I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5777 
To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to direct 
the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to 
reimburse certain expenses during a period in which there is a lapse 
in appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 17, 2025 
Mrs. MCCLAIN DELANEY (for herself, Mr. MOULTON, Mrs. MCIVER, Ms. 
CRAIG, Mr. LANDSMAN, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. SUBRAMANYAM, Mr. CAR-
SON, and Ms. LOFGREN) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act 
of 1974 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency to reimburse certain expenses 
during a period in which there is a lapse in appropria-
tions for the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
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 ‘‘National Fire Academy 
Reimbursement for Emergency Service Course Unavail-
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ability and Expenses Act’’ or the ‘‘National Fire Academy 
RESCUE Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REIMBURSEMENT OF CERTAIN EXPENSES DURING 
A LAPSE IN APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE NA-
TIONAL ACADEMY FOR FIRE PREVENTION 
AND CONTROL. 
(a) REIMBURSEMENT OF CERTAIN EXPENSES.—Sec-
tion 7 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 
1974 (15 U.S.C. 2206) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (n) as sub-
section (o); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (m) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(n) REIMBURSEMENT OF CERTAIN EXPENSES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a covered 
course or activity that is cancelled during a period 
in which there is a lapse in appropriations, or as a 
result of such a lapse, for the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, the Administrator of FEMA, 
subject to paragraph (2), shall reimburse a fire de-
partment for any covered expense related to such 
covered course or activity not later than 90 days 
after the later of— 
‘‘(A) the date such period ends, if applica-
ble; or 
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‘‘(B) the date the Administrator of FEMA 
receives an itemization under paragraph (3) 
from such fire department relating to such cov-
ered course or activity. 
‘‘(2) GOOD
CAUSE.—A reimbursement under 
paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to a cov-
ered course or activity that is cancelled if such cov-
ered course or activity is cancelled for good cause. 
‘‘(3) ITEMIZATION
OF
EXPENSES.—Not later 
than 30 days after the date on which a lapse in ap-
propriations for the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency ends, the fire chief or other appro-
priate head of a fire department affected by a cov-
ered course or activity that is cancelled during any 
such period, or as a result of any such lapse, may 
submit to the Administrator of FEMA an applica-
tion for reimbursement that includes an itemization 
of each covered expense incurred by such fire de-
partment. 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) 
BACKFILL
EXPENSE.—The 
term 
‘backfill expense’ means an expense incurred for 
the following: 
‘‘(i) Staffing adjustments. 
‘‘(ii) Overtime compensation. 
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‘‘(B) COVERED
COURSE
OR
ACTIVITY.— 
The term ‘covered course or activity’ means— 
‘‘(i) a course or program that is of-
fered by the Academy— 
‘‘(I) in-person and on-campus; 
‘‘(II) in-person and off-campus; 
or 
‘‘(III) through synchronous or 
asynchronous virtual instruction; or 
‘‘(ii) a conference or symposium that 
is offered by the Academy in-person and 
on-campus. 
‘‘(C) COVERED EXPENSE.—The term ‘cov-
ered expense’ means any expense that a fire de-
partment incurred for the planned participation 
of the personnel of such fire department in a 
covered course or activity, including the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) Any travel expense. 
‘‘(ii) Any backfill expense. 
‘‘(D) GOOD
CAUSE.—The term ‘good 
cause’ includes the following: 
‘‘(i) The closure of a facility of the 
Academy for any reason other than a lapse 
in appropriations. 
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‘‘(ii) The illness or unavailability of an 
instructor of the Academy. 
‘‘(iii) A national emergency that im-
pedes access to a facility of the Academy 
by a student or faculty member of the 
Academy.’’. 
Æ 
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