To help relieve the shortage in the supply of firewood for home heating use by making additional quantities of free firewood available to individuals from National Forest System lands.

November 8, 2005

Mr. POMBO (for himself, Mr. FORD, Mr. KIND, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. CASE, and Mr. BASS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

To help relieve the shortage in the supply of firewood for home heating use by making additional quantities of free firewood available to individuals from National Forest System lands.

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 `Home Heating Assistance Act'.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL QUANTITIES OF FREE FIREWOOD FROM DEAD TREES ON NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS.

(a) Availability of Free Firewood- Notwithstanding section 223.8 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, during the one year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, forest officers designated by the supervisor of a unit of the National Forest System shall grant individuals the free collection and removal of dead timber from designated National Forest System lands to be used as firewood.

(b) Value of Timber- The total value of the timber collected by an individual using the authority provided by this section may not exceed $1,000.

(c) Relation to Other Laws- Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b), the collection of firewood using the authority provided by this section shall be subject to all other applicable rules of the Forest Service.

END