H.R. 4309: To amend the Sikes Act to make certain improvements to the administration of cooperative agreements for land management related to Department of Defense readiness activities, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4309: To amend the Sikes Act to make certain improvements to the administration of cooperative agreements for land management related to Department of Defense readiness activities, and for other purposes.

113th Congress · introduced 2014-03-26 · Public Lands and Natural Resources · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 485.

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Where it came from: introduced 2014-03-26 · official record
Who proposed it: Del. Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [D-GU-At Large] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 485. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

To amend the Sikes Act to make certain improvements to the administration of cooperative agreements for land management related to Department of Defense readiness activities, and for other purposes.

Plain summary

Amends the Sikes Act (conservation programs on federal lands) to allow funds appropriated to the Department of Defense (DOD) that are obligated to cooperative agreements with states, local governments, Indian tribes, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals for maintenance and improvement of natural resources located off of military or state-owned National Guard installations (but that are related to current or anticipated military activities) to be: paid in a lump sum and include an amount intended to cover the future costs of the activities under the agreement; invested by the recipient in accordance with the recipient's own investment management guidelines, with any investment interest or income permitted to be applied for the same purposes as the principal; and used only for the direct costs of maintaining and improving the natural resources pursuant to an approved DOD Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan and for certain indirect and administrative costs that do not exceed 10% of the total cost of the project. Allows such cooperative agreements to be used to acquire property or services for the direct benefit or use of the U.S. government. Prohibits amounts available to DOD from being used under such Act to acquire fee title interest in real property for such natural resources projects that are not on a military installation. Requires the Inspector General of DOD to: (1) conduct an audit of the natural resources projects funded with amounts available to DOD under the Sikes Act that are not on a military installation, and (2) report to Congress on the audit by October 1, 2018. Terminates this Act on October 1, 2019, except that any cooperative agreement entered into under this Act on or before September 30, 2019, shall continue.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House amended, Part I), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

To amend the Sikes Act to make certain improvements to the administration of cooperative agreements for land management related to Department of Defense readiness activities, and for other purposes.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House amended, Part I)

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Del. Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [D-GU-At Large] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Agencies named in this bill

Department of Defense: its federal spending and other bills that name it

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Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Obligation: A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House amended, Part I)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113hr4309.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/hr>

Record fed-us-cong113-hr4309 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113