I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8656 

To provide for the implementation of certain recommendations from the 

Report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 7, 2024 

Mr. HARDER of California (for himself, Mr. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida, Mr. 

NEGUSE, Mr. STANTON, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. GARAMENDI, 

and Ms. HOYLE of Oregon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 

Committees on Agriculture, Education and the Workforce, Oversight and 

Accountability, Armed Services, Energy and Commerce, Science, Space, 

and Technology, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Small Business, 

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 provide for the implementation of certain recommendations from the Report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation 

and Management Commission. 

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 ‘‘Modernizing Wildfire 

5 Safety and Prevention Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 The table of contents for this Act is the following: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of Contents. 

Sec. 3. Definition of Report. 

TITLE I—WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 101. Middle Fire Leaders Academy (Report Recommendation 55). 

Sec. 102. Wildfire workforce grant program (Report Recommendation 88). 

TITLE II—WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER SUPPORT 

Sec. 201. Fire Service Retention and Retirement Portability (Report Recommendation 86). 

Sec. 202. Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program (Report 

Recommendation 87). 

TITLE III—WILDFIRE SMOKE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 

Sec. 301. National Smoke Monitoring and Alert System (Report Recommendation 44). 

Sec. 302. Health risk assessment for Wildfire Smoke Exposure (Report Recommendation 100). 

TITLE IV—FIRE MITIGATION AND TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 401. Improvements to wildfire forage loss programs (Report Recommendation 59). 

Sec. 402. Improvements to FEMA Programs (Report Recommendations 66 and 

64). 

Sec. 403. The Wildland Dynamic Risk Mapping Program (Report Recommendation 118). 

Sec. 404. Improvements to grant programs for community wildfire risk reduction and postfire recovery efforts (Report Recommendation 

142). 

Sec. 405. Joint Office of the Fire Environment Center (Report Recommendations 104, 105, 106). 

Sec. 406. Interagency Data Collaboration Environment (Report Recommendation 107). 

Sec. 407. Requirements related to payment timing for certain programs addressing wildfire damages (Report Recommendation 61). 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF REPORT. 

4 In this Act, the term ‘‘Report’’ means the Report of 

5 the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commis6 sion, dated September 2023. 


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1 TITLE I—WORKFORCE 

2 DEVELOPMENT 

3 SEC. 101. MIDDLE FIRE LEADERS ACADEMY (REPORT REC4 OMMENDATION 55). 

5 (a) MIDDLE FIRE LEADERS ACADEMY.—Not later 

6 than a 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

7 the Chief of the Forest Service shall create a Middle Fire 

8 Leaders Academy which shall be open to Federal and non9 Federal wildland fire response workforce employees. The 

10 Middle Fire Leaders Academy shall provide— 

11 (1) rapid training and certification for emerging 

12 wildfire and beneficial fire leaders; and 

13 (2) additional and expanded training of suffi14 cient quality to enable managers and decision mak15 ers responsible for addressing wildfire incidents and 

16 prescribed burns to make informed decisions regard17 ing the beneficial application and management of 

18 fire, including managing local fire regimes and other 

19 forms of beneficial fire use. 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034. 


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1 SEC. 102. WILDFIRE WORKFORCE GRANT PROGRAM (RE2 PORT RECOMMENDATION 88). 

3 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Not later than 6 months 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

5 Education shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to 

6 eligible entities to carry out a program described in sub7 section (c). 

8 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

9 under this Act, an eligible entity shall submit to the Sec10 retary an application in such manner, at such time, and 

11 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 

12 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

13 a grant under this Act shall carry out an educational or 

14 vocational program that leads to a degree, certificate, or 

15 other recognized credential in wildfire emergency manage16 ment, including— 

17 (1) agricultural landscape planning relating to 

18 wildfire resilience; 

19 (2) natural resource management relating to 

20 wildfire resilience; 

21 (3) emergency management; 

22 (4) emergency medical technician services; 

23 (5) paramedic services; 

24 (6) fire science; 

25 (7) firefighting; 


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1 (8) community planning relating to wildfire re2 silience; 

3 (9) safety and operations training for structural 

4 firefighters assigned to wildfire incidents; or 

5 (10) any other program that trains individuals 

6 in the wildfire mitigation, response, or recovery 

7 workforce. 

8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ACCREDITED LOCAL ACADEMY.—The term 

10 ‘‘accredited local academy’’ means a partnership, be11 tween a local fire suppression organization and the 

12 office of the Fire Marshall of a State, that delivers 

13 a State Fire Training program. 

14 (2) ACCREDITED REGIONAL TRAINING PRO15 GRAM.—The term ‘‘accredited regional training pro16 gram’’ means a partnership, between a junior or 

17 community college or institution of higher education 

18 and the office of the Fire Marshall of a State, that 

19 delivers an approved State Fire Training program 

20 within a given region. 

21 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti22 ty’’ means— 

23 (A) a junior or community college; 

24 (B) an institution of higher education; 


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1 (C) an accredited regional training pro2 gram; 

3 (D) an accredited local academy; or 

4 (E) a nonprofit entity with experience ad5 ministering education and training programs 

6 for fire service personnel. 

7 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

8 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

9 meaning given such term in section 102 of the High10 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

11 (5) JUNIOR OR COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The 

12 term ‘‘junior or community college’’ has the meaning 

13 given such term in section 312 of the Higher Edu14 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058). 

15 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

17 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034. 

18 TITLE II—WILDLAND 

19 FIREFIGHTER SUPPORT 

20 SEC. 201. FIRE SERVICE RETENTION AND RETIREMENT 

21 PORTABILITY (REPORT RECOMMENDATION 

22 86). 

23 (a) BREAK-IN-SERVICE CONSIDERATION FOR FED24 ERAL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENTS.—Not25 withstanding sections 8336(c) and 8412(d) of title 5, 


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1 United States Code, not later than May 1, 2024, the Sec2 retary concerned, in coordination with the Secretary of 

3 Labor, shall promulgate regulations, as necessary, to en4 sure that a Federal wildland firefighter would not forfeit 

5 previously made contributions or eligibility for firefighter 

6 retirement when the Federal wildland firefighter has a vol7 untary break in service of not more than 2 years. 

8 (b) RETENTION OF ENHANCED RETIREMENT BENE9 FITS DURING PERIOD OF NON-FEDERAL SERVICE.—Sec10 tion 104(e)(2) of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu11 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5323(e)) is amended by 

12 adding at the end the following: ‘‘Any Federal wildland 

13 firefighter (as that term is defined in section 201(d) of 

14 the Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act of 

15 2024) who retains coverage, rights, and benefits under 

16 such chapter 83 or 84 pursuant to this paragraph shall 

17 retain enhanced retirement benefits under either such 

18 chapter.’’. 

19 (c) JOB-SHARING.—Notwithstanding any other pro20 vision of law, a Federal wildland firefighter or wildland 

21 fire support personnel may occupy a position in the civil 

22 service (as that term is defined in section 2101 of title 

23 5, United States Code) and a position with a Tribal gov24 ernment under a job-share agreement even if the position 

25 with a Tribal government is classified at a level higher 


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1 than the civil service position, including any level that is 

2 above that of the highest level applicable to the General 

3 Schedule. 

4 (d) FEDERAL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER.—In this 

5 section, the term ‘‘Federal wildland firefighter’’ means a 

6 person who is— 

7 (1) in a temporary, seasonal, or permanent po8 sition at the Department of Agriculture or the De9 partment of the Interior or as a Tribal firefighter 

10 who; 

11 (A) maintains group, emergency incident 

12 management, or fire qualifications, as estab13 lished annually by the Standards for Wildland 

14 Fire Position Qualifications published by the 

15 National Wildfire Coordinating Group; and 

16 (B) primarily engages in or supports 

17 wildland fire management activities, including 

18 forestry and rangeland technicians and posi19 tions concerning aviation, engineering heavy 

20 equipment operations, dispatch, or fire and 

21 fuels management; or 

22 (2) a Federal firefighter stationed on military 

23 installations under the Department of Defense who 

24 engages in or supports wildland fire management ac25 tivities, including forestry and rangeland technicians 


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1 and positions concerning aviation, engineering heavy 

2 equipment operations, dispatch, or fire and fuels 

3 management. 

4 SEC. 202. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT CASUALTY AS5 SISTANCE PROGRAM (REPORT REC6 OMMENDATION 87). 

7 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 6 

8 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

9 Secretary of the Interior shall develop a Wildland Fire 

10 Management Casualty Assistance Program (referred to in 

11 this section as the ‘‘Program’’) to provide assistance to 

12 the next-of-kin of— 

13 (1) critically injured, ill, and deceased fire14 fighters injury, illness, or death in the line of duty; 

15 and 

16 (2) wildland fire support personnel critically in17 jured or killed in the line of duty. 

18 (b) ASPECTS OF PROGRAM.—The Program shall ad19 dress the following: 

20 (1) The initial and any subsequent notifications 

21 to the next-of-kin of a firefighter or wildland fire 

22 support personnel who— 

23 (A) was killed in the line of duty; or 


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1 (B) requires hospitalization or treatment 

2 at a medical facility due to a line-of-duty injury 

3 or illness. 

4 (2) The reimbursement of next-of-kin for ex5 penses associated with travel to visit a firefighter or 

6 wildland fire support personnel who— 

7 (A) was killed in the line of duty; or 

8 (B) requires hospitalization or treatment 

9 at a medical facility due to a line-of-duty injury 

10 or illness. 

11 (3) The qualifications, assignment, training, du12 ties, supervision, and accountability for the perform13 ance of casualty assistance responsibilities. 

14 (4) The relief or transfer of casualty assistance 

15 officers, including notification to survivors of critical 

16 injury or illness in the line of duty and next-of-kin 

17 of the reassignment of such officers to other duties. 

18 (5) Centralized, short-term and long-term case 

19 management procedures for casualty assistance, in20 cluding rapid access by survivors of firefighters or 

21 wildland fire support personnel and casualty assist22 ance officers to expert case managers and coun23 selors. 

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1 vivors and next-of-kin of firefighters or wildland fire 

2 support personnel, of personalized, integrated infor3 mation on the benefits and financial assistance avail4 able to such survivors from the Federal Government. 

5 (7) The provision of information to survivors 

6 and next-of-kin of firefighters or wildland fire sup7 port personnel on mechanisms for registering com8 plaints about, or requests for, additional assistance 

9 related to casualty assistance. 

10 (8) Liaison with the Department of the Inte11 rior, the Department of Justice, and the Social Se12 curity Administration to ensure prompt and accurate 

13 resolution of issues relating to benefits administered 

14 by those agencies for survivors of firefighters or 

15 wildland fire support personnel. 

16 (9) Data collection regarding the incidence and 

17 quality of casualty assistance provided to survivors 

18 of firefighters or wildland fire support personnel. 

19 (c) LINE OF DUTY DEATH BENEFITS.—The Pro20 gram shall not affect existing authorities for Line of Duty 

21 Death benefits for Federal firefighters and wildland fire 

22 support personnel. 

23 (d) NEXT-OF-KIN DEFINED.—In this section, the 

24 term ‘‘next of kin’’ means person or persons in the highest 


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1 category of priority as determined by the following list 

2 (categories appear in descending order of priority): 

3 (1) Surviving legal spouse. 

4 (2) Children (whether by current or prior mar5 riage) age 18 years or older in descending prece6 dence by age. 

7 (3) Father or mother, unless by court order 

8 custody has been vested in another (adoptive parent 

9 takes precedence over natural parent); 

10 (4) Siblings (whole or half) age 18 years or 

11 older in descending precedence by age. 

12 (5) Grandfather or grandmother. 

13 (6) Any other relative (precedence to be deter14 mined in accordance with the civil law of descent of 

15 the deceased former member’s State of domicile at 

16 time of death). 

17 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

19 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034. 

20 TITLE III—WILDFIRE SMOKE 

21 AND PUBLIC HEALTH 

22 SEC. 301. NATIONAL SMOKE MONITORING AND ALERT SYS23 TEM (REPORT RECOMMENDATION 44). 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the Na25 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, acting 


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1 through the Director of the National Weather Service, and 

2 in conjunction with the Secretary of Agriculture acting 

3 through the Chief of the Forest Service, the Secretary of 

4 the Interior, the Administrator of the Environmental Pro5 tection Agency, and the Director of the Centers for Dis6 ease Control and Prevention shall establish a nationally 

7 consistent smoke monitoring and alert system to provide 

8 consistent, real-time information and forecasts on air 

9 quality impacts from wildfire smoke, including wildfire 

10 smoke in the built environment. 

11 (b) INCREASE IN SMOKE SENSORS.—In carrying out 

12 subsection (a), to ensure adequate and accessible data, the 

13 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

14 shall increase the availability and use of air monitoring 

15 devices for wildfire smoke, including, to distinguish wild16 fire smoke from other forms of air pollution, increasing 

17 the availability and use of— 

18 (1) speciation monitors; and 

19 (2) nonregulatory air monitors. 

20 (c) USE OF SATELLITES.—In carrying out subsection 

21 (a), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

22 Agency shall explore the use of satellites. 

23 (d) PUBLIC COUNTY-RESOLUTION SMOKE ALERT

24 SYSTEM FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND ROADWAYS SAFE25 TY.—In carrying out subsection (a), not later than 1 year 


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1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis2 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis3 tration, acting through the Director of the National 

4 Weather Service and in coordination with the Secretary 

5 of Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv6 ice, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Administrator 

7 of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Director 

8 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall 

9 establish a public county-resolution smoke alert system for 

10 public health and roadways safety which shall be based 

11 on levels of particulate matter. The system established 

12 under this subsection shall be in addition to the National 

13 Weather Service Dense Smoke Advisories, which are based 

14 on visibility. 

15 (e) COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF AIR QUAL16 ITY AND SMOKE ALERT INFORMATION.—In carrying out 

17 subsection (a), the Director of the National Weather Serv18 ice shall collect all air quality forecasts, including through 

19 AirNow, public notifications, and alerts for smoke issued 

20 by Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial air agencies 

21 and disseminate them through weather forecast office net22 works to enable the Wireless Emergency Alerts System to 

23 be extended to support smoke communications to protect 

24 public health. 


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1 (f) FOREST SERVICE PERSONNEL AND SMOKE MONI2 TORING EQUIPMENT.—In carrying out subsection (a), not 

3 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

4 Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief 

5 of the Forest Service, in coordination with the Secretary 

6 of the Interior, shall expand the personnel and smoke 

7 monitoring equipment of the Forest Service to increase the 

8 capacity of the Forest Service to assess wildfire smoke, 

9 including wildfire smoke in the built environment, and 

10 carry out prescribed fires. 

11 (g) INTERAGENCY WILDLAND FIRE AIR QUALITY

12 RESPONSE PROGRAM PERSONNEL AND SMOKE MONI13 TORING EQUIPMENT.—In carrying out subsection (a), not 

14 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 

16 Interior shall expand the personnel (including air resource 

17 advisors) of, and smoke monitoring equipment available 

18 to, the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response 

19 Program established under section 1114(f) of the John D. 

20 Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation 

21 Act (43 U.S.C. 1748b–1(f)). 

22 (h) EXPANSION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPAC23 ITY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

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1 tion Agency shall expand the emergency response ca2 pacity, including personnel and equipment, of the 

3 Environmental Protection Agency— 

4 (A) to measure air pollution from wildfires 

5 that involve combustion of hazardous materials; 

6 and 

7 (B) to communicate information during 

8 smoke events resulting from wildfires. 

9 (2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

10 ‘‘hazardous materials’’ means explosive, flammable, 

11 combustible, corrosive, oxidizing, toxic, infectious, or 

12 radioactive materials that, when involved in an acci13 dent and released in sufficient quantities, put some 

14 portion of the general public in immediate danger 

15 from exposure, contact, inhalation, or ingestion. 

16 (i) IMPROVEMENTS TO EXISTING SYSTEMS.—In car17 rying out subsection (a), in order to maintain the Environ18 mental Protection Agency AirNow framework and tech19 nology as a state-of-the-art, real-time resource for pro20 viding robust and actionable information to protect public 

21 health from wildfire smoke, the Administrator of the Envi22 ronmental Protection Agency shall, as the Administrator 

23 determines appropriate, improve and modernize such 

24 AirNow framework and technology, including by making 

25 improvements to and otherwise modernizing AirNow.gov, 


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1 AirNow-Tech, the AirNow Environmental Protection 

2 Agency and Forest Service Fire and Smoke Map, AirNow 

3 Forecast Submittal System, and the AirNow mobile app. 

4 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 $32,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034. 

7 SEC. 302. HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT FOR WILDFIRE 

8 SMOKE EXPOSURE (REPORT RECOMMENDA9 TION 100). 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Na12 tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, in 

13 consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental 

14 Protection Agency, the Director of the Centers for Disease 

15 Control and Prevention, the Administrator of the United 

16 States Fire Administration, the Chief of the Forest Serv17 ice, and the Director of the Office of Wildland Fire, shall 

18 complete a human health risk assessment for worker expo19 sure to wildfire smoke to estimate the nature and prob20 ability of adverse health effects in workers who may be 

21 exposed to hazards from wildfire smoke, including wildfire 

22 smoke in the built environment. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSESSMENT.—The human 

24 health risk assessment required under subsection (a) shall 

25 address the following: 


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1 (1) The health problems for workers that may 

2 be caused by exposure to wildfire smoke, including 

3 wildfire smoke in the built environment. 

4 (2) The probability that workers will experience 

5 health problems when exposed to different con6 centrations of wildfire smoke, including wildfire 

7 smoke in the built environment. 

8 (3) The chemicals that workers are exposed to 

9 from wildfire smoke, including wildfire smoke in the 

10 built environment, as well as the overall level and 

11 duration of such exposure. 

12 (4) The differences in worker susceptibility to 

13 health effects from exposure to wildfire smoke, in14 cluding wildfire smoke in the built environment. 

15 (5) The effectiveness of mitigating both acute 

16 and cumulative exposures to wildfire smoke, includ17 ing wildfire smoke in the built environment, in de18 creasing adverse health effects from such wildfire 

19 smoke. 

20 (c) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 6 months after 

21 completing the human health risk assessment under sub22 section (a), the Director of the National Institute for Oc23 cupational Safety and Health shall develop and publish 

24 best practices to mitigate worker exposure to wildfire 

25 smoke, including wildfire smoke in the built environment. 


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1 Such best practices shall be informed by the human health 

2 assessment completed under subsection (a). 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the Na5 tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to 

6 carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

7 2025 through 2027. 

8 TITLE IV—FIRE MITIGATION 

9 AND TECHNOLOGY 

10 SEC. 401. IMPROVEMENTS TO WILDFIRE FORAGE LOSS 

11 PROGRAMS (REPORT RECOMMENDATION 59). 

12 (a) LIVESTOCK FORAGE PROGRAM.—Section 

13 1501(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

14 U.S.C. 9081(c)(4)(A)(ii)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(in15 cluding a prescribed fire, beneficial fire, and wildfire man16 aged for resource objectives)’’ before the period. 

17 (b) EMERGENCY LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PRO18 GRAM.—Section 1501(d)(1) of the Agricultural Act of 

19 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 

20 wildfires’’ and inserting ‘‘wildfires, beneficial fires, pre21 scribed fires, and wildfires managed for resource objec22 tives’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. IMPROVEMENTS TO FEMA PROGRAMS (REPORT 

2 RECOMMENDATIONS 66 AND 64). 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 324 of the Robert T. 

4 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 5165b) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 

7 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

8 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and 

9 adjusting the margins accordingly; and 

10 (B) in the matter preceding clause (i), as 

11 so redesignated, by striking ‘‘provide the fol12 lowing percentage rates’’ and inserting ‘‘pro13 vide— 

14 ‘‘(A) excess funds for management costs as 

15 described in subsection (c); and 

16 ‘‘(B) the following percentage rates’’; 

17 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub18 section (d); and 

19 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(c) USE OF EXCESS FUNDS FOR MANAGEMENT

22 COSTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

24 ‘excess funds for management costs’ means the dif25 ference between— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the amount of the applicable specific 

2 management costs authorized under subsection 

3 (b)(1) and subsection (b)(2)(B); and 

4 ‘‘(B) as of the date on which the grant 

5 award is closed, the amount of funding for 

6 management costs activities expended by the 

7 grantee or subgrantee receiving the financial as8 sistance for costs described in subparagraph 

9 (A). 

10 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF EXCESS FUNDS FOR

11 MANAGEMENT COSTS.—The President may make 

12 available to a grantee or subgrantee receiving finan13 cial assistance under section 403, 404, 406, 407, or 

14 502 any excess funds for management costs. 

15 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Excess funds for man16 agement costs made available to a grantee or sub17 grantee under paragraph (2) may be used for— 

18 ‘‘(A) activities associated with building ca19 pacity to prepare for, recover from, or mitigate 

20 the impacts of a major disaster or emergency 

21 declared under section 401 or 501, respectively; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) management costs associated with 

24 any— 

25 ‘‘(i) major disaster; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) emergency; 

2 ‘‘(iii) disaster preparedness measure; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(iv) mitigation activity or measure 

5 authorized under section 203, 204, 205, or 

6 404. 

7 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY.—Excess funds for manage8 ment costs made available to a grantee or sub9 grantee under paragraph (2) shall remain available 

10 to the grantee or subgrantee until the date that is 

11 5 years after the date on which the excess funds for 

12 management costs are made available under para13 graph (2).’’. 

14 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub15 section (a) shall apply with respect to any grant award 

16 in relation to a major disaster or emergency declared 

17 under section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. 

18 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191)— 

20 (1) the declaration of which is made on or after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act; and 

22 (2) that is funded with amounts appropriated 

23 on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (c) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 


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1 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

2 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen3 ate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc4 ture of the House of Representatives a report— 

5 (1) on the actual management costs described 

6 in section 324 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

7 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 5165b) during the period of a major disaster dec9 laration under section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 5170) to determine whether the amount set aside for 

11 those management costs after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act is appropriate; and 

13 (2) that includes the management costs de14 scribed in section 324 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis15 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 5165b) for each disaster declared under dur17 ing the period of a major disaster declaration under 

18 section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the 

19 5-year period preceding the date of the report, the 

20 amount set aside for those management costs, the 

21 use of those management costs, the length of each 

22 disaster, and the reason for the length of each dis23 aster. 


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1 (d) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—No additional funds 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the amend3 ments made by subsection (a). 

4 (e) TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE EVENTS STEMMING

5 FROM SAME WILDFIRE.— 

6 (1) MAJOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE PRO7 GRAMS.—Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis8 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 5170) is amended— 

10 ‘‘(d) WILDLAND FIRE MAJOR DISASTER DECLARA11 TION.—In the case of an initial wildland fire major dis12 aster declaration under this section, the declaration shall 

13 include any landslide, mudslide, flood, or other natural 

14 disaster event which stems from the wildland fire occuring 

15 within the 3-year period beginning on the first date of the 

16 wildland fire.’’. 

17 (2) EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.—Sec18 tion 501 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5191) is amended 

19 by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(d) WILDLAND FIRE MAJOR DISASTER DECLARA21 TION.—In the case of an initial wildland fire major dis22 aster declaration under this section, the declaration shall 

23 include any landslide, mudslide, flood, or other natural 

24 disaster event which stems from the wildland fire occuring 


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1 within the 3-year period beginning on the first date of the 

2 wildland fire.’’. 

3 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

4 by this subsection shall apply with respect to events 

5 occurring after the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act. 

7 (f) FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM POL8 ICY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

10 Management Agency shall recommend such regulations or 

11 guidance as are necessary to make eligible assessments 

12 and emergency stabilization to protect public safety, in13 cluding for the fire management assistance program under 

14 section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

15 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187), irrespective 

16 of the incident period for a declared fire. 

17 (g) CHANGES TO PUBLIC ASSISTANCE POLICY

18 GUIDE.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact19 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emer20 gency Management Agency shall amend the Public Assist21 ance Program and Policy Guide of the Federal Emergency 

22 Management Agency to include guidance on wildfire-spe23 cific recovery challenges, including debris removal, emer24 gency protective measures, and the resulting toxicity of 

25 drinking water resources. 


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1 (h) MITIGATION COST EFFECTIVENESS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

3 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall con4 duct a review of the criteria for evaluating the cost 

5 effectiveness of projects intended to mitigate the im6 pacts of wildfire under sections 203 and 404 of the 

7 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

8 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133; 5170c), includ9 ing— 

10 (A) the establishment of precalculated ben11 efits criterion for common defensible space miti12 gation projects for wildfire mitigation; 

13 (B) the use of nature-based infrastructure 

14 in wildfire mitigation; 

15 (C) considerations for vegetation manage16 ment for wildfire mitigation; 

17 (D) reducing the negative effects of wild18 fire smoke on public health; and 

19 (E) lessening the impact of wildfires on 

20 water infrastructure. 

21 (2) UPDATED CRITERIA.—Not later than 1 year 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis23 trator shall issue such guidance as is necessary to— 

24 (A) update criteria for evaluating the cost 

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1 tions 203 and 404 of the Robert T. Stafford 

2 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 5133; 5170c) based on the results 

4 of the review conducted under paragraph (1); 

5 and 

6 (B) prioritize such projects based on the 

7 criteria updated under subparagraph (A). 

8 SEC. 403. THE WILDLAND DYNAMIC RISK MAPPING PRO9 GRAM (REPORT RECOMMENDATION 118). 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

12 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

13 shall work jointly with the National Aeronautical and 

14 Space Agency, United States Geological Survey, United 

15 States Fire Administration, universities, and National 

16 Laboratories to— 

17 (1) develop dynamic risk and hazard maps for 

18 the wildland and built environments in the United 

19 States; and 

20 (2) ensure that such dynamic risk maps are up21 dated as required to reflect each wildfire season— 

22 (A) changes in the natural environment, 

23 such as postflood or fire alterations; 

24 (B) rapidly changing environmental condi25 tions; 


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1 (C) measure changes in fuels moisture on 

2 the temporal scale; and 

3 (D) utilize both remote sensing tech4 nologies and on the ground monitoring. 

5 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the 

7 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 

8 carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

9 2025 through 2029. 

10 SEC. 404. IMPROVEMENTS TO GRANT PROGRAMS FOR COM11 MUNITY WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION AND 

12 POSTFIRE RECOVERY EFFORTS (REPORT 

13 RECOMMENDATION 142). 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall, 

16 with respect to the grant programs for community wildfire 

17 risk reduction and postfire recovery efforts carried out by 

18 each such Secretary— 

19 (1) increase the accessibility of such grant pro20 grams; 

21 (2) reduce the complexity of the application 

22 process for grants under such programs, including— 

23 (A) by reducing the amount of information 

24 required to apply; and 


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1 (B) to the maximum extent practicable, en2 abling auto-populating fields in the online appli3 cations for such grants; 

4 (3) reduce administrative burden with respect 

5 to such grant programs, including by— 

6 (A) aligning program applications to re7 duce separate applications for similar programs; 

8 and 

9 (B) developing a common section for appli10 cations to reduce duplicative questions; 

11 (4) review the statutory and administrative bar12 riers that impede the ability of communities to 

13 quickly access funds under each such grant pro14 gram; 

15 (5) increase technical assistance provided to ap16 plicants, recipients, and subrecipients; and 

17 (6) increase outreach to potential applicants for 

18 such grant programs, including by— 

19 (A) providing appropriate dedicated staff 

20 to assist individuals and communities in identi21 fying and applying for grants under such grant 

22 programs; and 

23 (B) notifying potential applicants of eligi24 bility and open application seasons with respect 

25 to such grant programs. 


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1 (b) SECRETARIES DEFINED.—In this section, the 

2 term ‘‘Secretaries’’ means the Secretary of the Interior, 

3 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 

4 the Forest Service, the Administrator of the Federal 

5 Emergency Management Agency, the Administrator of the 

6 Small Business Administration, and the Administrator of 

7 the Environmental Protection Agency. 

8 SEC. 405. JOINT OFFICE OF THE FIRE ENVIRONMENT CEN9 TER (REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS 104, 105, 

10 106). 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than a 1 year after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis14 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad15 ministration shall establish a joint office, which shall 

16 be known as the ‘‘Joint Office of the Fire Environ17 ment Center’’. 

18 (2) STRUCTURE.—The Joint Office shall be 

19 comprised of the following branches: 

20 (A) TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING.— 

21 Technology and Engineering, which shall— 

22 (i) focus on modeling and the building 

23 and testing of technology; and 

24 (ii) may enter into public-private part25 nerships. 


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1 (B) DATA SERVICES.—Data Services, 

2 which shall— 

3 (i) be responsible for testing artificial 

4 intelligence and machine learning tech5 nologies to support managers, firefighters, 

6 and public health officials on the ground, 

7 including producing decision consequence 

8 data, modeling risk, and suggesting re9 sources based on fire and smoke conditions 

10 at the time and place of ignition detection; 

11 and 

12 (ii) working with State, local, and 

13 Tribal entities on data sharing. 

14 (C) ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION.—Analysis 

15 and Prediction. 

16 (D) EDUCATION AND CONSULTATION.— 

17 Education and Consultation, which shall be re18 sponsible for incident management. 

19 (E) OTHER.—Any other branch deter20 mined necessary or appropriate by the Board. 

21 (b) FUNCTIONS OF JOINT OFFICE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

23 (A) AVAILABILITY OF PRODUCTS AND IN24 FORMATION.—The Joint Office shall make 


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1 available any products and information devel2 oped by the Joint Office to— 

3 (i) geographic area coordination cen4 ters; 

5 (ii) incident management teams; 

6 (iii) land managers; 

7 (iv) air quality and water provider 

8 agencies; 

9 (v) State, local, and Tribal govern10 ments; and 

11 (vi) public health agencies. 

12 (B) SERVICES AND SUPPORT.—The Joint 

13 Office shall provide real-time, science-based, 

14 and data-rich scientific and technical analytic 

15 services, decision support, and predictive serv16 ices to inform land and fuels management, com17 munity risk reduction, and fire management 

18 and response, including the following: 

19 (i) PREFIRE MITIGATION AND RISK

20 REDUCTION.—Prefire mitigation and risk 

21 reduction activities for landscapes and 

22 communities, including through assess23 ments and modeling of— 

24 (I) climate condition; 

25 (II) fuels; 


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1 (III) home ignition; 

2 (IV) structure-to-structure 

3 spread; and 

4 (V) values at risk. 

5 (ii) PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY

6 DURING AND AFTER FIRE.—Activities that 

7 better protect public health and safety dur8 ing and after a fire, including mapping 

9 services and data provision to support 

10 evacuation decisions in communities at risk 

11 and air quality monitoring and forecast 

12 data to support health risk information 

13 that helps protect the public from smoke 

14 impacts associated with fire. 

15 (iii) FIRE RESPONSE AND MANAGE16 MENT.—Fire response and management, 

17 including— 

18 (I) response preparedness and 

19 initial attack readiness for new fires; 

20 (II) deployment of response re21 sources; and 

22 (III) firefighter movement deci23 sions during active fire management. 

24 (iv) POSTFIRE ACTIVITIES.—Postfire 

25 activities, including— 


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1 (I) vegetation recovery; 

2 (II) debris flows and flooding; 

3 (III) watershed protection; and 

4 (IV) ecosystem health. 

5 (C) COORDINATION OF FUNCTIONS.—The 

6 Administrator of the National Oceanic and At7 mospheric Administration, in coordination with 

8 each of the agencies specified in subparagraphs 

9 (B) through (J) of subsection (c)(1), shall oper10 ate as a collective entity to produce accessible 

11 products and services for a variety of users and 

12 uses in fire management, including by— 

13 (i) developing timely, manager-focused 

14 models, technologies, assessments, and 

15 forecasts to support fire operational deci16 sionmaking, and short- and long-term fire 

17 planning; and 

18 (ii) integrating the existing specialties 

19 of the constituent land management, com20 munity preparedness, and public health 

21 agencies. 

22 (2) TECHNOLOGICAL COMMON OPERATING EN23 VIRONMENT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Joint Office shall 

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1 ronment for practitioners across the spectrum 

2 of risk mitigation, prescribed fire, response, and 

3 postdisaster response to shepherd the creation 

4 of highly dynamic decision support tools. 

5 (B) PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION.—The 

6 Joint Office shall ensure that public health in7 formation that is essential to integrate into this 

8 common operating environment is provided to 

9 ensure its products accurately reflect the depth 

10 and breadth of the wildfire issues. Information 

11 provided shall include air quality data and fore12 casts and information pertaining to the built 

13 environment. 

14 (c) BOARD OF THE JOINT OFFICE.— 

15 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Joint 

16 Office shall be governed by a board, comprised of 12 

17 members, as follows: 

18 (A) One member who is a career employee 

19 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad20 ministration, appointed by the Administrator of 

21 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin22 istration. 

23 (B) One member who is a career employee 

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1 pointed by the Administrator of the United 

2 States Fire Administration. 

3 (C) One member who is a career employee 

4 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

5 appointed by the Administrator of the Federal 

6 Emergency Management Agency. 

7 (D) One member who is a career employee 

8 of the National Weather Service, appointed by 

9 the Director of the National Weather Service. 

10 (E) One member who is a career employee 

11 of the Forest Service, appointed by the Chief of 

12 the Forest Service. 

13 (F) One member who is a career employee 

14 of the Department of the Interior, appointed by 

15 the Secretary of the Interior. 

16 (G) One member who is a career employee 

17 of the Bureau of Land Management, appointed 

18 by the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage19 ment. 

20 (H) One member who is a career employee 

21 of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, appointed by 

22 the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

23 (I) One member who is a career employee 

24 of the National Park Service, appointed by the 

25 Director of the National Park Service. 


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1 (J) One member who is a career employee 

2 of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

3 appointed by the Director of the United States 

4 Fish and Wildlife Service. 

5 (K) Two members who are non-Federal 

6 representatives of the wildfire community, ap7 pointed by the Board. There initial terms can 

8 be 1 year each. 

9 (2) TERMS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be 

11 appointed for a term of 5 years, except as pro12 vided in paragraphs (2) and (3). 

13 (B) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—Of 

14 the members first appointed— 

15 (i) the members appointed under sub16 paragraphs (I), (J), and (K) of paragraph 

17 (1) shall be appointed for terms of 1 year; 

18 (ii) the members appointed under sub19 paragraphs (D) and (G) of paragraph (1) 

20 shall be appointed for terms of 2 years; 

21 (iii) the members appointed under 

22 subparagraphs (F) and (H) of paragraph 

23 (1) shall be appointed for terms of 3 years; 

24 and 


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1 (iv) the members appointed under 

2 subparagraphs (C) and (E) of paragraph 

3 (1) shall be appointed for terms of 4 years. 

4 (C) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed 

5 to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration 

6 of the term for which the member’s predecessor 

7 was appointed shall be appointed only for the 

8 remainder of that term. A member may serve 

9 after the expiration of that member’s term until 

10 a successor has taken office. A vacancy in the 

11 Board shall be filled in the manner in which the 

12 original appointment was made. 

13 (3) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OF FED14 ERAL EMPLOYEES.—Members of the Board who are 

15 career employees of the United States may not re16 ceive additional pay, allowances, or benefits by rea17 son of their service on the Board. 

18 (4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 

19 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

20 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

21 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

22 States Code. 

23 (5) QUORUM.—7 members of the Board shall 

24 constitute a quorum. 


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1 (6) CHAIRPERSON; VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

2 Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Board 

3 shall be elected by the members of the Board. The 

4 term of office of the Chairperson and Vice Chair5 person shall be 1 year. 

6 (7) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at least 

7 quarterly and at a call of a majority of its members. 

8 (d) DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF JOINT OFFICE; EX9 PERTS AND CONSULTANTS.— 

10 (1) DIRECTOR.—The Joint Office shall have a 

11 Director who shall be appointed by the Board. To 

12 the extent or in the amounts provided in advance in 

13 appropriation Acts, the Director shall be paid at a 

14 rate of basic pay not to exceed the rate of basic pay 

15 for level II of the Executive Schedule. The budget 

16 and decisionmaking authority for the Joint Office is 

17 vested in the Director. 

18 (2) CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, CHIEF FI19 NANCIAL OFFICER, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, 

20 AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER.—With the ap21 proval of the Board, the Director may appoint a 

22 Chief Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer, 

23 Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Operating Offi24 cer. 


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1 (3) STAFF.—With the approval of the Board, 

2 the Director may appoint at least 100 personnel and 

3 may appoint such additional personnel as the Direc4 tor considers appropriate. 

5 (4) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

6 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Joint Office 

7 shall be appointed subject to the provisions of title 

8 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 

9 the competitive service, and shall be paid in accord10 ance with the provisions of chapter 51 and sub11 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to 

12 classification and General Schedule pay rates. 

13 (5) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the 

14 approval of the Joint Office, the Director may pro15 cure temporary and intermittent services under sec16 tion 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at 

17 rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equiva18 lent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay under 

19 the General Schedule. 

20 (6) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon re21 quest of the Director, the head of any Federal de22 partment or agency may detail, on a reimbursable 

23 basis, any of the personnel of that department or 

24 agency to the Joint Office to assist it in carrying out 

25 its duties under this Act. 


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1 (e) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Joint Office may 

2 contract with and compensate government and private 

3 agencies or persons for supplies and services. 

4 (f) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out its functions 

5 under this section, the Joint Office is encouraged to con6 sult with and share relevant data with the Environmental 

7 Protection Agency, the National Aeronautical and Space 

8 Agency, the United States Geological Survey, and the Cen9 ters for Disease Control and Prevention. 

10 (g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

11 following definitions shall apply: 

12 (1) JOINT OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Joint Office’’ 

13 means the Joint Office of the Fire Environment 

14 Center established under subsection (a)(1). 

15 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

16 Board of the Joint Office established by subsection 

17 (c). 

18 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

19 the Director of the Joint Office required by sub20 section (d). 

21 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

22 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the 

23 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 

24 carry out this section $150,000,000 for each of fiscal 

25 years 2025 through 2034. 


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1 SEC. 406. INTERAGENCY DATA COLLABORATION ENVIRON2 MENT (REPORT RECOMMENDATION 107). 

3 (a) EXPANSION OF INFORMATION SYSTEM.—Not 

4 later than a 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

5 this Act, the Administrator of the United States Fire Ad6 ministration shall expand the National Emergency Re7 sponse Information System to include real-time informa8 tion and analytics tools relating to prescribed fires as well 

9 as wildfires that do not impact structures and infrastruc10 ture. The expansion of this system shall be compatible 

11 with, and shared with, existing wildland fire information 

12 collection at the Fire Environment Center established 

13 under section 405. 

14 (b) WILDFIRE DIGITAL DATA CENTER.— 

15 (1) CREATION.—The Administrator of the 

16 United States Fire Administration shall create a 

17 data center to be known as the ‘‘Wildfire Digital 

18 Data Center’’. The Wildfire Digital Data Center 

19 shall be a public, government, scientific research 

20 data catalog and repository available to assist the 

21 wildfire communities research and share data. 

22 (2) DATA AND MODELING COLLABORATION EN23 VIRONMENT.—The Wildfire Digital Data Center 

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1 nity to engage with data across agencies and dis2 ciplines. 

3 (3) OPEN ACCESS.—The Administrator shall 

4 ensure that the Wildfire Digital Data Center is in 

5 compliance with the guidance on public access poli6 cies as specified in the Memorandum from the Office 

7 of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive 

8 Office of the President that was issued on August 

9 25, 2022. 

10 (4) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN WILD11 FIRE DIGITAL DATA CENTER REPOSITORY.—The 

12 Wildfire Digital Data Center shall include in its re13 pository information on the following areas: 

14 (A) Outcomes and impacts of wildfire and 

15 associated management actions. 

16 (B) Real-time data on new fire starts. 

17 (C) The effectiveness of wildfire risk miti18 gation measures. 

19 (D) Public health research related to 

20 wildland fire and fires in the built environment. 

21 (5) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED ON

22 WEBSITE.—The Administrator of the United States 

23 Fire Administration shall coordinate with the Sec24 retary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 


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1 the Forest Service, to include on the publicly acces2 sible website of the Wildfire Digital Data Center— 

3 (A) information on postwildfire impacts 

4 and State and Federal programs and funding 

5 opportunities to address such impacts; 

6 (B) State and Federal best practices relat7 ing to the short- and long-term mitigation of 

8 wildfire; and 

9 (C) with respect to wildfire, information on 

10 ecological recovery, assessment science, and 

11 State and Federal emergency declaration proc12 esses. 

13 (6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

14 section shall be construed to affect the ownership of 

15 individual agencies over their data sources. 

16 (c) FINDABLE, ACCESSIBLE, INTEROPERABLE, AND

17 REUSABLE REQUIREMENT.— 

18 (1) ACCESS REQUIREMENT FOR U.S. DEPART19 MENT OF THE INTERIOR LIBRARY ALONG WITH THE

20 NATIONAL EMERGENCY TRAINING CENTER LIBRARY

21 AND NATIONAL FOREST SERVICE LIBRARY.— 

22 Through the Wildfire Digital Data Center, the U.S. 

23 Department of the Interior Library along with the 

24 National Emergency Training Center Library and 

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1 ices to make federally funded wildland and struc2 tural fire research data systems and data products 

3 findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable 

4 (FAIR). 

5 (2) The services required by subparagraph (A) 

6 shall be integrated with the National Emergency Re7 sponse Information System of the United States 

8 Fire Administration to better collect data and model 

9 the built environment. 

10 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

11 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

12 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034. 

13 SEC. 407. REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO PAYMENT TIMING 

14 FOR CERTAIN PROGRAMS ADDRESSING 

15 WILDFIRE DAMAGES (REPORT REC16 OMMENDATION 61). 

17 (a) EMERGENCY FOREST RESTORATION PROGRAM.— 

18 Section 407(b) of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 

19 U.S.C. 2206) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘The’’ and inserting the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(2) PAYMENTS FOR EMERGENCY MEASURES

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1 tion for a payment by an owner of nonindustrial pri2 vate forest land who carries out emergency measures 

3 to restore the land after the land is damaged by a 

4 wildfire, if the Secretary approves such application, 

5 the Secretary shall provide payment to such owner 

6 not later than 90 days after the date on which the 

7 application was submitted to the Secretary.’’. 

8 (b) EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROGRAM.—Section 

9 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

10 2203) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(c) PAYMENTS FOR EMERGENCY WATERSHED PRO12 TECTION MEASURES TO ADDRESS WILDFIRE DAMAGE.— 

13 In the case of an application for a payment for emergency 

14 watershed protection measures addressing a sudden im15 pairment of a watershed caused by a wildfire, if the Sec16 retary approves such application, the Secretary shall pro17 vide such payment not later than 90 days after the date 

18 on which the application was submitted to the Secretary.’’. 

19 (c) COMMUNITY FACILITIES DIRECT LOAN AND

20 GRANT PROGRAMS.— 

21 (1) DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM.—Section 

22 306(a)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De23 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(19)) is amended 

24 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If the Secretary 

25 approves an application for an essential community 


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1 facilities loan under this paragraph that is submitted 

2 by an owner of nonindustrial private forest land (as 

3 defined in section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act 

4 of 1978) who carries out emergency measures (as 

5 defined in such section) to restore the land after the 

6 land is damaged by a wildfire and the Secretary ap7 proves the application, the Secretary shall provide 

8 the loan to the owner within 90 days after date the 

9 application is submitted.’’ 

10 (2) GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 306(a)(19) of 

11 such Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(19)) is amended by add12 ing at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(C) PAYMENTS FOR EMERGENCY MEAS14 URES TO ADDRESS WILDFIRE.—If the Secretary 

15 approves an application for a grant under this 

16 paragraph that is submitted by an owner of 

17 nonindustrial private forest land (as defined in 

18 section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 

19 1978) who carries out emergency measures (as 

20 defined in such section) to restore the land 

21 after the land is damaged by a wildfire and the 

22 Secretary approves the application, the Sec23 retary shall provide the grant to the owner 

24 within 90 days after date the application is sub25 mitted.’’. 


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1 (d) DISASTER RELIEF AND MITIGATION PRO2 GRAMS.—The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

3 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in section 203, by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(m) ASSISTANCE FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION.—If 

8 the President approves an application for financial assist9 ance under this section to implement predisaster hazard 

10 mitigation measures related to the mitigation of wildfires, 

11 the President shall provide such assistance within 90 days 

12 after the date such application is submitted.’’; 

13 (2) in section 404, by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(h) ASSISTANCE FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION.—If 

16 the President approves an application for hazard mitiga17 tion assistance under this section that is related to the 

18 mitigation of wildfires, the President shall provide such 

19 assistance within 90 days after the date such application 

20 is submitted.’’; 

21 (3) in section 407(e), by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS RELATED TO WILDFIRE.—Not24 withstanding the requirements of paragraphs (1) 

25 and (2), if the President approves an application for 


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1 a grant under this section to remove debris or 

2 wreckage resulting from a wildfire, such grant shall 

3 be paid in full no later than the date that is 90 days 

4 after the last day such wildfire occurred.’’. 

5 (4) in section 408— 

6 (A) by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) 

7 as subsections (j) and (k), respectively; and 

8 (B) by inserting after subsection (h) the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(i) PAYMENTS RELATED TO WILDFIRE.—If the 

11 President approves an application for financial assistance 

12 under this section for necessary expenses or serious needs 

13 related to a wildfire, the President shall provide such as14 sistance within 90 days after the last day such wildfire 

15 occurred.’’. 

16 (e) SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER

17 LOAN PROGRAM.—The Small Business Administration 

18 Disaster Loan program under Section 7(b) of the Small 

19 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating the second paragraph (16) 

21 (relating to statute of limitations) as paragraph 

22 (17); and 

23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (17) (as so re24 designated), the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(18) EMERGENCY MEASURES TO ADDRESS

2 WILDFIRE.—If the Administrator approves an appli3 cation for a loan under this subsection that is sub4 mitted by an owner of nonindustrial private forest 

5 land (as defined in section 407 of the Agricultural 

6 Credit Act of 1978) who carries out emergency 

7 measures (as defined in such section) to restore the 

8 land after the land is damaged by a wildfire, the Ad9 ministrator shall ensure that such loan is disbursed 

10 not later than 90 days after date of such approval.’’. 

Æ 


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