Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) that would give certain groups more latitude to conduct search-and-rescue missions on public lands passed the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee unanimously on March 8.
The Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act, S. 1181, would require the secretaries of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue search-and-rescue permits within 48 hours of an application to eligible groups that are “acting in a not-for-profit capacity; and are certificated in training that meets or exceeds standards established by the American Society for Testing and Materials,” according to the bill’s text. Currently, the permitting process for such missions on public lands may span up to a year, according to Sen. Heller’s staff.
“No family should have to wait on the federal government when it comes to searching for a missing loved one on public lands,” Heller said. “In these difficult situations time is of the essence for search and rescue teams. That’s why I’m pleased the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved my bill to speed up volunteers’ access to public lands so Good Samaritans can get right to work.”
S. 1181, which Heller introduced on May 18, 2017 with original cosponsor U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), also would waive the federal government’s liability and ensure that good samaritan groups aren’t required to purchase liability insurance as a condition of approval, according to a summary from Heller’s office.
Sen. Heller, who called S. 1181 a common sense bill that spotlights the necessity for an all-hands-on-deck approach, first introduced the measure during the 113th Congress following the deaths of two men in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in November 2012. The national park stretches across 1.5 million acres at the border of Nevada and Arizona. Trained volunteer search-and-rescue teams found the men’s bodies, but only after the permitting process took 10 months and the National Park Service required family members to obtain $1 million in liability insurance before a permit was granted to search the area.
“When a loved one goes missing, the last thing any family would expect is the obstacle of the federal government’s bureaucracy and the roadblock it creates to finding a missing person,” said Heller when he introduced the bill last year.
Last week the senator said he looks forward to working with his Senate colleagues to advance S. 1181 and ultimately have the president sign it into law.