S. 1780: Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-07-15 · Public Lands and Natural Resources · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2015-07-15 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 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

Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2015

Plain summary

Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2015 Directs the Forest Service to establish a Water Source Protection Program for National Forest System land derived from the public domain. Authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enter into water source investment partnerships with specified end water users to protect and restore the condition of National Forest watersheds that provide water to non-federal partners. Authorizes USDA to produce a water source management plan. Directs the Forest Service to establish a Watershed Condition Framework for System land derived from the public domain to: evaluate and classify the condition of watersheds, identify for restoration up to five priority watersheds in each National Forest and up to two priority watersheds in each national grassland, develop a watershed restoration action plan for each priority watershed, prioritize restoration activities for each watershed restoration action plan, implement each watershed restoration action plan, and monitor the effectiveness of restoration actions and indicators of watershed health. Requires USDA, before awarding a contract funded by the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund, to determine whether the contractor has the ability to complete the proposed restoration activities, including: the financial ability to raise the funds necessary, and sufficient capacity to perform the type and scope of those activities. Reauthorizes the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund for each of FY2016-FY2024.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2015

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] reported raising $1.7 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s1780.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s1780 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114