II 

★(Star Print)

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 306 

To establish and maintain a coordinated program within the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration that improves wildfire, fire weather, 

fire risk, and wildfire smoke related forecasting, detection, modeling, 

observations, and service delivery, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 29, 2025 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. SHEEHY, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. SULLIVAN, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish and maintain a coordinated program within 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

that improves wildfire, fire weather, fire risk, and wildfire 

smoke related forecasting, detection, modeling, observations, and service delivery, and for other purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Establishment of fire weather services program. 

Sec. 4. Fire weather testbed. 

Sec. 5. Data management and technology modernization. 

Sec. 6. Surveys and assessments. 

Sec. 7. Incident Meteorologist Service. 

Sec. 8. Emergency response activities. 

Sec. 9. Submissions to Congress regarding the fire weather services program, 

incident meteorologist workforce needs, and National Weather 

Service workforce support. 

Sec. 10. Fire Science and Technology Working Group; strategic plan. 

Sec. 11. Fire weather rating system. 

Sec. 12. Government Accountability Office reports. 

Sec. 13. Cooperation and coordination. 

Sec. 14. General provisions. 

Sec. 15. Authorization of appropriations. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra6 tion’’ means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

7 Administration. 

8 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON9 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con10 gress’’ means— 

11 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

12 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

14 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

15 (3) EARTH SYSTEM MODEL.—The term ‘‘Earth 

16 system model’’ means a mathematical model con17 taining all relevant components of the Earth, namely 


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1 the atmosphere, oceans, land, cryosphere, and bio2 sphere. 

3 (4) FIRE ENVIRONMENT.—The term ‘‘fire envi4 ronment’’ means— 

5 (A) the environmental conditions, such as 

6 soil moisture, vegetation, topography, snowpack, 

7 atmospheric temperature, moisture, and wind, 

8 that influence— 

9 (i) fuel and fire behavior; and 

10 (ii) the emission, chemical evolution, 

11 and transport of wildfire smoke; and 

12 (B) the associated environmental impacts 

13 occurring during and after fire events. 

14 (5) FIRE WEATHER.—The term ‘‘fire weather’’ 

15 means the weather conditions that influence the 

16 start, spread, character, or behavior of wildfires and 

17 relevant meteorological and chemical phenomena, in18 cluding air quality, wildfire smoke, and meteorolog19 ical parameters such as relative humidity, air tem20 perature, wind speed and direction, and atmospheric 

21 composition and chemistry, including emissions and 

22 mixing heights. 

23 (6) IMPACT-BASED DECISION SUPPORT SERV24 ICES.—The term ‘‘impact-based decision support 

25 services’’ means scientific advice and interpretative 


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1 services the Administration provides to help core 

2 partners, such as emergency personnel and public 

3 safety officials, make decisions when the information 

4 impacts the lives and livelihoods of the people of the 

5 United States. 

6 (7) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

7 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

8 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

9 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

10 (8) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 

11 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’ has the mean12 ing given that term in section 6207 of the Elemen13 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 7517), including the Department of Hawai15 ian Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. 

16 (9) SEASONAL.—The term ‘‘seasonal’’ has the 

17 meaning given that term in section 2 of the Weather 

18 Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 

19 (15 U.S.C. 8501). 

20 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, 

21 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

22 Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Common23 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United 

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1 nesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the 

2 Republic of Palau. 

3 (11) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Trib4 al organization’’ has the meaning given that term in 

5 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu6 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

7 (12) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

8 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 

9 for Oceans and Atmosphere. 

10 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF FIRE WEATHER SERVICES 

11 PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall estab13 lish and maintain a coordinated fire weather services pro14 gram among the offices of the Administration in existence 

15 as of the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 (b) PROGRAM FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the 

17 program established under subsection (a), consistent with 

18 the priorities described in section 101 of the Weather Re19 search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 

20 8511), shall be— 

21 (1) to support readiness, responsiveness, under22 standing, and resilience of the United States to 

23 wildfires, fire weather, wildfire smoke, post-fire 

24 flooding and debris flows, and associated hazards 

25 and impacts in built and natural environments; 


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1 (2) to collaboratively develop and disseminate 

2 accurate, precise, effective, and timely risk commu3 nications, forecasts, watches, and warnings relating 

4 to wildfires, fire weather, wildfire smoke, post-fire 

5 flooding and debris flows, and other associated con6 ditions, hazards, and impacts, as applicable, with 

7 Federal land management agencies; 

8 (3) to partner with and support the public, 

9 Federal and State government entities, Indian 

10 tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and academic 

11 and local partners through the development of capa12 bilities, impact-based decision support services, and 

13 overall service delivery and utility related to fire 

14 weather; 

15 (4) to conduct and support research and devel16 opment of new and innovative models, technologies, 

17 techniques, products, systems, processes, and proce18 dures to predict and improve understanding of 

19 wildfires, fire weather, related air quality, post-fire 

20 flooding and debris flows, and the fire environment; 

21 (5) to develop processes to transition research 

22 into operational use and inform additional areas of 

23 research to deliver fire weather products, services, 

24 and decision support tools to operational users and 

25 platforms; 


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1 (6) to develop communications networks and 

2 strategies to ensure parity of fire forecasts, warning 

3 services, and information about current fire location, 

4 for remote, isolated, and rural communities, includ5 ing communities where the public acts as the first 

6 responder to wildfire; and 

7 (7) to develop, in coordination with Federal 

8 land management agencies, impact-based decision 

9 support services that operationalize and integrate 

10 the functions described in paragraphs (1) through 

11 (6) in order to provide comprehensive impact-based 

12 decision support services that encompass the fire en13 vironment. 

14 (c) PROGRAM PRIORITIES.—In developing and imple15 menting the program established under subsection (a), the 

16 Under Secretary shall prioritize— 

17 (1) development of a fire weather-enabled Earth 

18 system model and data assimilation systems that— 

19 (A) are capable of prediction and fore20 casting across relevant spatial and temporal 

21 scales; 

22 (B) include variables associated with fire 

23 weather and the fire environment; 


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1 (C) improve understanding of the connec2 tions between fire weather and modes of climate 

3 variability; 

4 (D) incorporate emerging techniques such 

5 as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and 

6 cloud computing; and 

7 (E) use a rapidly deployable network of 

8 rain gauges for post-fire hazard monitoring; 

9 (2) advancement of existing and new observa10 tional capabilities, including satellite-, airborne-, air11 , and ground-based systems and technologies, and 

12 social networking and other public information-gath13 ering applications that— 

14 (A) identify— 

15 (i) high-risk pre-ignition conditions; 

16 (ii) conditions that influence fire be17 havior and spread including those condi18 tions that suppress active fire events; and 

19 (iii) fire weather threat levels; 

20 (B) support real-time notification and 

21 monitoring of ignitions; 

22 (C) support observations and data collec23 tion of fire weather and fire environment vari24 ables, including vegetation state and profiles of 

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1 ity, for development of the model and systems 

2 under paragraph (1); and 

3 (D) support forecasts and research that 

4 mitigate the impacts of wildfires on human life, 

5 health, and the economy; 

6 (3) development and implementation of ad7 vanced and user-oriented impact-based decision 

8 tools, science, and technologies that— 

9 (A) ensure real-time and retrospective 

10 data, products, and services are findable, acces11 sible, interoperable, usable, inform further re12 search, and are analysis- and decision-ready; 

13 (B) provide targeted information through14 out the fire lifecycle including pre-ignition, de15 tection, forecasting, post-fire, and monitoring 

16 phases; and 

17 (C) support early assessment of post-fire 

18 hazards, such as air quality, debris flows, 

19 mudslides, and flooding; and 

20 (4) ensuring the parity of access to and support 

21 from the tools, science, and technologies developed 

22 under this subsection for remote, isolated, and rural 

23 communities. 


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1 (d) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—In developing and imple2 menting the program established under subsection (a), the 

3 Under Secretary may— 

4 (1) conduct relevant physical and social science 

5 research activities in support of the functions de6 scribed in subsection (b) and the priorities described 

7 in subsection (c); 

8 (2) conduct relevant activities, in coordination 

9 with Federal land management agencies and Federal 

10 science agencies, to assess fuel characteristics, in11 cluding moisture, loading, and other parameters 

12 used to determine fire risk levels and outlooks; 

13 (3) support and conduct research that assesses 

14 impacts to marine, riverine, watershed, and other 

15 relevant ecosystems, which may include forest and 

16 rangeland ecosystems, resulting from activities asso17 ciated with mitigation of and response to wildfires; 

18 (4) support and conduct attribution science re19 search relating to wildfires, fire weather, fire risk, 

20 wildfire smoke, and associated conditions, risks, and 

21 impacts; 

22 (5) develop wildfire smoke and air quality fore23 casts, forecast guidance, and prescribed burn weath24 er forecasts, and conduct research on the impact of 


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1 such forecasts on response behavior that minimizes 

2 health-related impacts from wildfire smoke exposure; 

3 (6) use, in coordination with Federal land man4 agement agencies, wildland fuels information and 

5 fire resource intelligence to inform fire environment 

6 impact-based decision support services and products 

7 for safety; 

8 (7) work with Federal agencies to provide data, 

9 tools, and services to support the implementation of 

10 mitigation measures by such agencies; 

11 (8) provide training and support to ensure ef12 fective media utilization of impact-based decision 

13 support services and products to the public regard14 ing actions needing to be taken; 

15 (9) provide comprehensive training to ensure 

16 staff of the program established under subsection 

17 (a) is properly equipped to deliver the impact-based 

18 decision support services and products described in 

19 paragraphs (1) through (6); and 

20 (10) acquire, through contracted purchase, pri21 vate sector-produced observational data to fill identi22 fied gaps, as needed. 

23 (e) PARITY FOR REMOTE, ISOLATED, AND RURAL

24 COMMUNITIES.—In developing and implementing the pro25 gram established under subsection (a), the Under SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Feb 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S306.IS S306

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1 retary shall ensure parity of coverage and programmatic 

2 activity for remote, isolated, and rural communities, in3 cluding communities where the public acts as the first re4 sponder to wildfire. 

5 (f) COLLABORATION.—The Under Secretary shall, as 

6 the Under Secretary considers appropriate, collaborate 

7 with partners in the weather and climate enterprises, aca8 demic institutions, States, Indian tribes, Tribal organiza9 tions, Native Hawaiian organizations, local partners, and 

10 Federal agencies in the development and implementation 

11 of the program established under subsection (a). 

12 (g) AGREEMENTS.—In carrying out the activities 

13 under this Act and the amendments made by this Act, 

14 the Under Secretary may provide support to non-Federal 

15 entities by making funds and resources available 

16 through— 

17 (1) competitive grants; 

18 (2) contracts under the mobility program under 

19 subchapter VI of chapter 33 of title 5, United States 

20 Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Intergovern21 mental Personnel Act Mobility Program’’); 

22 (3) cooperative agreements; and 

23 (4) co-location agreements as described in sec24 tion 502 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 


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1 Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Amend2 ments Act of 2020 (33 U.S.C. 851 note prec.). 

3 (h) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION PLAN.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

6 Under Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 

7 committees of Congress a plan that details how the 

8 program established under subsection (a) will be ad9 ministered and governed within the Administration. 

10 (2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required by para11 graph (1) should include a description of— 

12 (A) how the functions described in sub13 section (b), the priorities described in sub14 section (c), and the activities described in sub15 section (d) will be distributed among the line of16 fices of the Administration; and 

17 (B) the mechanisms in place to ensure 

18 seamless coordination among those offices. 

19 SEC. 4. FIRE WEATHER TESTBED. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FIRE WEATHER

21 TESTBED.—The Under Secretary shall establish a fire 

22 weather testbed that enables engagement across the Fed23 eral Government, State and local governments, academia, 

24 private and federally funded research laboratories, the pri25 vate sector, and end-users in order to evaluate the accuVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Feb 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S306.IS S306

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1 racy and usability of technology, models, fire weather 

2 products and services, and other research to accelerate the 

3 implementation, transition to operations, and use of new 

4 capabilities by the Administration, Federal and land man5 agement agencies, and other relevant stakeholders. 

6 (b) UNCREWED SYSTEMS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall— 

8 (A) establish and carry out a research and 

9 development program to support the application 

10 of uncrewed systems technologies to improve 

11 data collection in support of modeling, observa12 tions, predictions, forecasts, and impact-based 

13 decision support services, and for other pur14 poses of the Administration; 

15 (B) transition uncrewed systems tech16 nologies from research to operations as the 

17 Under Secretary considers appropriate; and 

18 (C) coordinate with other Federal agencies 

19 that may be developing uncrewed systems and 

20 related technologies to meet the challenges of 

21 wildland fire management. 

22 (2) PILOTS REQUIRED.—In carrying out para23 graph (1), the Under Secretary shall conduct pilots 

24 of uncrewed systems for fire weather and fire envi25 ronment observations, including— 


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1 (A) testing of uncrewed systems in ap2 proximations of real-world scenarios; 

3 (B) assessment of the utility of meteoro4 logical data collected from fire response and as5 sessment aircraft; 

6 (C) input of the collected data into appro7 priate models to predict fire behavior, including 

8 coupled atmosphere and fire models; and 

9 (D) collection of best management prac10 tices for deployment of uncrewed systems and 

11 other remote data technology, including for 

12 communication and coordination between the 

13 stakeholders described in subsection (a). 

14 (3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out activi16 ties under this subsection, the Under Secretary 

17 shall ensure that any testing or deployment of 

18 uncrewed systems follow procedures, restric19 tions, and protocols established by the heads of 

20 the Federal agencies with statutory or regu21 latory jurisdiction over any airspace in which 

22 wildfire response activities are conducted during 

23 an active wildfire event. 

24 (B) CONSULTATION AND COORDINA25 TION.—The Under Secretary shall consult and 


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1 coordinate with relevant Federal land manage2 ment agencies, Federal science agencies, and 

3 the Federal Aviation Administration to develop 

4 processes for the appropriate deployment of the 

5 systems described in subparagraph (A). 

6 (c) ADDITIONAL PILOT PROJECTS.—The Under Sec7 retary shall establish additional pilot projects relating to 

8 the fire weather testbed that may include the following ele9 ments: 

10 (1) Advanced products to detect fire from sat11 ellites. 

12 (2) Procurement and use of commercial data. 

13 (3) Investigation and evaluation of information 

14 needs of users and decision makers. 

15 (d) REPORT.—Section 108(a)(5) of the National Oce16 anic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act 

17 of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 8520(a)(5)) is amended— 

18 (1) in subparagraph (C), by adding ‘‘and’’ at 

19 the end; and 

20 (2) in subparagraph (D)— 

21 (A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

22 (B) in clause (iii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

23 end; and 

24 (C) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a description of the research 

2 that has been transitioned into operations, 

3 including research at the fire weather 

4 testbed established under section 4(a) of 

5 the Fire Ready Nation Act of 2025;’’. 

6 SEC. 5. DATA MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY MOD7 ERNIZATION. 

8 (a) DATA AVAILABILITY AND MANAGEMENT.—Sec9 tion 301 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Inno10 vation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8531) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 

12 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(f) DATA AVAILABILITY AND MANAGEMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) make data and metadata generated 

19 or collected by the National Oceanic and At20 mospheric Administration that the Under Sec21 retary has the legal right to redistribute fully 

22 and openly available, in accordance with chap23 ter 35 of title 44, United States Code, and the 

24 Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking 

25 Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–435; 132 Stat. 


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1 5529) and the amendments made by that Act, 

2 and preserve and curate such data and 

3 metadata, in accordance with chapter 31 of title 

4 44, United States Code (commonly known as 

5 the ‘Federal Records Act of 1950’), in order to 

6 maximize use of such data and metadata; and 

7 ‘‘(B) manage and steward the access, ar8 chival, and retrieval activities for the data and 

9 metadata described in subparagraph (A) by— 

10 ‘‘(i) using— 

11 ‘‘(I) enterprise-wide infrastruc12 ture, emerging technologies, commer13 cial partnerships, and the skilled 

14 workforce needed to provide appro15 priate data management from collec16 tion to broad access; and 

17 ‘‘(II) associated information serv18 ices; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) pursuing the maximum inter20 operability of data and information by— 

21 ‘‘(I) leveraging data, information, 

22 knowledge, and tools from across the 

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1 tion and innovation, and local plan2 ning and decision-making; and 

3 ‘‘(II) developing standards and 

4 practices for the adoption and citation 

5 of digital object identifiers for 

6 datasets, models, and analytical tools. 

7 ‘‘(2) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out this 

8 subsection, the Under Secretary shall collaborate 

9 with such Federal partners and stakeholders as the 

10 Under Secretary considers relevant— 

11 ‘‘(A) to develop standards to pursue max12 imum interoperability of data, information, 

13 knowledge, and tools across the Federal Gov14 ernment, convert historical records into com15 mon digital formats, and improve access and 

16 usability of data by partners and stakeholders; 

17 ‘‘(B) to identify and solicit relevant data 

18 from Federal and international partners and 

19 other relevant stakeholders, as the Under Sec20 retary considers appropriate; and 

21 ‘‘(C) to develop standards and practices for 

22 the adoption and citation of digital object iden23 tifiers for datasets, models, and analytical 

24 tools.’’. 


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1 (b) WILDFIRE TECHNOLOGY MODERNIZATION.—Sec2 tion 1114 of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Man3 agement, and Recreation Act (43 U.S.C. 1748b–1) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (c)(3), by inserting ‘‘the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,’’ 

7 after ‘‘Federal Aviation Administration,’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (e)(2)— 

9 (A) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

10 subparagraph (C); and 

11 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 

15 subparagraph (A), the Secretaries shall 

16 consult with the Under Secretary of Com17 merce for Oceans and Atmosphere regard18 ing any development of impact-based deci19 sion support services that relate to wild20 fire-related activities of the National Oce21 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

22 ‘‘(ii) DEFINITION OF IMPACT-BASED

23 DECISION SUPPORT SERVICES.—In this 

24 subparagraph, the term ‘impact-based deci25 sion support services’ means scientific adVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Feb 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S306.IS S306

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1 vice and interpretative services the Na2 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis3 tration provides to help core partners, such 

4 as emergency personnel and public safety 

5 officials, make decisions when the informa6 tion impacts the lives and livelihoods of the 

7 people of the United States.’’; and 

8 (3) in subsection (f)— 

9 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

10 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 

11 and moving such subparagraphs, as so redesig12 nated, 2 ems to the right; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘The Secretaries’’ and in14 serting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries’’; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out para18 graph (1), the Secretaries shall collaborate with the 

19 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At20 mosphere to improve coordination, utility of systems 

21 and assets, and interoperability of data for wildfire 

22 smoke prediction, forecasting, and modeling.’’. 

23 (c) DIGITAL PRESENCE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

25 develop and maintain a comprehensive, centralized, 


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1 and publicly accessible digital presence designed to 

2 promote findability, accessibility, interoperability, 

3 usability, and utility of the services, tools, data, and 

4 information produced by the program established 

5 under section 3(a). 

6 (2) DIGITAL PLATFORM AND TOOLS.—In car7 rying out paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall 

8 seek to ensure the digital platform and tools of the 

9 Administration integrate geospatial data, decision 

10 support tools, training, and best practices to provide 

11 real-time fire weather forecasts and address fire-re12 lated issues and needs. 

13 (d) HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

15 seek to acquire sufficient high-performance com16 puting resources and capacity for research, oper17 ations, and data storage in support of the program 

18 established under section 3(a). 

19 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In acquiring high-per20 formance computing capacity under paragraph (1), 

21 the Under Secretary shall consider requirements 

22 needed for— 

23 (A) conducting research, development, and 

24 testbed experiments; 


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1 (B) the transition of research and testbed 

2 developments into operations; 

3 (C) sustaining capabilities in operations; 

4 (D) capabilities existing in other Federal 

5 agencies and the commercial sector; and 

6 (E) skilled workforce development. 

7 SEC. 6. SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS. 

8 (a) POST-FIRE WEATHER SURVEYS AND ASSESS9 MENTS .— 

10 (1) ANNUAL POST-FIRE-WEATHER-SEASON SUR11 VEY AND ASSESSMENT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—During the second win13 ter following the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act, and each year thereafter, the Under Sec15 retary shall conduct a post-fire-weather-season 

16 survey and assessment. 

17 (B) ELEMENTS.—After conducting a post18 fire-weather-season survey and assessment 

19 under subparagraph (A), the Under Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 (i) investigate any gaps in weather 

22 data collected during the assessment; 

23 (ii) identify and implement strategies 

24 and procedures to improve program serv25 ices and information dissemination; 


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1 (iii) update systems, processes, strate2 gies, and procedures to enhance the effi3 ciency and reliability of weather data ob4 tained from the assessment; 

5 (iv) evaluate the accuracy and efficacy 

6 of physical fire weather forecasting infor7 mation for each incident included in the 

8 survey and assessment; and 

9 (v) assess and refine performance 

10 measures, as needed. 

11 (2) SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS FOLLOWING

12 INDIVIDUAL WILDFIRE EVENTS.—The Under Sec13 retary may conduct surveys and assessments fol14 lowing individual wildfire events as the Under Sec15 retary determines necessary. 

16 (3) GOAL.—In carrying out activities under this 

17 subsection, the Under Secretary shall seek to in18 crease the number of post-wildfire community im19 pact studies, including by surveying individual and 

20 collective responses and incorporating other applica21 ble topics of social science research. 

22 (4) ANNUAL BRIEFING.—Not less frequently 

23 than once each year, the Under Secretary shall join 

24 other relevant agencies to provide a briefing to the 

25 appropriate committees of Congress that provides— 


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1 (A) an overview of the fire season; 

2 (B) an outlook for the fire season; and 

3 (C) fire weather forecasts. 

4 (5) COORDINATION.—In conducting any survey 

5 or assessment under this subsection, the Under Sec6 retary shall coordinate with Federal, State, and local 

7 partners, Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organiza8 tions, private entities, and such institutions of high9 er education as the Under Secretary considers rel10 evant in order to— 

11 (A) improve operations and collaboration; 

12 and 

13 (B) optimize data collection, sharing, inte14 gration, assimilation, and dissemination. 

15 (6) DATA AVAILABILITY.—The Under Secretary 

16 shall make the data and findings obtained from each 

17 assessment conducted under this subsection available 

18 to the public in an accessible digital format as soon 

19 as practicable after conducting the assessment. 

20 (7) SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS.—The Under Sec21 retary shall make best efforts to incorporate the re22 sults and recommendations of each assessment con23 ducted under this subsection into the research and 

24 development plan and operations of the Administra25 tion. 


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1 (b) JOINT ASSESSMENT AND PLAN FOR AUTOMATED

2 SURFACE OBSERVING SYSTEM.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in col4 laboration with the Administrator of the Federal 

5 Aviation Administration and the Secretary of De6 fense, shall— 

7 (A) conduct an assessment of resources, 

8 personnel, procedures, and activities necessary 

9 to maximize the functionality and utility of the 

10 automated surface observing system of the 

11 United States that identifies— 

12 (i) key system upgrades needed to im13 prove observation quality and utility for 

14 weather forecasting, aviation safety, and 

15 other users; 

16 (ii) improvements needed in observa17 tions within the planetary boundary layer, 

18 including mixing height; 

19 (iii) improvements needed in public 

20 accessibility of observational data; 

21 (iv) improvements needed to reduce 

22 latency in reporting of observational data; 

23 (v) relevant data to be collected for 

24 the production of forecasts or forecast 

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1 tion, including particulate and air quality 

2 data related to wildfires, and aviation safe3 ty; 

4 (vi) areas of concern regarding oper5 ational continuity and reliability of the sys6 tem, which may include needs for on-night 

7 staff, particularly in remote and rural 

8 areas and areas where system failure 

9 would have the greatest negative impact to 

10 the community; 

11 (vii) stewardship, data handling, data 

12 distribution, and product generation needs 

13 arising from upgrading and changing the 

14 automated surface observation systems; 

15 (viii) possible solutions for areas of 

16 concern identified under clause (vi), includ17 ing with respect to the potential use of 

18 backup systems, power and communication 

19 system reliability, staffing needs and per20 sonnel location, and the acquisition of crit21 ical component backups and proper storage 

22 location to ensure rapid system repair nec23 essary to ensure system operational con24 tinuity; and 


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1 (ix) research, development, and transi2 tion to operations needed to develop ad3 vanced data collection, quality control, and 

4 distribution so that the data are provided 

5 to models, users, and decision support sys6 tems in a timely manner; and 

7 (B) develop and implement a plan that ad8 dresses the findings of the assessment con9 ducted under subparagraph (A), including by 

10 seeking and allocating resources necessary to 

11 ensure that system upgrades are standardized 

12 across the Administration, the Federal Aviation 

13 Administration, and the Department of Defense 

14 to the extent practicable. 

15 (2) STANDARDIZATION.—Any system standard16 ization implemented under paragraph (1)(B) shall 

17 not impede activities to upgrade or improve indi18 vidual units of the system. 

19 (3) REMOTE AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATION

20 COORDINATION.—The Under Secretary, in collabora21 tion with relevant Federal agencies and the National 

22 Interagency Coordination Center, shall assess and 

23 develop cooperative agreements to improve coordina24 tion, interoperability standards, operations, and 

25 placement of remote automatic weather stations for 


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1 the purpose of improving utility and coverage of re2 mote automatic weather stations, automated surface 

3 observation systems, wildfire smoke monitoring plat4 forms, and other similar stations and systems for 

5 weather and climate operations. 

6 (4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

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

9 Under Secretary, in collaboration with the Ad10 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administra11 tion and the Secretary of Defense, shall submit 

12 to the appropriate committees of Congress a re13 port that— 

14 (i) details the findings of the assess15 ment required by subparagraph (A) of 

16 paragraph (1); and 

17 (ii) the plan required by subparagraph 

18 (B) of such paragraph. 

19 (B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 

20 subparagraph (A) shall include a detailed as21 sessment of appropriations required— 

22 (i) to address the findings of the as23 sessment required by subparagraph (A) of 

24 paragraph (1); and 


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1 (ii) to implement the plan required by 

2 subparagraph (B) of such paragraph. 

3 SEC. 7. INCIDENT METEOROLOGIST SERVICE. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Under Secretary shall es5 tablish and maintain an Incident Meteorologist Service 

6 within the National Weather Service (in this section re7 ferred to as the ‘‘Service’’). 

8 (b) INCLUSION OF EXISTING INCIDENT METEOROLO9 GISTS.—The Service shall include— 

10 (1) the incident meteorologists of the Adminis11 tration as of the date of the enactment of this Act; 

12 and 

13 (2) such incident meteorologists of the Adminis14 tration as may be appointed after such date. 

15 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Service shall provide— 

16 (1) on-site impact-based decision support serv17 ices to Federal, State, and local government emer18 gency response agencies, Indian tribes, and Native 

19 Hawaiian organizations preceding, during, and fol20 lowing significant weather-related events, such as 

21 wildland fires, that threaten human life, property, or 

22 the economy; and 

23 (2) support to Federal, State, and local govern24 ment decision makers, partners, and stakeholders, 

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1 waiian organizations for seasonal planning and pre2 fire mitigation activities. 

3 (d) DEPLOYMENT.—The Service shall be deployed— 

4 (1) as determined by the Under Secretary; or 

5 (2) at the request of the head of another Fed6 eral agency and with the approval of the Under Sec7 retary. 

8 (e) STAFFING AND RESOURCES.—In establishing and 

9 maintaining the Service, the Under Secretary shall iden10 tify, acquire, and maintain adequate levels of staffing and 

11 resources to meet user needs. 

12 (f) SUPPORT FOR INCIDENT METEOROLOGISTS.— 

13 The Under Secretary shall provide resources, access to 

14 real-time fire weather forecasts, training, administrative 

15 and logistical support, and access to professional coun16 seling or other forms of support as the Under Secretary 

17 considers appropriate for the betterment of the emotional 

18 and mental health and well-being of incident meteorolo19 gists and other employees of the Administration so long 

20 as the need for such resources, training, access, or support 

21 is due to the response of such employees to high-impact 

22 and extreme fire weather events. 

23 SEC. 8. EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIVITIES. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) BASIC PAY.—The term ‘‘basic pay’’ includes 

2 any applicable locality-based comparability payment 

3 under section 5304 of title 5, United States Code, 

4 any applicable special rate supplement under section 

5 5305 of such title, or any equivalent payment under 

6 a similar provision of law. 

7 (2) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered 

8 employee’’ means an employee of the Department of 

9 Commerce, the Department of Agriculture, or the 

10 Department of the Interior. 

11 (3) COVERED SERVICES.—The term ‘‘covered 

12 services’’ means services that are performed by a 

13 covered employee while serving— 

14 (A) as a wildland firefighter or a fire man15 agement response official, including a regional 

16 fire director, a deputy regional fire director, 

17 and a fire management officer; 

18 (B) as an incident meteorologist accom19 panying a wildland firefighter crew; or 

20 (C) on an incident management team, at 

21 the National Interagency Fire Center, at a Geo22 graphic Area Coordinating Center, or at an op23 erations center. 

24 (4) PREMIUM PAY.—The term ‘‘premium pay’’ 

25 means premium pay paid under a provision of law 


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1 described in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of 

2 section 5547(a) of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (5) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘relevant congressional commit5 tees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

7 and Transportation of the Senate; 

8 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

9 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

10 (C) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri11 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

12 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

13 the Senate; 

14 (E) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

15 Resources of the Senate; 

16 (F) the Committee on Oversight and Gov17 ernment Reform of the House of Representa18 tives; 

19 (G) the Committee on Natural Resources 

20 of the House of Representatives; 

21 (H) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

22 Technology of the House of Representatives; 

23 (I) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

24 House of Representative; and 


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1 (J) the Committee on Appropriations of 

2 the House of Representatives. 

3 (6) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec4 retary concerned’’ means— 

5 (A) the Secretary of Commerce, with re6 spect to an employee of the Department of 

7 Commerce; 

8 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re9 spect to an employee of the Department of Ag10 riculture; and 

11 (C) the Secretary of the Interior, with re12 spect to an employee of the Department of the 

13 Interior. 

14 (b) WAIVER.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any premium pay received 

16 by a covered employee for covered services shall be 

17 disregarded in calculating the aggregate of the basic 

18 pay and premium pay for the covered employee for 

19 purposes of applying the limitation on premium pay 

20 under section 5547(a) of title 5, United States Code. 

21 (2) CALCULATION OF AGGREGATE PAY.—Any 

22 pay that is disregarded under paragraph (1) shall be 

23 disregarded in calculating the aggregate pay of the 

24 applicable covered employee for purposes of applying 


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1 the limitation under section 5307 of title 5, United 

2 States Code, during calendar year 2025. 

3 (3) LIMITATION.—A covered employee may not 

4 be paid premium pay under this subsection if, or to 

5 the extent that, the aggregate of the basic pay and 

6 premium pay (including premium pay for covered 

7 services) of the covered employee for a calendar year 

8 would exceed the rate of basic pay payable for a po9 sition at level II of the Executive Schedule under 

10 section 5313 of title 5, United States Code, as in ef11 fect at the end of that calendar year. 

12 (4) TREATMENT OF ADDITIONAL PREMIUM

13 PAY.—If the application of this subsection results in 

14 the payment of additional premium pay to a covered 

15 employee of a type that is normally creditable as 

16 basic pay for retirement or any other purpose, that 

17 additional premium pay shall not be— 

18 (A) considered to be basic pay of the cov19 ered employee for any purpose; or 

20 (B) used in computing a lump-sum pay21 ment to the covered employee for accumulated 

22 and accrued annual leave under section 5551 or 

23 5552 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 (5) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—This subsection shall 

2 be in effect during calendar year 2025 and apply to 

3 premium pay payable during that year. 

4 (c) AMENDMENT.—Section 5542(a)(5) of title 5, 

5 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, the De6 partment of Commerce,’’ after ‘‘Interior’’. 

7 (d) PLAN TO ADDRESS NEEDS.— 

8 (1) DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION.— 

9 Not later than March 30, 2026, the Secretaries re10 ferred to in subsection (a)(6), in consultation with 

11 the Director of the Office of Management and Budg12 et and the Director of the Office of Personnel Man13 agement, shall jointly develop and implement a plan 

14 that addresses the needs of the Department of Com15 merce, the Department of Agriculture, and the De16 partment of the Interior, as applicable, to hire, ap17 point, promote, or train additional covered employees 

18 who carry out covered services such that sufficient 

19 covered employees are available throughout each fis20 cal year, beginning in fiscal year 2026, without the 

21 need for waivers of premium pay limitations. 

22 (2) SUBMITTAL.—Not later than 30 days before 

23 the date on which the Secretaries implement the 

24 plan developed under paragraph (1), the Secretaries 


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1 shall submit the plan to the relevant congressional 

2 committees. 

3 (3) LIMITATION.—The plan developed under 

4 paragraph (1) shall not be contingent on any Sec5 retary receiving amounts appropriated for fiscal 

6 years beginning in fiscal year 2026 in amounts 

7 greater than amounts appropriated for fiscal year 

8 2024. 

9 (e) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR HEALTH, SAFE10 TY, AND WELL-BEING.—The Secretary concerned shall 

11 maintain policies and procedures to promote the health, 

12 safety, and well-being of covered employees. 

13 SEC. 9. SUBMISSIONS TO CONGRESS REGARDING THE FIRE 

14 WEATHER SERVICES PROGRAM, INCIDENT 

15 METEOROLOGIST WORKFORCE NEEDS, AND 

16 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WORKFORCE 

17 SUPPORT. 

18 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

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

20 Under Secretary shall submit to the appropriate commit21 tees of Congress— 

22 (1) the plan described in subsection (b); 

23 (2) the assessment described in subsection (c); 

24 and 

25 (3) the assessment described in subsection (d). 


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1 (b) FIRE WEATHER SERVICES PROGRAM PLAN.— 

2 (1) ELEMENTS.—The plan submitted under 

3 subsection (a)(1) shall detail— 

4 (A) the observational data, modeling re5 quirements, ongoing computational needs, re6 search, development, and technology transfer 

7 activities, data management, skilled-personnel 

8 requirements, engagement with relevant Federal 

9 emergency and land management agencies and 

10 partners, and corresponding research, develop11 ment, and operational resources and timelines 

12 necessary to achieve the functions described in 

13 subsection (b) of section 3 and the priorities de14 scribed in subsection (c) of such section; and 

15 (B) plans and needs for all other activities 

16 and requirements under this Act and the 

17 amendments made by this Act. 

18 (2) SUBMITTAL OF ANNUAL BUDGET FOR

19 PLAN.—Following completion of the plan submitted 

20 under subsection (a)(1), the Under Secretary shall, 

21 not less frequently than once each year concurrent 

22 with the submission of the budget by the President 

23 to Congress under section 1105 of title 31, United 

24 States Code, submit to Congress a proposed budget 

25 corresponding with the elements detailed in the plan. 


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1 (c) INCIDENT METEOROLOGIST WORKFORCE NEEDS

2 ASSESSMENT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

4 conduct a workforce needs assessment on the cur5 rent and future demand for additional incident me6 teorologists for wildfires and other high-impact fire 

7 weather events. 

8 (2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by 

9 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

10 (A) A description of staffing levels as of 

11 the date on which the assessment is submitted 

12 under subsection (a)(2) and projected future 

13 staffing levels. 

14 (B) An assessment of the state of the re15 search, development, and operational infrastruc16 ture of the National Weather Service as of the 

17 date on which the assessment is submitted and 

18 future needs of such infrastructure in order to 

19 meet current and future demands, including 

20 with respect to information technology support 

21 and logistical and administrative operations. 

22 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the as23 sessment required by paragraph (1), the Under Sec24 retary shall consider user needs and feedback from 

25 relevant stakeholders. 


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1 (d) SUPPORT SERVICES ASSESSMENT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

3 conduct a workforce support services assessment 

4 with respect to employees of the National Weather 

5 Service engaged in emergency response. 

6 (2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by 

7 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

8 (A) An assessment of need for further sup9 port of employees of the National Weather 

10 Service engaged in emergency response through 

11 services provided by the Public Health Service. 

12 (B) A detailed assessment of appropria13 tions required to secure the level of support 

14 services needed as identified in the assessment 

15 described in subparagraph (A). 

16 (3) ADDITIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES.—Fol17 lowing the completion of the assessment required by 

18 paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall seek to ac19 quire additional support services to meet the needs 

20 identified in the assessment. 

21 SEC. 10. FIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WORKING 

22 GROUP; STRATEGIC PLAN. 

23 (a) FIRE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WORKING

24 GROUP.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ex3 ecutive Director of the Interagency Committee for 

4 Advancing Weather Services established under sec5 tion 402 of the Weather Research and Forecasting 

6 Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8542) (in this 

7 section referred to as the ‘‘Interagency Committee’’) 

8 shall establish a working group, to be known as the 

9 ‘‘Fire Science and Technology Working Group’’ (in 

10 this section referred to as the ‘‘Working Group’’). 

11 (2) CHAIR.—The Working Group shall be 

12 chaired by the Under Secretary, or designee. 

13 (3) GENERAL DUTIES.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Working Group 

15 shall seek to build efficiencies among the agen16 cies listed under section 12(c)(1) and coordinate 

17 the planning and management of science, re18 search, technology, and operations related to 

19 science and support services for wildland fire 

20 prediction, detection, forecasting, modeling, re21 silience, response, management, and assess22 ments. 

23 (B) INPUT.—The Working Group shall so24 licit input from non-Federal stakeholders. 

25 (b) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

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

3 Interagency Committee shall prepare and submit to 

4 Congress a strategic plan for interagency coordina5 tion, research, and development that will improve 

6 the assessment of fire environments and the under7 standing and prediction of wildland fires, associated 

8 wildfire smoke, and the impacts of such fires and 

9 smoke, including— 

10 (A) on communities, buildings, and other 

11 infrastructure; 

12 (B) on ecosystem services and watersheds; 

13 (C) social and economic impacts; 

14 (D) by developing and encouraging the 

15 adoption of science-based and cost-effective 

16 measures— 

17 (i) to enhance community resilience to 

18 wildland fires; 

19 (ii) to address and mitigate the im20 pacts of wildland fires and associated wild21 fire smoke; and 

22 (iii) to restore natural fire regimes in 

23 fire-dependent ecosystems; 

24 (E) by improving the understanding and 

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1 term drought on wildland fire risk, frequency, 

2 and severity; 

3 (F) through integrations of social and be4 havioral sciences in public safety fire commu5 nication; 

6 (G) by improving the forecasting and un7 derstanding of prescribed fires and the impacts 

8 of such fires, and how those impacts may differ 

9 from impacts of wildland fires that originate 

10 from an unplanned ignition; and 

11 (H) consideration and adoption of any rec12 ommendations included in the report required 

13 by section 12(c). 

14 (2) PLAN ELEMENTS.—The strategic plan re15 quired by paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

16 (A) A description of the priorities and 

17 needs of vulnerable populations. 

18 (B) A description of high-performance 

19 computing, visualization, and dissemination 

20 needs. 

21 (C) A timeline and guidance for implemen22 tation of— 

23 (i) an interagency data sharing sys24 tem for data relevant to performing fire 


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1 assessments and modeling fire risk and fire 

2 behavior; 

3 (ii) a system for ensuring that the fire 

4 prediction models of relevant agencies can 

5 be interconnected; and 

6 (iii) to the maximum extent prac7 ticable, any recommendations included in 

8 the report required by section 12(c). 

9 (D) A plan for incorporating and coordi10 nating research and operational observations, 

11 including from infrared technologies, micro12 wave, radars, satellites, mobile weather stations, 

13 and uncrewed aerial systems. 

14 (E) A flexible framework to communicate 

15 clear and simple fire event information to the 

16 public. 

17 (F) Integration of social, behavioral, risk, 

18 and communication research to improve the fire 

19 operational environment and societal informa20 tion reception and response. 

21 (c) SUNSET.—The Working Group shall terminate 

22 not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

23 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 11. FIRE WEATHER RATING SYSTEM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall, in col3 laboration with the Chief of the United States Forest 

4 Service, the Director of the United States Geological Sur5 vey, the Director of the National Park Service, the Admin6 istrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

7 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv8 ice, the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Di9 rector of the Bureau of Land Management, and such 

10 stakeholders as the Under Secretary considers appro11 priate— 

12 (1) evaluate the system used as of the date of 

13 the enactment of this Act to rate the risk of wildfire; 

14 and 

15 (2) determine whether updates to that system 

16 are required to ensure that the ratings accurately re17 flect the severity of fire risk. 

18 (b) UPDATE REQUIRED.—If the Under Secretary de19 termines under subsection (a) that updates to the system 

20 described in paragraph (1) of such subsection are nec21 essary, the Under Secretary shall update that system. 

22 SEC. 12. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE23 PORTS. 

24 (a) REPORT ON FIRE WEATHER SERVICES PRO25 GRAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp3 troller General of the United States shall submit to 

4 Congress a report on the program established under 

5 section 3(a). 

6 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para7 graph (1) shall— 

8 (A) evaluate the performance of the pro9 gram by establishing initial baseline capabilities 

10 and tracking progress made toward fully 

11 operationalizing the functions described in sec12 tion 3(b); and 

13 (B) include such other recommendations as 

14 the Comptroller General determines are appro15 priate to improve the program. 

16 (b) REPORT ON INTERAGENCY BODIES FOR WILD17 FIRE FORECASTING, PREVENTION, PLANNING, AND MAN18 AGEMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the 

19 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

20 United States shall submit to Congress a report that— 

21 (1) identifies all Federal interagency bodies es22 tablished for the purpose of wildfire forecasting, pre23 vention, planning, and management (such as wildfire 

24 councils, commissions, and workgroups), including— 

25 (A) the Wildland Fire Leadership Council; 


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1 (B) the White House Wildfire Resilience 

2 Interagency Group; 

3 (C) the Wildland Fire Management Policy 

4 Committee; 

5 (D) the Wildland Fire Mitigation and 

6 Management Commission; 

7 (E) the Joint Science Fire Program; 

8 (F) the National Interagency Coordination 

9 Center; 

10 (G) the National Predictive Services Over11 sight Group; 

12 (H) the Interagency Council for Advancing 

13 Meteorological Services; 

14 (I) the National Wildfire Coordinating 

15 Group; 

16 (J) the National Multi-Agency Coordi17 nating Group; and 

18 (K) the Mitigation Framework Leadership 

19 Group; 

20 (2) evaluates the roles, functionality, and utility 

21 of such interagency bodies; 

22 (3) evaluates the progress, performance, and 

23 implementation of such interagency bodies; 

24 (4) assesses efficacy and identifies potential 

25 overlap and duplication of such interagency bodies in 


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1 carrying out interagency collaboration with respect 

2 to wildfire prevention, planning, and management; 

3 and 

4 (5) includes such other recommendations as the 

5 Comptroller General determines are appropriate to 

6 streamline and improve wildfire forecasting, preven7 tion, planning, and management, including rec8 ommendations regarding the interagency bodies for 

9 which the addition of the Administration is nec10 essary to improve wildfire forecasting, prevention, 

11 planning, and management. 

12 (c) REPORT ON INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—Not 

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

14 Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

15 submit to Congress a report that identifies— 

16 (1) the authorities, roles, and science and sup17 port services relating to wildland fire prediction, de18 tection, forecasting, modeling, resilience, response, 

19 management, and assessment provided by— 

20 (A) the Department of Commerce, includ21 ing the Administration and the National Insti22 tute of Standards and Technology; 

23 (B) the National Aeronautics and Space 

24 Administration; 

25 (C) the Department of the Interior; 


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1 (D) the Department of Agriculture; 

2 (E) the National Science Foundation; 

3 (F) the Department of Energy; 

4 (G) the Federal Emergency Management 

5 Agency; 

6 (H) the Department of Transportation; 

7 (I) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

8 and 

9 (J) the Department of Defense; and 

10 (2) recommended areas in and mechanisms by 

11 which the agencies listed under paragraph (1) could 

12 support and improve— 

13 (A) coordination between Federal agencies, 

14 State and local governments, Indian tribes, 

15 Tribal organizations, Native Hawaiian organi16 zations, and other relevant stakeholders, includ17 ing through examination of possible public-pri18 vate partnerships; 

19 (B) research and development, including 

20 interdisciplinary research, related to fire envi21 ronments, wildland fires, associated wildfire 

22 smoke, and the impacts of such environments, 

23 fires, and smoke, in furtherance of a coordi24 nated interagency effort to address wildland fire 

25 risk reduction; 


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1 (C) data management and stewardship, the 

2 development and coordination of data systems 

3 and computational tools, and the creation of a 

4 centralized, integrated data collaboration envi5 ronment for agency data, including historical 

6 data, relating to weather, fire environments, 

7 wildland fires, associated wildfire smoke, and 

8 the impacts of such environments, fires, and 

9 smoke, and the assessment of wildland fire risk 

10 mitigation measures; 

11 (D) interoperability, usability, and accessi12 bility of the scientific data, data systems, and 

13 computational and information tools of the 

14 agencies listed under paragraph (1); 

15 (E) coordinated public safety communica16 tions relating to fire weather events, fire haz17 ards, and wildland fire and smoke risk reduc18 tion strategies; and 

19 (F) secure and accurate real-time data, 

20 alerts, and advisories to wildland firefighters 

21 and other decision support tools for wildland 

22 fire incident command posts. 

23 (d) REPORT ON AUTOMATED SURFACE OBSERVING

24 SYSTEM.—Not later than 4 years after the date of the 


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1 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

2 United States shall submit to Congress a report that— 

3 (1) evaluates the functionality, utility, reli4 ability, and operational status of the automated sur5 face observing system across the Administration, the 

6 Federal Aviation Administration, and the Depart7 ment of Defense; 

8 (2) evaluates the progress, performance, and 

9 implementation of the plan required by section 

10 6(b)(1)(B); 

11 (3) assesses the efficacy of cross-agency collabo12 ration and stakeholder engagement in carrying out 

13 the plan and provides recommendations to improve 

14 such activities; 

15 (4) evaluates the operational continuity and re16 liability of the system, particularly in remote and 

17 rural areas and areas where system failure would 

18 have the greatest negative impact to the community, 

19 and provides recommendations to improve such con20 tinuity and reliability; 

21 (5) assesses Federal coordination regarding the 

22 remote automatic weather station network, air re23 source advisors, and other Federal observing assets 

24 used for weather and climate modeling and response 


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1 activities, and provides recommendations for im2 provements; and 

3 (6) includes such other recommendations as the 

4 Comptroller General determines are appropriate to 

5 improve the system. 

6 SEC. 13. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION. 

7 (a) COOPERATION.—Each Federal agency shall co8 operate and coordinate with the Under Secretary, as ap9 propriate, in carrying out this Act and the amendments 

10 made by this Act. 

11 (b) COORDINATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In meeting the requirements 

13 under this Act and the amendments made by this 

14 Act, the Under Secretary shall coordinate, and as 

15 appropriate, establish agreements with Federal and 

16 external partners to fully use and leverage existing 

17 assets, systems, networks, technologies, and sources 

18 of data. 

19 (2) INCLUSIONS.—Coordination carried out 

20 under paragraph (1) shall include coordination 

21 with— 

22 (A) the agencies represented at the Na23 tional Interagency Fire Center; 

24 (B) the Predictive Services Program of the 

25 National Interagency Coordination Center; 


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1 (C) the National Wildfire Coordinating 

2 Group; and 

3 (D) relevant interagency bodies identified 

4 in the report required by section 12(b). 

5 (3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sub6 section, the Under Secretary shall consult with Fed7 eral partners including— 

8 (A) the National Aeronautics and Space 

9 Administration; 

10 (B) the Department of the Interior; 

11 (C) the Federal Emergency Management 

12 Agency; 

13 (D) the National Science Foundation; 

14 (E) the United States Geological Survey; 

15 (F) the Department of Agriculture; 

16 (G) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

17 (H) the Department of Energy; 

18 (I) the Department of Defense; 

19 (J) the National Institute of Standards 

20 and Technology; and 

21 (K) such other departments and agencies 

22 as the Under Secretary considers relevant. 

23 (c) PROCESS FOR ANNUAL COORDINATION WITH

24 NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Not later than 18 months 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 


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1 Secretary shall develop and submit to the appropriate 

2 committees of Congress a process for annual coordination 

3 with State and local governments, Indian tribes, Tribal or4 ganizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to assist 

5 the development of improved fire weather products and 

6 services. 

7 (d) INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may 

9 develop collaborative relationships and agreements 

10 with foreign partners and counterparts to address 

11 transboundary issues pertaining to wildfires, fire 

12 weather, wildfire smoke, air quality, and associated 

13 conditions and hazards or other relevant meteorolog14 ical phenomena, as appropriate, to facilitate full and 

15 open exchange of data and information. 

16 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out activities 

17 under this subsection, the Under Secretary shall 

18 consult with the Department of State and such other 

19 Federal partners as the Under Secretary considers 

20 relevant. 

21 SEC. 14. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

22 (a) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

24 ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that ac25 tivities carried out under this Act and the amendVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:51 Feb 04, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S306.IS S306

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1 ments made by this Act are not duplicative of activi2 ties supported by other parts of the Administration 

3 or other relevant Federal agencies. 

4 (2) COORDINATION.—In carrying out activities 

5 under this Act and the amendments made by this 

6 Act, the Under Secretary shall coordinate with the 

7 Administration and heads of other Federal research 

8 agencies— 

9 (A) to ensure those activities enhance and 

10 complement, but do not constitute unnecessary 

11 duplication of, efforts; and 

12 (B) to ensure the responsible stewardship 

13 of funds. 

14 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

15 may be construed— 

16 (1) to satisfy any requirement for government17 to-government consultation with Indian tribes; or 

18 (2) to affect or modify any treaty or other right 

19 of any Indian tribe. 

20 SEC. 15. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated to the Administration to carry out this Act and 

23 the amendments made by this Act— 

24 (1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

25 (2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; 


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1 (3) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; 

2 (4) $36,000,000 for fiscal year 2029; and 

3 (5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2030. 

4 (b) PROHIBITION.—None of the amounts authorized 

5 to be appropriated by subsection (a) may be used to un6 necessarily duplicate activities funded under title VIII of 

7 division D of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

8 (Public Law 117–58; 135 Stat. 1094). 

Æ 


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