I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 582 
To establish a community protection and wildfire resilience grant program, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 21, 2025 
Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself and Mr. OBERNOLTE) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, and Ag-
riculture, 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 establish a community protection and wildfire resilience 
grant program, 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 ‘‘Community Protection 
and Wildfire Resilience Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency. 
(2) CHIEF.—The term ‘‘Chief’’ means the Chief 
of the Forest Service. 
(3) COMMUNITY
PROTECTION
AND
WILDFIRE 
RESILIENCE PLAN.—The term ‘‘community protec-
tion and wildfire resilience plan’’ means a plan 
that— 
(A) is developed by an eligible entity in co-
ordination with— 
(i) the local community and govern-
ment; 
(ii) local Indian Tribes; 
(iii) 
local 
law 
enforcement, 
fire-
fighters, first responders, fire managers, 
and utilities; 
(iv) non-governmental organizations 
carrying out relevant projects or relevant 
operations locally; and 
(v) State agencies responsible for— 
(I) fire prevention and emergency 
response; 
(II) other emergency response; 
(III) public safety; 
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(IV) environmental protection; 
and 
(V) forest management. 
(B) includes strategies and activities relat-
ing to— 
(i) improving early detection tech-
nology, public outreach and education, 
alerts and warnings, evacuation planning, 
evacuation execution, and access for first 
responders; 
(ii) addressing vulnerable populations, 
including the elderly, children, individuals 
with disabilities, and homeless individuals; 
(iii) hardening and increasing the re-
siliency of critical infrastructure and 
homes, including through incentive pro-
grams; 
(iv) applying community-scale defen-
sible space projects, developed collabo-
ratively with the entities described in 
clauses (i) through (iii) of subparagraph 
(A), across contiguous areas; 
(v) building local capacity to imple-
ment and oversee the plan; 
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(vi) implementing strategic land use 
planning; 
(vii) educating community members 
about ways to improve community resil-
ience; 
(viii) coordinating any existing wild-
fire plans, such as a community wildfire 
protection plan or a community emergency 
evacuation plan; and 
(ix) incorporating information from a 
map generated pursuant to section 210(a) 
of division O of the Consolidated Appro-
priations Act, 2018 (16 U.S.C. 6501 note; 
Public Law 115–141); and 
(C) may consist of existing plans or other 
efforts, provided that any such plan complies 
with subparagraphs (A) and (B). 
(4) CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 
‘‘critical infrastructure’’ means any public safety, 
health, education, transportation, communications, 
or water or power utility infrastructure or any pri-
vate infrastructure necessary to preserve community 
safety, resilience, or continuity of operation of such 
infrastructure with respect to a wildfire threat. 
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(5) DEFENSIBLE SPACE PROJECT.—The term 
‘‘defensible space project’’— 
(A) means a project that is conducted 
within a radius of not more than 100 feet 
around a home, business, or administrative fa-
cility, and is comprised of vegetation pruning, 
such as annual removal of tree seedlings and 
saplings, lower limbs of mature trees, cutting of 
grasses and reducing density and continuity of 
shrubs, and removal of most small twigs and 
leaves; or 
(B) at the discretion of the Administrator, 
if a project funded under the program is being 
carried out in a State that has established, by 
law, a more restrictive definition of the term, 
has the meaning given the term in State law. 
(6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a State; 
(B) an Indian Tribe; 
(C) a unit of general local or regional gov-
ernment, including a fire protection district or 
a municipal fire department; 
(D) a volunteer fire department; or 
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(E) a collaborative effort of not less than 
2 entities described in subparagraphs (A) 
through (D). 
(7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 
the grant program established under section 3(a). 
(8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State 
of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American 
Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any 
other territory or possession of the United States. 
SEC. 3. COMMUNITY PROTECTION AND WILDFIRE RESIL-
IENCE GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, act-
ing through the United States Fire Administrator and in 
coordination with the Chief, shall establish a program, 
which shall be separate from the program established 
under section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re-
lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133), 
under which the Administrator shall award grants to eligi-
ble entities to— 
(1) in the case of an eligible entity that has a 
community protection and wildfire resilience plan, 
carry out projects described in the community pro-
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tection and wildfire resilience plan of the eligible en-
tity in accordance with subsection (c); or 
(2) in the case of an eligible entity that does 
not have a community protection and wildfire resil-
ience plan, develop a community protection and wild-
fire resilience plan in accordance with subsection (d). 
(b) CRITERIA FOR GRANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, 
acting through the United States Fire Administrator 
and in coordination with the Chief, shall establish 
criteria to award grants under the program. 
(2) COMMUNITIES.—Amounts provided under 
the program shall be used to conduct projects and 
activities only in communities in existence on the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
(3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under the 
program, the Administrator shall give priority to eli-
gible entities that will carry out projects or plans 
supporting a community located in an area with a 
high risk for fire or wildfire, as evidenced by a State 
wildfire hazard map or a map generated pursuant to 
section 210(a) of division O of the Consolidated Ap-
propriations Act, 2018 (16 U.S.C. 6501 note; Public 
Law 115–141). 
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(c) COMMUNITY PROTECTION AND WILDFIRE RESIL-
IENCE GRANTS.— 
(1) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—An eligible entity 
that receives a grant under the program must use 
grant funds to carry out projects that support a di-
verse portfolio of community protection and wildfire 
resilience strategies described in the community pro-
tection and wildfire resilience plan of the eligible en-
tity. 
(2) GRANT AMOUNTS.—A grant under this sub-
section shall be for not more than $10,000,000. 
(d) COMMUNITY PROTECTION AND WILDFIRE RESIL-
IENCE PLAN DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.— 
(1) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—An eligible entity 
that receives a grant under the program may use 
grant funds to develop a community protection and 
wildfire resilience plan for the eligible entity. 
(2) GRANT
AMOUNTS.—An award under this 
subsection shall be for not more than $250,000. 
(e) PREFERENCE FOR LOCAL CONTRACTORS AND 
LABOR.—In carrying out a project using a grant awarded 
under the program, the grant recipient shall, to the max-
imum extent practicable, give preference to contracting 
with entities, and hiring individuals, from the area in 
which the project is being carried out, including by 
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partnering with local corps groups such as AmeriCorps or 
a conservation corps. 
(f) COST-SHARING.— 
(1) NON-FEDERAL SHARE REQUIREMENT.—The 
non-Federal share of the cost (including the admin-
istrative cost) of carrying out a project using funds 
from a grant awarded under the program— 
(A)(i) shall be not less than 25 percent of 
the cost of the project to be carried out using 
grant funds in accordance with subsection (c); 
and 
(ii) shall be 0 percent of the cost of the 
project to be carried out using grant funds in 
accordance with subsection (d); 
(B) may be provided by— 
(i) a State, a unit of local government, 
an Indian Tribe, a nonprofit organization, 
private industry, or a combination of those 
entities; or 
(ii) volunteer hours and in-kind dona-
tions; and 
(C) may, in the case of a project that 
serves a low-income community, be in the form 
of a low-interest Federal loan to the eligible en-
tity carrying out the project through the Com-
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munity Disaster Loan program authorized 
under section 417 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5184). 
(2) WAIVER; REDUCTION.—In carrying out the 
program, the Administrator may waive or reduce the 
non-Federal share amount required under paragraph 
(1). 
(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the pro-
gram $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 
through 2029. 
SEC. 4. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall publish a report— 
(1) on authorities and programs of the Federal 
Government that are available to protect commu-
nities from wildfires; and 
(2) that includes an assessment of the Comp-
troller General with respect to impediments to the 
implementation of such programs, including gaps in 
funding. 
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SEC. 5. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall publish a study that includes— 
(1) an assessment of the Comptroller General 
with respect to— 
(A) the potential for a community protec-
tion and wildfire resilience plan to qualify for a 
certification identifying a level of wildfire sur-
vivability and resilience; and 
(B) methods that could be used by the 
Federal Government to incentivize insurance 
companies to accept such a certification; and 
(2) an identification of any metrics that could 
be provided to insurance companies as assurance 
that a community has wildfire resilience measures in 
place. 
SEC. 6. UPDATING LIST OF AT-RISK COMMUNITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 
101(1) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
(16 U.S.C. 6511(1)(A)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(A) that is comprised of a group of homes 
and other structures with basic infrastructure 
and services (such as utilities and collectively 
maintained transportation routes) within or ad-
jacent to Federal land;’’. 
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(b) MAP.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the 
Administrator, acting through the United States Fire Ad-
ministrator and in coordination with the Chief, shall de-
velop and publish a map depicting at-risk communities (as 
defined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration 
Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511), as amended by this sec-
tion), including Tribal at-risk communities. 
SEC. 7. REPORT ON RADIO COMMUNICATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, acting 
through the United States Fire Administrator and in co-
ordination with the Chief, shall prepare a report relating 
to insufficient radio frequencies, barriers to interoper-
ability of radio frequencies, and available products and 
technologies for overcoming barriers to interoperability for 
wildfire management. 
(b) COOPERATION.—In preparing the report under 
subsection (a), the Administrator shall cooperate with— 
(1) the Secretary of Agriculture; 
(2) agencies responsible for the management of 
Federal land; 
(3) State fire marshals; 
(4) State and local emergency response agen-
cies; 
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(5) Tribal fire departments and emergency 
managers; and 
(6) municipal fire departments, fire protection 
districts, and volunteer fire departments in relevant 
communities. 
(c) COMPATIBILITY; ADDITIONAL FREQUENCIES.— 
The report under subsection (a) shall include— 
(1) a determination on whether the entities de-
scribed in subsection (b) have the ability to commu-
nicate by way of radio during a potential fire sup-
pression effort for a community conflagration; 
(2) a determination on whether— 
(A) the reserved radio frequencies are suf-
ficient for wildfire management; or 
(B) additional frequencies, listed by type 
and location, are recommended to be reserved 
or obtained; 
(3) an analysis of commercially available tech-
nology and products to enable radios from multiple 
agencies operating on different radio frequencies to 
be interoperable; and 
(4) if the Administrator determines under para-
graph (1) that any entities do not have the ability 
to communicate, a plan for ensuring such entities 
would be able to communicate adequately during a 
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