section (a) shall reimburse the Secretary for the costs of 
the services provided by the Secretary pursuant to the re-
quest, at rates determined, and agreed to, by the Sec-
retary, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of 
the Interior. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of De-
fense shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees a report on any financial and logistical barriers 
to conducting the operations, or providing the assistance, 
described in subsection (a). 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means the following: 
(A) The Committee on Agriculture of the 
House of Representatives. 
(B) The Committee on Natural Resources 
of the House of Representatives. 
(C) The Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives. 
(D) The Committee on Agriculture, Nutri-
tion, and Forestry of the Senate. 
(E) The Committee on Energy and Nat-
ural Resources of the Senate. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:52 Aug 05, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4852.IH
H4852
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
(F) The Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 
(2) QUALIFIED
AGENCY
HEAD.—The term 
‘‘qualified agency head’’ means any of the following: 
(A) The Secretary of Agriculture. 
(B) The Secretary of the Interior. 
(C) The head of any other relevant agency, 
as determined by the Secretary of Defense. 
SEC. 5. FIREFIGHTER HEALTH AND SAFETY RESEARCH IN 
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPA-
TIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH. 
Section 22 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 
of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 671) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection: 
‘‘(i) PROGRAM OF FIREFIGHTER HEALTH AND SAFE-
TY RESEARCH.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry 
out a research and development program with re-
spect to accomplish the following: 
‘‘(A) To protect the respiratory health of 
firefighters responding to incidents of wildfire 
or fires in the wildland-urban interface. 
‘‘(B) To identify and measure per- and 
polyfluoroalkyl substances (commonly referred 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:52 Aug 05, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4852.IH
H4852
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
to as ‘PFAS’) and other carcinogens which may 
be present in any of the following: 
‘‘(i) Areas affected by— 
‘‘(I) incidents of wildfire or fire 
in the wildland-urban interface; or 
‘‘(II) firefighting operations con-
ducted in response to such incidents. 
‘‘(ii) Protective equipment used by 
firefighters responding to such incidents. 
‘‘(iii) Any other setting, as determined 
by the Director in accordance with para-
graph (2)(B). 
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this 
subsection, the Director shall consult with the 
following: 
‘‘(i) The Administrator of the United 
States Fire Administration. 
‘‘(ii) The Secretary of Agriculture. 
‘‘(iii) Representatives from such non-
profit organizations or labor unions rep-
resenting firefighters and fire officers in 
the public sector. 
‘‘(B) PFAS EXPOSURE INVESTIGATIONS.— 
In identifying any other setting under para-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:52 Aug 05, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4852.IH
H4852
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
graph (1)(B)(iii), the Director shall consult 
with the following: 
‘‘(i) The entities specified in subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(ii) Stakeholders from the industries 
that manufacture equipment for, or pro-
vide assistance to, firefighters. 
‘‘(iii) Structural firefighters who have 
responded to incidents of wildfire or fires 
in the wildland-urban interface. 
‘‘(iv) The Secretary of the Interior. 
‘‘(v) The Administrator of the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency. 
‘‘(3) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection and annually thereafter, the Director 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees a report on the following: 
‘‘(A) The progress of the Director in car-
rying out this subsection. 
‘‘(B) Any research findings identified as a 
result of the research conducted under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There 
are 
authorized 
to 
be 
appropriated 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:52 Aug 05, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4852.IH
H4852
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 
2031 to carry out this subsection. 
‘‘(5) DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE CONGRES-
SIONAL COMMITTEES.—In this subsection, the term 
‘appropriate congressional committees’ means the 
following: 
‘‘(A) The Committee on Natural Resources 
of the House of Representatives. 
‘‘(B) The Committee on Energy and Nat-
ural Resources of the Senate.’’. 
SEC. 6. MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE FOR FIRST RE-
SPONDERS. 
Section 327(d) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5165f(d)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Administration’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Administrator’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, subject to paragraph 
(4)’’ after ‘‘participation’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) CRITERIA FOR MENTAL HEALTH ASSIST-
ANCE.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:52 Aug 05, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4852.IH
H4852
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator 
shall include the following in the criteria de-
scribed in paragraph (1): 
‘‘(i) Criteria specifying that a task 
force with firefighters or other emergency 
responders as members shall include, as 
members of the task force, mental health 
practitioners qualified to treat, monitor, or 
assess such firefighters or other emergency 
responders for post-traumatic stress inju-
ries or other mental or behavioral health 
conditions attributable to service in the 
task force. 
‘‘(ii) Criteria for each member of a 
task force to be trained in peer mental 
health support services and to provide such 
services to an emergency responder serving 
in the task force. 
‘‘(iii) Criteria establishing that the 
peer mental health support services re-
ferred to in clause (ii) include the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(I) Identification of warning 
signs of post-traumatic stress injuries. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:52 Aug 05, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4852.IH
H4852
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB