Emergency Wildfire Fighting Technology Act of 2023

Subjects: Public Lands and Natural Resources


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3389 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3389

 To require the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 
  the Forest Service, and the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an 
evaluation with respect to the use of the container aerial firefighting 
                system (CAFFS), and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2023

    Mr. Valadao (for himself, Mr. Costa, Mr. Amodei, Mr. Issa, Mr. 
 Newhouse, Mr. Curtis, and Mr. Lamborn) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 
     addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 
  the Forest Service, and the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an 
evaluation with respect to the use of the container aerial firefighting 
                system (CAFFS), and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Wildfire Fighting 
Technology Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. CONTAINER AERIAL FIREFIGHTING SYSTEM (CAFFS).

    (a) Evaluation.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 
of the Interior, in consultation with the National Interagency Aviation 
Committee, and the Interagency Airtanker Board, shall jointly conduct 
an evaluation of the container aerial firefighting system to assess the 
use of such system to mitigate and suppress wildfires.
    (b) Update of Deployment Protocols.--Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, 
the Secretary of the Interior, the National Interagency Aviation 
Committee, and the Interagency Airtanker Board shall, based on the 
results of the evaluation required under subsection (a), each update 
the respective deployment protocols for appropriate use of the 
container aerial fighting system.
    (c) Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act--
            (1) the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
        Interior, in consultation with the National Interagency 
        Aviation Committee, and the Interagency Airtanker Board, shall 
        jointly submit to the appropriate committees a report that 
        includes the results of the evaluation required under 
        subsection (a); and
            (2) the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the 
        Interior, the National Interagency Aviation Committee, and the 
        Interagency Airtanker Board shall each submit to the 
        appropriate committees a report that includes a summary of any 
        updates made to deployment protocols pursuant to subsection 
        (b).
    (d) Appropriate Committees Defined.--In this section, the term 
``appropriate committees'' means--
            (1) the Committees on Agriculture and Natural Resources of 
        the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
        and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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