrative and general management support functions; (2) for the costs of facility maintenance, repairs, and leases for buildings and sites; (3) for the costs of utility and communication expenses, business services, and information technology, including cybersecurity requirements; and (4) for such other administrative support function expenses necessary for the operation of the Forest Service.

(b)Subsequent to the establishment of the account under subsection (a), the Secretary of Agriculture may execute appropriations of the Department for fiscal year 2021 as provided pursuant to such subsection, including any continuing appropriations made available for fiscal year 2021 before enactment of a regular appropriations Act.

(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture may transfer any unobligated balances made available to the Forest Service by this or prior appropriations Acts to the account established under subsection (a) to carry out such subsection, and shall notify the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives within 5 days of such transfer: Provided, That no amounts may be transferred from amounts that were made available for wildfire suppression operations pursuant to section 901(b)(2)(F) of title 2.

(d)(1)Not later than November 1, 2020, the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish the preliminary baseline for application of transfer authorities and submit the report specified in paragraph (2) to the Committees on Appropriations for the Senate and the House of Representatives.

(2)The report required in this subsection shall include—

(A)a delineation of the amount and account of each transfer made pursuant to subsection (b) or (c);

(B)a table for each appropriation with a separate column to display the fiscal year 2020 enacted levels, adjustments made by Congress, adjustments due to enacted rescissions, if appropriate, and adjustments made pursuant to the transfer authority in subsection (b) or (c), and the resulting fiscal year level;

(C)a delineation in the table for each appropriation, adjusted as described in paragraph (2), both by budget activity and program, project, and activity as detailed in the Budget Appendix; and

(D)an identification of funds directed for a specific activity.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 579e

Title 16 — Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73