I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1923 
To provide for the implementation of certain recommendations from the 
Report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 6, 2025 
Mr. HARDER of California (for himself, Mr. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida, Mr. 
NEGUSE, and Mr. STANTON) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 
Committees on Agriculture, Education and Workforce, Oversight and 
Government Reform, Armed Services, Energy and Commerce, Science, 
Space, and Technology, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Small 
Business, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for the implementation of certain recommenda-
tions from the Report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation 
and Management Commission. 
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 ‘‘Modernizing Wildfire 
Safety and Prevention Act of 2025’’. 
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SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is the following: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of Contents. 
Sec. 3. Definition of Report. 
TITLE I—WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 
Sec. 101. Middle Fire Leaders Academy (Report Recommendation 55). 
Sec. 102. Wildfire workforce grant program (Report Recommendation 88). 
TITLE II—WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER SUPPORT 
Sec. 201. Fire Service Retention and Retirement Portability (Report Rec-
ommendation 86). 
Sec. 202. Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program (Report 
Recommendation 87). 
TITLE III—WILDFIRE SMOKE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 
Sec. 301. National Smoke Monitoring and Alert System (Report Recommenda-
tion 44). 
Sec. 302. Health risk assessment for Wildfire Smoke Exposure (Report Rec-
ommendation 100). 
TITLE IV—FIRE MITIGATION AND TECHNOLOGY 
Sec. 401. Improvements to wildfire forage loss programs (Report Recommenda-
tion 59). 
Sec. 402. Improvements to FEMA Programs (Report Recommendations 66 and 
64). 
Sec. 403. The Wildland Dynamic Risk Mapping Program (Report Rec-
ommendation 118). 
Sec. 404. Improvements to grant programs for community wildfire risk reduc-
tion and postfire recovery efforts (Report Recommendation 
142). 
Sec. 405. Joint Office of the Fire Environment Center (Report Recommenda-
tions 104, 105, 106). 
Sec. 406. Interagency Data Collaboration Environment (Report Recommenda-
tion 107). 
Sec. 407. Requirements related to payment timing for certain programs ad-
dressing wildfire damages (Report Recommendation 61). 
SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF REPORT. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘Report’’ means the Report of 
the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commis-
sion, dated September 2023. 
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TITLE I—WORKFORCE 
DEVELOPMENT 
SEC. 101. MIDDLE FIRE LEADERS ACADEMY (REPORT REC-
OMMENDATION 55). 
(a) MIDDLE FIRE LEADERS ACADEMY.—Not later 
than a 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Chief of the Forest Service, in coordination with Na-
tional Wildfire Coordinating Group, shall create a Middle 
Fire Leaders Academy which shall be open to Federal and 
non-Federal wildland fire response workforce employees. 
The Middle Fire Leaders Academy shall provide— 
(1) rapid training and certification for emerging 
wildfire and beneficial fire leaders; and 
(2) additional and expanded training of suffi-
cient quality to enable managers and decision mak-
ers responsible for addressing wildfire incidents and 
prescribed burns to make informed decisions regard-
ing the beneficial application and management of 
fire, including managing local fire regimes and other 
forms of beneficial fire use. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2035. 
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SEC. 102. WILDFIRE WORKFORCE GRANT PROGRAM (RE-
PORT RECOMMENDATION 88). 
(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Not later than 6 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Education shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to 
eligible entities to carry out a program described in sub-
section (c). 
(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this Act, an eligible entity shall submit to the Sec-
retary an application in such manner, at such time, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may require. 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 
a grant under this Act shall carry out an educational or 
vocational program that leads to a degree, certificate, or 
other recognized credential in wildfire emergency manage-
ment, including— 
(1) agricultural landscape planning relating to 
wildfire resilience; 
(2) natural resource management relating to 
wildfire resilience; 
(3) emergency management; 
(4) emergency medical technician services; 
(5) paramedic services; 
(6) fire science; 
(7) firefighting; 
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(8) community planning relating to wildfire re-
silience; 
(9) short- and long-term post fire recovery safe-
ty and operations training for structural firefighters 
assigned to wildfire incidents; or 
(10) any other program that trains individuals 
in the wildfire mitigation, response, or recovery 
workforce. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ACCREDITED LOCAL ACADEMY.—The term 
‘‘accredited local academy’’ means a partnership, be-
tween a local fire suppression organization and the 
office of the Fire Marshall of a State, that delivers 
a State Fire Training program. 
(2) ACCREDITED
REGIONAL
TRAINING
PRO-
GRAM.—The term ‘‘accredited regional training pro-
gram’’ means a partnership, between a junior or 
community college or institution of higher education 
and the office of the Fire Marshall of a State, or the 
State Wildland Firefighting Agency or in combina-
tion of Federal Land Management Agencies, that 
delivers an approved State Fire Training program 
within a given region. 
(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
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(A) a junior or community college; 
(B) an institution of higher education; 
(C) an accredited regional training pro-
gram; 
(D) an accredited local academy; or 
(E) a nonprofit entity with experience ad-
ministering education and training programs 
for fire service personnel. 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 102 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 
(5) JUNIOR
OR
COMMUNITY
COLLEGE.—The 
term ‘‘junior or community college’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 312 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058). 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2035. 
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‘‘(i) are primarily to perform work di-
rectly connected with the control and extin-
guishment of wildland fires; and 
‘‘(ii) are sufficiently rigorous that em-
ployment opportunities should be limited to 
young and physically vigorous individuals, 
as determined by the Director considering 
the recommendations of the employing 
agency; 
‘‘(C) an employee who— 
‘‘(i) is transferred directly to a super-
visory or administrative position after per-
forming duties described in subparagraph 
(A) for at least 3 years; and 
‘‘(ii) while serving in such supervisory 
or administrative position, has no break in 
service; or 
‘‘(D) an employee who— 
‘‘(i) occupies a supervisory or admin-
istrative position after performing duties 
described in subparagraph (B) for not less 
than 3 years; and 
‘‘(ii) has not more than 24 months in 
total time of breaks in service;’’. 
(2) SERVICE BEFORE DATE OF ENACTMENT.— 
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by paragraph (1) had been in effect during 
the prior service, plus any applicable inter-
est computed under section 8334(e) of title 
5, United States Code. 
(C) GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTIONS.—If an 
individual remits payment under subparagraph 
(B)(iii) with respect to service described in sub-
paragraph (A), the agency that employed the 
individual when such service was performed 
shall remit to the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment (for deposit in the Treasury of the United 
States to the credit of the Civil Service Retire-
ment and Disability Fund) the total additional 
amount of Federal contributions that would 
have been paid under section 8423 of title 5, 
United States Code, if the amendments made 
by paragraph (1) had been in effect during the 
prior service, plus any applicable interest com-
puted in accordance with section 8334(e) of 
title 5, United States Code. 
(D) NOTIFICATION AND ASSISTANCE RE-
QUIREMENTS.—The Director of the Office of 
Personnel Management shall— 
(i) take such action as may be nec-
essary and appropriate to inform individ-
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uals entitled to have any service credited 
under this subsection, or to have any an-
nuity computed under this subsection, of 
the entitlement to the credit or computa-
tion; and 
(ii) upon request, assist any individual 
described in clause (i) in obtaining such in-
formation in the possession of the Sec-
retary of Agriculture or the Secretary of 
the Interior, as applicable, as may be nec-
essary to verify the entitlement of the indi-
vidual to have any service credited, or to 
have any annuity computed, pursuant to 
this subsection. 
(E) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed to permit or 
require the making of any contribution to the 
Thrift Savings Fund that would not otherwise 
have been permitted or required but for the en-
actment of this subsection. 
(b) RETENTION OF ENHANCED RETIREMENT BENE-
FITS DURING PERIOD OF NON-FEDERAL SERVICE.—Sec-
tion 104(e)(2) of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5323(e)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: ‘‘Any Federal wildland 
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firefighter (as that term is defined in section 201(d) of 
the Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act of 
2025) who retains coverage, rights, and benefits under 
such chapter 83 or 84 pursuant to this paragraph shall 
retain enhanced retirement benefits under either such 
chapter.’’. 
(c) JOB-SHARING.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, a Federal wildland firefighter or wildland 
fire support personnel may occupy a position in the civil 
service (as that term is defined in section 2101 of title 
5, United States Code) and a position with a Tribal gov-
ernment under a job-share agreement even if the position 
with a Tribal government is classified at a level higher 
than the civil service position, including any level that is 
above that of the highest level applicable to the General 
Schedule. 
(d) FEDERAL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘Federal wildland firefighter’’ means a 
person who is— 
(1) in a temporary, seasonal, or permanent po-
sition at the Department of Agriculture or the De-
partment of the Interior or as a Tribal firefighter 
who; 
(A) maintains group, emergency incident 
management, or fire qualifications, as estab-
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lished annually by the Standards for Wildland 
Fire Position Qualifications published by the 
National Wildfire Coordinating Group; and 
(B) primarily engages in or supports 
wildland fire management activities, including 
forestry and rangeland technicians and posi-
tions concerning aviation, engineering heavy 
equipment operations, dispatch, or fire and 
fuels management; or 
(2) a Federal firefighter stationed on military 
installations under the Department of Defense who 
engages in or supports wildland fire management ac-
tivities, including forestry and rangeland technicians 
and positions concerning aviation, engineering heavy 
equipment operations, dispatch, or fire and fuels 
management. 
SEC. 202. WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT CASUALTY AS-
SISTANCE 
PROGRAM 
(REPORT 
REC-
OMMENDATION 87). 
(a) DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 6 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall develop a Wildland Fire 
Management Casualty Assistance Program (referred to in 
this section as the ‘‘Program’’) to provide assistance to 
the next of kin of— 
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(1) firefighters who, while in the line of duty, 
suffer illness or are critically injured or killed; and 
(2) wildland fire support personnel critically in-
jured or killed in the line of duty. 
(b) ASPECTS OF PROGRAM.—The Program shall ad-
dress the following: 
(1) The initial and any subsequent notifications 
to the next of kin of a firefighter or wildland fire 
support personnel who— 
(A) was killed in the line of duty; or 
(B) requires hospitalization or treatment 
at a medical facility due to a line-of-duty injury 
or illness. 
(2) The reimbursement of next of kin for ex-
penses associated with travel to visit a firefighter or 
wildland fire support personnel who— 
(A) was killed in the line of duty; or 
(B) requires hospitalization or treatment 
at a medical facility due to a line-of-duty injury 
or illness. 
(3) The qualifications, assignment, training, du-
ties, supervision, and accountability for the perform-
ance of casualty assistance responsibilities. 
(4) The relief or transfer of casualty assistance 
officers, including notification to survivors of critical 
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injury or illness in the line of duty and next of kin 
of the reassignment of such officers to other duties. 
(5) Centralized, short-term and long-term case 
management procedures for casualty assistance, in-
cluding rapid access by survivors of firefighters or 
wildland fire support personnel and casualty assist-
ance officers to expert case managers and coun-
selors. 
(6) The provision, through a computer acces-
sible website and other means and at no cost to sur-
vivors and next of kin of firefighters or wildland fire 
support personnel, of personalized, integrated infor-
mation on the benefits and financial assistance avail-
able to such survivors from the Federal Government. 
(7) The provision of information to survivors 
and next of kin of firefighters or wildland fire sup-
port personnel on mechanisms for registering com-
plaints about, or requests for, additional assistance 
related to casualty assistance. 
(8) Liaison with the Department of the Inte-
rior, the Department of Justice, and the Social Se-
curity Administration to ensure prompt and accurate 
resolution of issues relating to benefits administered 
by those agencies for survivors of firefighters or 
wildland fire support personnel. 
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(9) Data collection regarding the incidence and 
quality of casualty assistance provided to survivors 
of firefighters or wildland fire support personnel. 
(c) LINE OF DUTY DEATH BENEFITS.—The Pro-
gram shall not affect existing authorities for Line of Duty 
Death benefits for Federal firefighters and wildland fire 
support personnel. 
(d) NEXT OF KIN DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘next of kin’’ means person or persons in the highest 
category of priority as determined by the following list 
(categories appear in descending order of priority): 
(1) Surviving legal spouse. 
(2) Children (whether by current or prior mar-
riage) age 18 years or older in descending prece-
dence by age. 
(3) Father or mother, unless by court order 
custody has been vested in another (adoptive parent 
takes precedence over natural parent); 
(4) Siblings (whole or half) age 18 years or 
older in descending precedence by age. 
(5) Grandfather or grandmother. 
(6) Any other relative (precedence to be deter-
mined in accordance with the civil law of descent of 
the deceased former member’s State of domicile at 
time of death). 
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(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 
$1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2035. 
TITLE III—WILDFIRE SMOKE 
AND PUBLIC HEALTH 
SEC. 301. NATIONAL SMOKE MONITORING AND ALERT SYS-
TEM (REPORT RECOMMENDATION 44). 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, acting 
through the Director of the National Weather Service, and 
in conjunction with the Secretary of Agriculture acting 
through the Chief of the Forest Service, the Secretary of 
the Interior, the Administrator of the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, and the Director of the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention shall establish a nationally 
consistent smoke monitoring and alert system to provide 
consistent, real-time information and forecasts on air 
quality impacts from wildfire smoke, including wildfire 
smoke in the built environment. 
(b) INCREASE IN SMOKE SENSORS.—In carrying out 
subsection (a), to ensure adequate and accessible data, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
shall increase the availability and use of air monitoring 
devices for wildfire smoke, including, to distinguish wild-
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fire smoke from other forms of air pollution, increasing 
the availability and use of— 
(1) speciation monitors; and 
(2) nonregulatory air monitors. 
(c) USE OF SATELLITES.—In carrying out subsection 
(a), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency shall explore the use of satellites. 
(d) PUBLIC COUNTY-RESOLUTION SMOKE ALERT 
SYSTEM FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND ROADWAYS SAFE-
TY.—In carrying out subsection (a), not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration, acting through the Director of the National 
Weather Service and in coordination with the Secretary 
of Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv-
ice, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Administrator 
of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Director 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall 
establish a public county-resolution smoke alert system for 
public health and roadways safety which shall be based 
on levels of particulate matter. The system established 
under this subsection shall be in addition to the National 
Weather Service Dense Smoke Advisories, which are based 
on visibility. 
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(e) COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF AIR QUAL-
ITY AND SMOKE ALERT INFORMATION.—In carrying out 
subsection (a), the Director of the National Weather Serv-
ice shall collect all air quality forecasts, including through 
AirNow, public notifications, and alerts for smoke issued 
by Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial air agencies 
and disseminate them through weather forecast office net-
works to enable the Wireless Emergency Alerts System to 
be extended to support smoke communications to protect 
public health. 
(f) FOREST SERVICE PERSONNEL AND SMOKE MONI-
TORING EQUIPMENT.—In carrying out subsection (a), not 
later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief 
of the Forest Service, in coordination with the Secretary 
of the Interior, shall expand the personnel and smoke 
monitoring equipment of the Forest Service to increase the 
capacity of the Forest Service to assess wildfire smoke, 
including wildfire smoke in the built environment, and 
carry out prescribed fires. 
(g) INTERAGENCY WILDLAND FIRE AIR QUALITY 
RESPONSE PROGRAM PERSONNEL
AND SMOKE MONI-
TORING EQUIPMENT.—In carrying out subsection (a), not 
later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
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Interior shall expand the personnel (including air resource 
advisors) of, and smoke monitoring equipment available 
to, the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response 
Program established under section 1114(f) of the John D. 
Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1748b–1(f)). 
(h) EXPANSION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPAC-
ITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 
(a), the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency shall expand the emergency response ca-
pacity, including personnel and equipment, of the 
Environmental Protection Agency— 
(A) to measure air pollution from wildfires 
that involve combustion of hazardous materials; 
and 
(B) to communicate information during 
smoke events resulting from wildfires. 
(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘‘hazardous materials’’ means explosive, flammable, 
combustible, corrosive, oxidizing, toxic, infectious, or 
radioactive materials that, when involved in an acci-
dent and released in sufficient quantities, put some 
portion of the general public in immediate danger 
from exposure, contact, inhalation, or ingestion. 
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