I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9702 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Wildfire Science 

and Technology Advisory Board. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 

Mr. NEGUSE (for himself and Mr. HARDER of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, 

and in addition to the Committee on 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 the Interior to establish the 

Wildfire Science and Technology Advisory Board. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildfire Coordination 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. WILDFIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY 

2 BOARD. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

4 shall establish a permanent advisory committee to be 

5 known as the Wildfire Science and Technology Advisory 

6 Board (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Board’’). 

7 (b) DUTIES.—The Board shall— 

8 (1) coordinate the operationalization within the 

9 Federal Government of wildfire research, including 

10 by— 

11 (A) identifying avenues for translating 

12 wildfire research into practical applications; 

13 (B) establishing criteria and frameworks to 

14 prioritize wildfire research projects for 

15 operationalization; 

16 (C) facilitating the transition of prioritized 

17 wildfire research into operational projects; 

18 (D) connecting and supporting entities in 

19 wildfire research and operations; 

20 (E) providing feedback to refine and en21 hance wildfire research outputs for practical ap22 plication; and 

23 (F) partnering, as the Board determines 

24 appropriate, with private sector and federally25 funded research centers to further the work of 

26 the Board; 


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1 (2) encourage wildfire researchers and Federal 

2 agencies undertaking wildfire operations to in3 clude— 

4 (A) relevant disciplines, such as public 

5 health, meteorological science, and predictive 

6 modeling; and 

7 (B) consideration of built and natural fire8 prone environments; and 

9 (3) disseminate information, including by— 

10 (A) establishing mechanisms, such as 

11 newsletters and publications, online portals, 

12 webinars, and workshops, to disseminate wild13 fire research findings, operational best prac14 tices, and resources to relevant stakeholders 

15 and practitioners; and 

16 (B) promoting activities of the Board to 

17 ensure visibility and accessibility to stake18 holders. 

19 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Board 

21 shall be composed of the following members: 

22 (A) The Secretary of the Interior (or the 

23 designee thereof). 

24 (B) The Secretary of Agriculture (or the 

25 designee thereof). 


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1 (C) The Secretary of Commerce (or the 

2 designee thereof). 

3 (D) The Chief of the Forest Service (or 

4 the designee thereof). 

5 (E) The Director of the Bureau of Indian 

6 Affairs (or the designee thereof). 

7 (F) The Director of the Bureau of Land 

8 Management (or the designee thereof). 

9 (G) The Administrator of the Federal 

10 Emergency Management Agency (or the des11 ignee thereof, except that such designee may 

12 not be the member of the Board serving pursu13 ant to subparagraph (H)). 

14 (H) The United States Fire Administrator 

15 (or the designee thereof). 

16 (I) The Director of the United States Fish 

17 and Wildlife Service (or the designee thereof). 

18 (J) The Administrator of the National 

19 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or 

20 the designee thereof). 

21 (K) The Director of the National Park 

22 Service (or the designee thereof). 

23 (L) The Director of the National Institute 

24 of Standards and Technology (or the designee 

25 thereof). 


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1 (M) The Director of the U.S. Geological 

2 Survey (or the designee thereof). 

3 (N) The Director of the Office of Science 

4 and Technology Policy (or the designee there5 of). 

6 (O) The Director of the National Science 

7 Foundation (or designee thereof). 

8 (P) The Administrator of the National 

9 Aeronautics and Space Administration (or des10 ignee thereof). 

11 (Q) The Director of the Centers for Dis12 ease Control and Prevention (or designee there13 of). 

14 (R) The Administrator of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency (or designee thereof). 

16 (S) Not more than 18 members, to be ap17 pointed by the Secretary of the Interior, as fol18 lows: 

19 (i) At least 2 representatives of State, 

20 local, or Tribal governments. 

21 (ii) Representatives of relevant pri22 vate-sector entities, such as codes and 

23 standards-setting organizations, prescribed 

24 fire associations, and entities with experVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:25 Sep 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9702.IH H9702

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1 tise in wildfire science and wildfire risk 

2 identification, transfer, and mitigation. 

3 (iii) Wildfire, forest health, or ecologi4 cal restoration researchers. 

5 (iv) Public health experts. 

6 (v) Meteorological scientists. 

7 (vi) Predictive modeling experts. 

8 (vii) Such other members as the Sec9 retary of the Interior deems appropriate. 

10 (2) TERMS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

12 Board serving pursuant to subparagraph (M) or 

13 (N) of paragraph (1) shall be appointed for a 

14 term of 2 years. 

15 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Board 

16 shall be filled in the manner in which the origi17 nal appointment was made. 

18 (3) PAY AND EXPENSES.— 

19 (A) PROHIBITION ON COMPENSATION.—A 

20 member of the Board shall serve without com21 pensation. 

22 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of 

23 the Board shall receive travel expenses, includ24 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accord25 ance with applicable provisions under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:25 Sep 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9702.IH H9702

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1 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (4) CHAIRPERSON.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), the Chairperson shall rotate 

6 annually among the members of the Board 

7 serving pursuant to subparagraphs (A), (B), 

8 and (C) of paragraph (1), beginning with the 

9 member serving pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), 

10 followed by the member serving pursuant to 

11 paragraph (1)(B). 

12 (B) EXCEPTION.—For any term, the mem13 bers of the Board may designate a member of 

14 the Board to serve as the Chairperson of the 

15 Board in lieu of the official (or the designee 

16 thereof) who would otherwise serve as the 

17 Chairperson pursuant to subparagraph (A). 

18 (5) STAFF; TEMPORARY AND INTERMITTENT

19 SERVICES.— 

20 (A) STAFF.—The Board may appoint per21 sonnel as it considers appropriate. 

22 (B) PAY.—The Chairperson of the Board 

23 may fix the compensation of the personnel ap24 pointed under subparagraph (A) without regard 

25 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 


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1 III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, 

2 relating to classification of positions and Gen3 eral Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of 

4 pay for such personnel may not exceed the an5 nual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of 

6 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 

7 such title. 

8 (C) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

9 The head of any Federal department or agency 

10 may detail any of the personnel of that depart11 ment or agency to the Board. A detail under 

12 the preceding sentence shall be without reim13 bursement and without interruption or loss of 

14 civil service status or privilege. 

15 (D) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND

16 INTERMITTENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of 

17 the Board may procure temporary and intermit18 tent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, 

19 United States Code, at rates for individuals 

20 that do not exceed the daily equivalent of the 

21 annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V 

22 of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 

23 of that title. 

24 (d) REPORT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date that 

2 is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 the Board shall submit a report to the relevant con4 gressional committees, which shall— 

5 (A) detail the activities of the Board; 

6 (B) discuss progress on transitioning wild7 fire research into operations within the Federal 

8 government; 

9 (C) discuss barriers to successfully 

10 transitioning wildfire research into operations 

11 within the Federal government; and 

12 (D) provide recommendations on future 

13 wildfire research priorities and operational 

14 needs. 

15 (2) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT16 TEES.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘relevant con17 gressional committees’’ means— 

18 (A) the Committees on Agriculture; Nat19 ural Resources; Science, Space, and Tech20 nology; and Transportation and Infrastructure 

21 of the House of Representatives; and 

22 (B) the Committees on Agriculture, Nutri23 tion, and Forestry; Commerce, Science, and 

24 Transportation; Energy and Natural Resources; 

25 Environment and Public Works; and Homeland 


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1 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen2 ate. 

3 (e) TERMINATION.—Section 1013(a)(2) of title 5, 

4 United States Code, shall not apply to the Board. 

5 (f) FUNDING.— 

6 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 

8 to carry out this section, to remain available until 

9 expended. 

10 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—In addition to the 

11 amounts made available pursuant to paragraph (1), 

12 the Federal members of the Board may, for pur13 poses of carrying out this section, use amounts 

14 whose purpose is not otherwise specified by the ap15 propriations laws available to the employing agencies 

16 of such members. 

Æ 


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