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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9704 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9704

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out a quadrennial fire 
                    review, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 19, 2024

 Mr. Neguse (for himself, Mr. Molinaro, and Mr. Harder of California) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science, Space, and Technology, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out a quadrennial fire 
                    review, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wildfire Risk Evaluation Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) wildfire management is a complex, multi-jurisdictional 
        issue that requires a whole-of-government approach before, 
        during, and after a fire;
            (2) wildfires spread quickly and may invoke various 
        Federal, State, Tribal, and local jurisdictions simultaneously;
            (3) effective wildfire management requires interagency, 
        cross-boundary, strategic, and holistic solutions;
            (4) relevant Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments 
        should be included in any planning, decision making, or 
        response activities with respect to wildfire management;
            (5) a purpose of a quadrennial fire review is to forecast 
        conditions that may present the greatest challenges for 
        wildland fire management throughout the 20-year period 
        immediately following such review and inform the development of 
        long-term, strategic actions to address such challenges;
            (6) the report of the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
        Secretary of the Interior entitled ``The National Strategy: the 
        Final Phase of the Development of the National Cohesive 
        Wildland Fire Management Strategy'' (April 2014), as updated by 
        the report entitled ``National Cohesive Wildland Fire 
        Management Strategy Addendum Update'' (January 2023), 
        represents a strategic, collaborative effort to address 
        wildfire management in all landscapes and using the best 
        science available to make meaningful progress towards the 3 
        goals established in such report regarding--
                    (A) resilient landscapes;
                    (B) fire-adapted communities; and
                    (C) safe and effective wildfire response; and
            (7) the report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and 
        Management Commission entitled ``ON FIRE: The Report of the 
        Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission'' (September 
        2023) presents a consensus set of recommendations developed by 
        50 diverse experts and intended to result in improved outcomes 
        for wildfire management in the United States.

SEC. 3. QUADRENNIAL FIRE REVIEW.

    (a) In General.--The Secretaries, acting jointly through the 
qualified agencies, shall conduct a quadrennial review of the 
comprehensive wildfire environment in the United States that includes--
            (1) a quantitative analysis of changes to built and natural 
        environments since the most recent quadrennial fire review and 
        the impact of such changes on pre-fire mitigation, wildfire 
        incident response, and proactive recovery from wildfire; and
            (2) an analysis of the intersection between wildfire and 
        public health, conducted in coordination with the Administrator 
        of the Environmental Protection Agency and Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services, acting through the Center for Disease 
        Control and Prevention.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every 4 years for the 20 years thereafter, 
the Secretaries shall jointly submit to the relevant committees a 
report that contains--
            (1) the results of the reviews conducted under subsection 
        (a) and specifies the administrative actions and outcomes that 
        have occurred as a result of such reviews;
            (2) a summary of--
                    (A) the challenges relating to wildfire that are 
                anticipated during the 20-year period immediately 
                following the report; and
                    (B) the most significant long-term wildland fire 
                management challenges;
            (3) recommendations regarding such Federal legislation and 
        administrative actions as the Secretaries determine necessary 
        to address the results described in paragraph (1) and the 
        challenges described in paragraph (2);
            (4) an evaluation of any progress made toward--
                    (A) achieving the 3 goals established in the report 
                of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of 
                the Interior entitled ``The National Strategy: the 
                Final Phase of the Development of the National Cohesive 
                Wildland Fire Management Strategy'' (April 2014), as 
                updated by the report entitled ``National Cohesive 
                Wildland Fire Management Strategy Addendum Update'' 
                (January 2023); and
                    (B) implementing recommendations set forth in the 
                report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management 
                Commission entitled ``ON FIRE: The Report of the 
                Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission'' 
                (September 2023); and
            (5) projected future scenarios to highlight areas of 
        consideration for realignment of programs, strategies, 
        capabilities, and the workforce that will assist the 
        Secretaries in addressing the challenges described in paragraph 
        (2).
    (c) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Qualified agencies.--The term ``qualified agencies'' 
        means--
                    (A) with respect to the Secretary of Agriculture, 
                the Forest Service;
                    (B) with respect to the Secretary of the Interior, 
                the Department of the Interior;
                    (C) with respect to the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and 
                the United States Fire Administration; and
                    (D) such other entities as the Secretaries 
                determine appropriate.
            (2) Relevant committees.--The term ``relevant committees'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committees on Natural Resources, Homeland 
                Security, and Science, Space, and Technology of the 
                House of Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                Governmental Affairs, and Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate.
            (3) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the 
        Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and 
        the Secretary of Homeland Security.
                                 <all>
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