I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8421 
To authorize transitional sheltering assistance for individuals who live in 
areas with unhealthy air quality caused by wildfires, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 
Mr. HARDER of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To authorize transitional sheltering assistance for individuals 
who live in areas with unhealthy air quality caused by 
wildfires, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildfire Smoke Relief 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TRANSITIONAL SHELTERING ASSISTANCE. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) INDIVIDUAL AT RISK OF WILDFIRE SMOKE 
RELATED ILLNESS.—The term ‘‘individual at risk of 
wildfire smoke related illness’’ means an individual, 
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living in an area where the air quality index is deter-
mined to be unhealthy for not less than 3 consecu-
tive days as a result of a wildfire, who is— 
(A) a low-income individual; 
(B) a parent or guardian with a child who 
has not attained 19 years of age; 
(C) a pregnant woman; 
(D) an individual who is 65 years of age 
or older; 
(E) an individual with chronic respiratory 
or cardiovascular illness; or 
(F) an individual with a chronic disease 
that is exacerbated by smoke inhalation. 
(2) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘low- 
income individual’’ means an individual from a fam-
ily whose taxable income (as defined in section 63 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for the pre-
ceding year did not exceed 200 percent of an 
amount equal to the poverty level, as determined by 
using criteria of poverty established by the Bureau 
of Census. 
(3) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 
entity’’ means— 
(A) a State or unit of local government; 
(B) a local public health authority; and 
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(C) a coordinated care organization. 
(b) TRANSITIONAL SHELTERING ASSISTANCE PRO-
GRAM.—In carrying out the Transitional Sheltering As-
sistance Program of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency under section 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5170b), the President shall— 
(1) provide assistance to a qualified entity to 
purchase and provide, to an individual at risk of 
wildfire smoke related illness, smoke-inhalation pre-
vention equipment, including— 
(A) a portable air filtration unit; 
(B) an air filter; 
(C) a face mask or respirator, such as— 
(i) a N95 respirator; 
(ii) a P100 respirator; or 
(iii) other equipment certified by the 
National Institute for Occupational Safety 
and Health to protect from airborne par-
ticle exposure; 
(D) low-cost equipment to keep smoke out 
of a house, such as— 
(i) a weather strip; 
(ii) not more than 1 portable air-con-
ditioning unit per household; 
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(iii) ventilation equipment; 
(iv) a screening and shading device; or 
(v) a window covering; or 
(E) other similarly effective devices; and 
(2) in any case in which smoke-inhalation pre-
vention equipment is not sufficient to mitigate the 
risk of illness, provide cost-efficient transitional shel-
ter assistance to an individual at risk of wildfire 
smoke related illness. 
Æ 
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