Forest Service Accountability Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Forest Service Accountability Act changes how the Chief of the Forest Service is selected. It adds a new Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act section providing that the President appoints the Chief with the advice and consent of the Senate. The nominee must have substantial experience and demonstrated competence in forest and natural resources management. Any nomination referred to committee must be referred jointly to the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The bill also includes Senate rulemaking language and requires submission of a nomination even if someone is already serving as Chief on enactment. The effect is to increase political accountability and Senate oversight over a major land-management position.
Who Benefits and How
Senate agriculture committee members benefit because Forest Service Chief nominations come within their review authority. Senate energy and natural resources committee members benefit because they share jurisdiction over the confirmation process. Forest management stakeholders benefit from a statutory qualifications requirement tied to natural resources competence. Congressional oversight offices benefit from a confirmation process for questioning agency priorities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The President must nominate a Forest Service Chief and handle Senate confirmation rather than relying only on executive selection. Forest Service leadership candidates must satisfy experience and competence expectations and undergo confirmation scrutiny. Department of Agriculture staff must manage transition and nomination logistics. The current Chief of the Forest Service may face renomination and confirmation even if already serving.
Key Provisions
- Requires presidential appointment and Senate confirmation for the Chief of the Forest Service.
- Requires nominees to have substantial forest and natural resources management experience.
- Requires joint Senate committee referral for Chief nominations.
- Requires a nomination after enactment even if an individual is already serving as Chief.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Makes the Chief of the Forest Service a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position requiring substantial forest and natural resources management experience, with joint Senate committee referral of nominations.
Key Policy Areas
Forestry, Senate Confirmation, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Makes the Chief of the Forest Service a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position requiring substantial forest and natural resources management experience, with joint Senate committee referral of nominations.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Senate agriculture committee members
- Senate energy committee members
- Forest management stakeholders
- Congressional oversight offices
Identified Costs
- President of the United States
- Forest Service leadership candidates
- Department of Agriculture staff
- Current Chief of the Forest Service
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.
Mr. Zinke (for himself, Mr. Newhouse, Ms. Letlow, Mr. Crane, …
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Department of Agriculture, Senate agriculture committee members, Senate energy committee members
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology