This bill, the FLASH Act, would direct federal land agencies and the Department of Homeland Security to take steps along Federal lands that border Mexico. It requires an inventory and construction of "navigable roads" (at least 584 miles where practical) within 10 miles of the border, allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to use motor vehicles, aircraft, roads, barriers, and technology in wilderness areas for border security, and says Border States may place movable temporary structures on covered Federal lands with notice. The bill also bars the Interior and Agriculture Secretaries from restricting CBP activities within 100 miles of the southern border and calls for an interagency cooperative agreement.
Title II focuses on environmental damage. It requires agencies to make policies to reduce trash and environmental harm on covered Federal lands, collect and report yearly data on waste and related impacts, and increase enforcement and penalties for sanitation violations on those lands. It creates programs to detect and clean up contamination from illegal cannabis cultivation on Federal lands, establishes two dedicated Treasury accounts for those cleanup efforts, and authorizes $16,037,000 each year for fiscal years 2026–2032 for those initiatives. The bill raises criminal penalties related to improper pesticide use and adds heavy penalties for illegal cultivation using bad pesticides, including fines and imprisonment up to 20 years in some provisions.
Subtitle C creates a "Southern Border Fuels Management Initiative" to reduce wildfire risk and improve landscape resilience and sight lines; it authorizes $3,660,000 each year for fiscal years 2026–2032 and ends after 7 years. The bill also bans use of Federal funds to provide housing to "specified aliens" on lands managed by the listed Federal land agencies and revokes a named lease for Floyd Bennett Field in New York. Agencies must report on housing and other issues described in the bill.
If this bill becomes law, federal land agencies would be directed to build and maintain roads near the southern border, give CBP expanded access and uses in wilderness and other covered lands, and work with Border States on temporary structures. The bill would require regular public reporting on trash, illegal cultivation sites, and some wildfire information. It would create cleanup programs for illegal cannabis cultivation sites and increase penalties for certain pesticide and sanitation violations on covered Federal lands. Federal funds could not be used to house certain noncitizens on designated Federal lands.
According to the bill text, supporters want to: improve public safety and operational control of the southern border by increasing CBP access; reduce trash and environmental damage on covered Federal lands; remove contamination from illegal cannabis grows; lower wildfire risk by managing fuels and vegetation; and stop use of Federal land for housing certain noncitizens. The text frames these actions as necessary to protect natural resources, public safety, and law enforcement effectiveness.
No publicly available information.