IB 

Union Calendar No. 174 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4866 

[Report No. 118–214] 

To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a program to improve fire weather and fire environment forecasting, detection, and local collaboration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2023 

Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California (for himself, Ms. CARAVEO, and Mrs. KIM of 

California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 25, 2023] 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 4866 RH

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration to establish a program to 

improve fire weather and fire environment forecasting, 

detection, and local collaboration, and for other purposes. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 4866 RH

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 ‘‘Fire Weather Develop5 ment Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FIRE WEATHER FORECASTING AND DETECTION. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the Na8 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall es9 tablish a program (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Pro10 gram’’) to improve fire weather and fire environment fore11 casting, detection, and delivery of products or services 

12 through collaboration with Federal and State agencies or 

13 departments, local emergency mangers, and relevant enti14 ties. 

15 (b) GOALS.—The goals of the Program shall be to de16 velop and improve accurate fire weather and fire environ17 ment forecasts and warnings in order to reduce loss of life, 

18 reduce injuries, protect property, and reduce damage to the 

19 economy from wildfires. The Program shall seek to improve 

20 the assessment of fire weather and fire environments, the 

21 understanding and prediction of wildfires, and the commu22 nications regarding such assessments with State and local 

23 emergency officials in a timely and streamlined fashion, 

24 with a focus on improving the following: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 4866 RH

1 (1) The prediction of ignition, intensification 

2 and spread of wildfires. 

3 (2) The observation and monitoring of fire 

4 weather and fire environments. 

5 (3) The forecast and communication of smoke 

6 dispersion from wildfires. 

7 (4) Information dissemination and risk commu8 nication to develop more effective watch and warning 

9 products relating to wildfires. 

10 (5) The early detection of wildfires, including 

11 pre-ignition analysis and ground condition character12 izations. 

13 (6) The development, testing, and deployment of 

14 novel tools and techniques related to understanding, 

15 monitoring, and predicting fire weather and fire en16 vironments. 

17 (7) The understanding and association of cli18 mate change and its impacts on fire weather and fire 

19 environments. 

20 (8) The unique characteristics, including obser21 vation or modeling requirements, related to fires at 

22 the wildland-urban interface. 

23 (9) The forecasting and understanding of the im24 pacts of prescribed burns (as such term is defined in 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 4866 RH

1 section 2 of the Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 

2 (16 U.S.C. 551c–1 note)). 

3 (c) COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—In de4 veloping the Program required under this section, the Ad5 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad6 ministration shall solicit and take into consideration input 

7 from the weather industry, such academic entities as the 

8 Administrator considers appropriate, and other relevant 

9 stakeholders. 

10 (d) ACTIVITIES.—To achieve the goals specified in sub11 section (b), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

12 Atmospheric Administration may conduct research, devel13 opment, testing, demonstration, and operational transition 

14 activities related to fire weather and fire environments, in15 cluding regarding the following: 

16 (1) Tools and services to inform, support, and 

17 complement active land management, local emergency 

18 personnel, the United States Forest Service, and 

19 State, local, and Tribal entities during their response 

20 and mitigation efforts. 

21 (2) Sensing technologies, such as infrared, micro22 wave, and active sensors suitable for potential deploy23 ment on spacecraft, aircraft, and unmanned aircraft 

24 systems, to improve the monitoring and forecasting of 

25 fire fuel and active wildfires, wildfire behavior models 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 4866 RH

1 and forecasts, mapping efforts, and the prediction of 

2 wildfires and the impacts of such. 

3 (3) Grid-based assessments and outlooks of fuel 

4 moisture and danger levels. 

5 (4) Social and behavior sciences related to fire 

6 weather and fire environment warning products. 

7 (5) Advanced satellite detection products coupled 

8 with atmosphere and fire weather modeling systems. 

9 (6) Education and training to expand the num10 ber of students and researchers in areas of study and 

11 research related to wildfires, fire weather, and fire en12 vironments. 

13 (7) Modeling systems to link long-term climate 

14 predictions to localized or general land management 

15 decisions. 

16 (8) Communication and outreach to commu17 nities, energy utilities, owners and operators of crit18 ical infrastructure, and other relevant stakeholders re19 garding fire weather and fire environment risk. 

20 (9) Stewardship and dissemination, to the extent 

21 practicable, of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad22 ministration scientific data and related products and 

23 services in formats meeting shared standards to en24 hance the interoperability, usability, and accessibility 

25 of such data in order to better meet the needs of the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 4866 RH

1 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

2 other Federal agencies, and relevant stakeholders. 

3 (10) Improvement of spatial and temporal reso4 lution observations. 

5 (11) Any other topic or activity the Adminis6 trator determines relevant. 

7 (e) NOVEL TOOLS FOR MONITORING AND PRE8 DICTION.—The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

9 Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with the 

10 heads of the agencies specified in section 3, or other appro11 priate stakeholders, including commercial partners, shall 

12 develop novel tools and technologies to support the activities 

13 of the Program and which may be applied to broader 

14 wildland fire research, monitoring, and mitigation activi15 ties, as practicable and appropriate. 

16 (f) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.—The Administrator of 

17 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

18 shall collaborate with and support the non-Federal wildland 

19 fire research community, which includes institutions of 

20 higher education, private sector entities, nongovernmental 

21 organizations, and other relevant stakeholders, by making 

22 funds available through competitive grants, contracts, and 

23 cooperative agreements. 

24 (g) COMMERCIAL DATA.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 4866 RH

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

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis3 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad4 ministration, in consultation with the heads of other 

5 Federal agencies and relevant stakeholders, may enter 

6 into contracts with one or more private sector entities 

7 to obtain additional airborne and space-based data 

8 and observations that may enhance or supplement the 

9 understanding, monitoring, and prediction, of fire 

10 weather and fire environments, and the relevant Pro11 gram activities under this section. 

12 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out activities 

13 under paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Na14 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 

15 consult with private sector entities through the Na16 tional Advisory Committee on Wildfires under section 

17 4 to identify needed tools and data that can be best 

18 provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad19 ministration satellites and are most beneficial to 

20 wildfire and smoke detection and monitoring. 

21 (h) NONDUPLICATION.—To the maximum extent prac22 ticable, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At23 mospheric Administration shall consult with the National 

24 Interagency Fire Center, including the Joint Fire Science 

25 Program, to avoid duplication of activities under this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Sep 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4866.RH H4866

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 4866 RH

1 tion and ensure the Administration’s focus on unique re2 search activities best suited for transition to operations. 

3 (i) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na5 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

6 shall— 

7 (A) assess the role and potential benefits of 

8 unmanned aircraft systems to improve data col9 lection in support of fire weather and fire envi10 ronment modeling, meteorological observations, 

11 predictions, and forecasts; 

12 (B) identify objectives for testing such sys13 tems’ use for obtaining fire weather and fire en14 vironment observations, and other relevant ac15 tivities; and 

16 (C) transition unmanned aircraft systems 

17 technologies from research to operations as the 

18 Administrator considers appropriate. 

19 (2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 270 days after 

20 the date of enactment of the Act, the Administrator of 

21 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra22 tion shall brief the appropriate committees of Con23 gress on the activities under paragraph (1). 

24 (3) PILOT PROGRAMS.—Not later than 18 

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


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 4866 RH

1 Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos2 pheric Administration may conduct pilot programs of 

3 unmanned aircraft systems for fire weather and fire 

4 environment observations, including relating to the 

5 following: 

6 (A) Testing of unmanned aircraft systems 

7 in approximations of real-world scenarios. 

8 (B) Assessment of the utility of meteorolog9 ical data collected from fire response and assess10 ment aircraft. 

11 (C) Input into appropriate models of col12 lected data to predict fire behavior, including 

13 coupled atmosphere and fire models. 

14 (D) Collection of best management practices 

15 for deployment of unmanned aircraft systems for 

16 fire weather and fire environment observations. 

17 (4) PROHIBITION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

19 under subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Adminis20 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

21 Administration may not procure any unmanned 

22 aircraft system that is manufactured or assem23 bled by an entity in a foreign country of con24 cern. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•HR 4866 RH

1 (B) EXEMPTION.—The prohibition under 

2 subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the Admin3 istrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos4 pheric Administration if the Administrator de5 termines, in consultation with the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security, that the procurement of an 

7 unmanned aircraft system is necessary for the 

8 sole purpose of marine or atmospheric science or 

9 management. 

10 (C) WAIVER.—The Administrator of the Na11 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

12 may waive the prohibition under subparagraph 

13 (A) on a case-by-case basis— 

14 (i) with the approval of the Secretary 

15 of Homeland Security; and 

16 (ii) upon written or electronic notifica17 tion to appropriate committees of Congress 

18 not later than 30 days after any such waiv19 er. 

20 (5) AIRSPACE OPERATIONS SYSTEM.—The Ad21 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

22 Administration, in cooperation with the Adminis23 trator of the National Aeronautics and Space Admin24 istration, shall utilize the capabilities of unmanned 

25 aircraft systems as appropriate for fire weather and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•HR 4866 RH

1 fire environment observations, and may use a wildfire 

2 airspace operations system that accounts for piloted 

3 aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, and other new 

4 and emerging capabilities after such airspace oper5 ations system is developed and determined ready for 

6 operational use by the Administrator of the National 

7 Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

8 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 From amounts made available for Procurement, Ac10 quisition, and Construction of the National Oceanic 

11 and Atmospheric Administration, there is authorized 

12 to be appropriated $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 to 

13 carry out this section. 

14 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

16 The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 

17 means the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech18 nology and the Committee on Homeland Security of 

19 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

20 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Com21 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af22 fairs of the Senate. 

23 (2) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

24 ‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning given such 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•HR 4866 RH

1 term in section 1016(e) of Public Law 107–56 (42 

2 U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 

3 (3) FOREIGN COUNTRY OF CONCERN.—The term 

4 ‘‘foreign country of concern’’ has the meaning given 

5 such term in section 9901 of the William M. (Mac) 

6 Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 

7 Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651). 

8 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean10 ing given such term in section 101 of the Higher Edu11 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

12 (5) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM.—The term 

13 ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ has the meaning given 

14 such term in section 44801 of title 49, United States 

15 Code. 

16 (6) WEATHER INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘weather 

17 industry’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

18 2 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innova19 tion Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501). 

20 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 

21 WILDFIRES. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

24 Office of Science and Technology Policy shall establish an 

25 interagency coordinating committee to be known as the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•HR 4866 RH

1 ‘‘Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildfires’’ (in 

2 this section referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). The chair of 

3 the Committee shall be the Administrator of the National 

4 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

5 (b) PURPOSE.—The Committee shall coordinate the de6 velopment of accurate and timely wildfire forecasting, detec7 tion, monitoring, and delivery of related products or serv8 ices that best assist State and local emergency officials while 

9 avoiding duplication of activities. 

10 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—In addition to the chair, the Com11 mittee shall be composed of the heads or appropriate des12 ignees of the following program agencies: 

13 (1) The Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

14 (2) The United States Fire Administration. 

15 (3) The United States Forest Service. 

16 (4) The National Aeronautics and Space Admin17 istration. 

18 (5) The Department of the Interior. 

19 (6) The Department of Agriculture. 

20 (7) The United States Geological Survey. 

21 (8) The Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

22 (9) Any other Federal department or agency the 

23 Director of the Office of Science and Technology Pol24 icy considers appropriate. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•HR 4866 RH

1 (d) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than one year after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Committee shall 

3 submit to Congress a strategic plan for the Program that 

4 includes the following: 

5 (1) A description of short-term, mid-term, and 

6 long-term objectives to achieve the purpose specified in 

7 subsection (b). 

8 (2) A description of how agencies specified in 

9 subsection (c) will collaborate with stakeholders and 

10 take into account stakeholder needs and recommenda11 tions in developing such objectives. 

12 (3) A description of existing and new observa13 tional and data infrastructure needed to accomplish 

14 such objectives. 

15 (4) A description of the role of each such agency 

16 in achieving such objectives. 

17 (5) Guidance regarding how the Committee’s rec18 ommendations are best used in climate adaptation 

19 planning for Federal, State, local, Tribal, and terri20 torial entities. 

21 (e) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.—The heads of agen22 cies specified in subsection (c) may enter into one or more 

23 interagency agreements providing for cooperation and col24 laboration in the development of wildfire forecasting, detec25 tion, and monitoring tools, instruments, technologies, and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•HR 4866 RH

1 research to accomplish the purpose described in subsection 

2 (b). 

3 (f) COLLABORATION.—The head of each agency speci4 fied in subsection (c) shall, to the extent practicable, in5 crease engagement and cooperation with international, aca6 demic, State, and local communities regarding the infra7 structure, data, and scientific research necessary to best ad8 vance the forecasting, detection, and monitoring of and 

9 preparation for wildfires. 

10 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WILDFIRES. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

13 the submission of the strategic plan required by sec14 tion 3(d), the Director of the Office of Science and 

15 Technology Policy shall establish a national advisory 

16 committee to be known as the ‘‘National Advisory 

17 Committee on Wildfires’’ (in this section referred to 

18 as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). The Advisory Com19 mittee shall consist of not fewer than seven and not 

20 more than 15 members who are qualified to provide 

21 advice regarding wildfire forecasting, detection, moni22 toring, and delivery of related products or services, 

23 including from the following entities: 

24 (A) Research and academic institutions. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•HR 4866 RH

1 (B) Public communication or broadcast en2 tities. 

3 (C) Emergency management agencies. 

4 (D) State, local, or Tribal governments. 

5 (E) The National Association of State For6 esters. 

7 (F) Business communities. 

8 (G) Other entities as designated by the Di9 rector of the Office of Science and Technology 

10 Policy. 

11 (2) PROHIBITION.—Members of the Advisory 

12 Committee may not be employees of the Federal Gov13 ernment. 

14 (b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall offer 

15 assessments and recommendations relating to the following: 

16 (1) Tailored forecasting, detection, and moni17 toring products and tools. 

18 (2) Communication and delivery methods of 

19 wildfire forecasting, detection, and monitoring infor20 mation. 

21 (3) Opportunities to streamline Federal fore22 casting, monitoring, and detection information to 

23 local emergency personnel and communities. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•HR 4866 RH

1 (4) The management, coordination, implementa2 tion, and activities of the Interagency Coordinating 

3 Committee on Wildfires under section 3. 

4 (5) The effectiveness of the Interagency Coordi5 nating Committee on Wildfires in meeting its pur6 poses. 

7 (c) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Advisory Com8 mittee shall serve without compensation. 

9 (d) REPORTS.—Not less frequently than biennially, the 

10 Advisory Committee shall report to the Director of the Office 

11 of Science and Technology Policy on the assessments carried 

12 out under subsection (b) and its recommendations for ways 

13 to improve the coordination and dissemination of wildfire 

14 forecasts, warnings, and detection and monitoring informa15 tion. 

16 (e) CHARTER.—Notwithstanding section 1013(b)(2) of 

17 title 5, United States Code, the Advisory Committee shall 

18 not be required to file a charter subsequent to its initial 

19 charter, filed under section 1008(c) of such title, before the 

20 termination date specified in subsection (f) of this section. 

21 (f) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Committee shall ter22 minate on September 30, 2028. 

23 (g) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—An Advisory Committee 

24 member shall recuse himself or herself from any Advisory 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•HR 4866 RH

1 Committee activity in which he or she has an actual pecu2 niary interest. 

3 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF FIRE WEATHER TESTBED. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the National 

5 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall establish a 

6 fire weather testbed to enable engagement across the Federal 

7 Government, State and local governments, academia, pri8 vate and federally funded research laboratories, the private 

9 sector, and end-users in order to evaluate the accuracy and 

10 usability of technology, models, fire weather products and 

11 services, and other research to accelerate the implementa12 tion, transition to operations, and use of new capabilities 

13 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

14 Federal and land management agencies, and other relevant 

15 stakeholders. 

16 (b) RESOURCES.—In carrying out this section, the Ad17 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad18 ministration may not transfer or reprogram any funds, de19 tail any personnel, or make use of any infrastructure from 

20 cooperative institutes of the National Oceanic and Atmos21 pheric Administration in existence as of the date of the en22 actment of this Act for the fire weather testbed established 

23 under subsection (a). 

24 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From 

25 amounts made available for Procurement, Acquisition, and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•HR 4866 RH

1 Construction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad2 ministration, there is authorized to be appropriated 

3 $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 to carry out this section. 

4 SEC. 6. INCIDENT METEOROLOGIST WORKFORCE. 

5 (a) WORKFORCE AND TRAINING ASSESSMENT.—Not 

6 later than six months after the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos8 pheric Administration shall submit to the Committee on 

9 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representa10 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans11 portation of the Senate the results of an assessment of Na12 tional Weather Service workforce and training challenges 

13 for Incident Meteorologists, and a roadmap for overcoming 

14 such challenges. Such assessment shall take into consider15 ation information technology support, logistical and ad16 ministrative operations, anticipated weather and climate 

17 conditions, and feedback from relevant stakeholders, and 

18 shall include, to the maximum extent practicable, an identi19 fication by the National Weather Service of the following: 

20 (1) The expected number of Incident Meteorolo21 gists needed over the next five years. 

22 (2) Potential hiring authorities necessary to 

23 overcome any identified workforce and training chal24 lenges. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•HR 4866 RH

1 (3) Alternative services or assistance options the 

2 National Weather Service could provide to meet oper3 ational needs. 

4 (b) OVERTIME PAY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any premium pay for services 

6 performed by Incident Meteorologists of the National 

7 Weather Service that are determined by the Secretary 

8 of Commerce to be primarily related to emergency 

9 wildland fire suppression activities shall be dis10 regarded in calculating the aggregate of such employ11 ee’s basic pay and premium pay for purposes of a 

12 limitation under section 5547 of title 5, United States 

13 Code, or under any other provision of law. 

14 (2) RATES.—Section 5542(a)(5) of title 5, 

15 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, the 

16 National Weather Service,’’ after ‘‘Interior’’. 

17 SEC. 7. RESEARCH ON WILDLAND FIRE COMMUNICATIONS 

18 AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 (1) PUBLIC SAFETY RESEARCH.—Not later than 

21 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

22 the Director, acting through the head of the Public 

23 Safety and Communications Research Division and 

24 in consultation with the Fire Research Division and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
22 

•HR 4866 RH

1 technology manufacturers, shall carry out research on 

2 the following: 

3 (A) Public safety communication coordina4 tion standards among Federal, State, Tribal, 

5 and local wildland firefighters, fire management 

6 response officials, and member agencies. 

7 (B) Improving and integrating existing 

8 communications systems to transmit secure real9 time data, alerts, and advisories to and from fire 

10 management response officials and wildland fire11 fighters. 

12 (2) FIELD TESTING AND MEASUREMENT OF IN13 FORMATION DISSEMINATION AND TECHNOLOGY.—The 

14 Public Safety and Communications Research Divi15 sion, in consultation with the Fire Research Division 

16 and member agencies, shall conduct both live and vir17 tual field testing of equipment, software, and other 

18 technologies to determine current times of information 

19 dissemination and develop standards for the delivery 

20 of useful and secure real-time data among member 

21 agencies, fire management response officials, and 

22 wildland firefighters, based on findings from research 

23 under subsection (a). 

24 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
23 

•HR 4866 RH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall develop 

2 and publish recommendations to improve public safe3 ty communication coordination standards among 

4 wildland first responders and fire management re5 sponse officials. 

6 (2) TRANSMITTAL.—The Director shall transmit 

7 the recommendations under paragraph (1) to the Of8 fice of Management and Budget and the Office of 

9 Science and Technology Policy for member agencies to 

10 implement. 

11 (3) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall sub13 mit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

14 Technology of the House of Representatives and 

15 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

16 Transportation of the Senate a report containing 

17 the recommendations published under paragraph 

18 (1). 

19 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 1 

20 year after the date of the publication of the Di21 rector’s recommendations under paragraph (1), 

22 the Comptroller General of the United States 

23 shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 

24 and Technology of the House of Representatives 

25 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
24 

•HR 4866 RH

1 Transportation of the Senate a report on the ex2 tent to which member agencies have implemented 

3 such recommendations. 

4 (c) FUNDING.—From amounts made available to the 

5 National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Direc6 tor shall allocate $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

7 through 2028 to carry out this section. 

8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the 

10 Director of the National Institute of Standards and 

11 Technology. 

12 (2) MEMBER AGENCY.—The term ‘‘member agen13 cy’’ means a member agency of the National Inter14 agency Fire Center, including the Bureau of Indian 

15 Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National Park 

16 Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis17 tration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Serv18 ice, United States Fire Administration, and the De19 partment of Defense. 

20 (3) WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER.—The term 

21 ‘‘wildland firefighter’’ means any person who partici22 pates in wildland firefighting activities. 

23 (4) FIRE MANAGEMENT RESPONSE OFFICIALS.— 

24 The term ‘‘fire management response officials’’ means 

25 regional fire directors, deputy regional fire directors, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
25 

•HR 4866 RH

1 agency officials who directly oversee fire operations, 

2 fire management officers, and individuals serving on 

3 incident management teams. 

4 (5) TECHNOLOGY MANUFACTURERS.—The term 

5 ‘‘technology manufacturers’’ means private sector en6 tities that manufacture communications technologies 

7 used by Federal, State, Tribal, or local wildland fire 

8 authorities. 

9 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) FIRE ENVIRONMENT.—The term ‘‘fire envi12 ronment’’ means— 

13 (A) the environmental conditions, such as 

14 soil moisture, vegetation, topography, snowpack, 

15 atmospheric temperature, moisture, and wind, 

16 that influence— 

17 (i) fuel and fire behavior; and 

18 (ii) smoke dispersion and transport; 

19 and 

20 (B) the associated environmental impacts 

21 occurring during and after fire events. 

22 (2) FIRE WEATHER.—The term ‘‘fire weather’’ 

23 means the weather conditions that influence the start, 

24 spread, character, or behavior of wildfires or fires at 

25 the wildland-urban interface and relevant meteorologVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Sep 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4866.RH H4866

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
26 

•HR 4866 RH

1 ical and chemical phenomena, including air quality, 

2 smoke, and meteorological parameters such as relative 

3 humidity, air temperature, wind speed and direction, 

4 and atmospheric composition and chemistry, includ5 ing emissions and mixing heights. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
Union Calendar No. 174 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4866 

[Report No. 118–214] 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the National Oceration, and for other purposes. ronment forecasting, detection, and local collabo- a program to improve fire weather and fire envi- anic and Atmospheric Administration to establish 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB