Title: National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program Act
This bill directs the President to establish a National Wildland Fire Risk Reduction Program to achieve major measurable reductions in the losses of life and property from wildland fires.
This program shall coordinate federal efforts to
Not later than 90 days after enactment of this bill, the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall establish an Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildland Fire Risk Reduction to oversee the planning, management, and coordination of the program. The committee shall submit a strategic plan for the program to Congress.
The Government Accountability Office shall submit a report to Congress on the progress and performance of the program.
Further, the bill sets forth the responsibilities of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Energy with respect to the program.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5781 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5781

 To improve the Federal effort to reduce wildland fire risks, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 28, 2021

    Ms. Lofgren (for herself, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Perlmutter, and Ms. 
  Bonamici) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the 
  Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve the Federal effort to reduce wildland fire risks, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Wildland Fire Risk 
Reduction Program Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

    The President shall establish a National Wildland Fire Risk 
Reduction Program with the purpose of achieving major measurable 
reductions in the losses of life and property from wildland fires 
through a coordinated Federal effort to--
            (1) improve the assessment of fire environments and the 
        understanding and prediction of wildland fires, associated 
        smoke, and their impacts, including--
                    (A) at the wildland-urban interface;
                    (B) on communities, buildings and other 
                infrastructure; and
                    (C) social and economic impacts;
            (2) develop and encourage the adoption of science-based and 
        cost-effective measures to prevent and mitigate wildland fire 
        and associated smoke impacts; and
            (3) improve the understanding and mitigation of the impacts 
        of climate change and variability on wildland fire risk, 
        frequency, and severity, and to inform paragraphs (1) and (2).

SEC. 3. PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.

    The Program shall consist of the activities described under section 
6, which shall be designed--
            (1) to support research and development, including 
        interdisciplinary research, related to fire environments, 
        wildland fires, associated smoke, and their impacts, in 
        furtherance of a coordinated interagency effort to address 
        wildland fire risk reduction;
            (2) to support data management and stewardship, and the 
        development and coordination of data systems and computational 
        tools to accelerate the understanding of fire environments, 
        wildland fires, associated smoke, and their impacts;
            (3) to support the development of novel tools and 
        technologies to improve understanding, monitoring, prediction, 
        and mitigation of wildland fires, associated smoke, and their 
        impacts;
            (4) to support education and training to expand the number 
        of students and researchers in areas of study and research 
        related to wildland fires;
            (5) to accelerate the translation of research related to 
        wildland fires and associated smoke into operations to reduce 
        harm to communities, buildings, and other infrastructure;
            (6) to conduct communication and outreach regarding 
        wildland fire science and wildland fire risk mitigation, to 
        communities, energy utilities and operators of other critical 
        infrastructure, and other relevant stakeholders;
            (7) to support research and development projects funded 
        under joint solicitations or through memoranda of understanding 
        between no fewer than two agencies participating in the 
        Program; and
            (8) to disseminate, to the extent practicable, scientific 
        data and related products and services in formats meeting 
        shared standards to enhance the interoperability, usability, 
        and accessibility of Program Agency data in order to better 
        meet the needs of Program agencies, other Federal agencies, and 
        relevant stakeholders.

SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON WILDLAND FIRE RISK 
              REDUCTION.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after enactment of this 
Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 
establish an Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildland Fire Risk 
Reduction, to be co-chaired by the Director and the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology.
    (b) Membership.--In addition to the co-chairs, the Committee shall 
be composed of--
            (1) the Director of the National Science Foundation;
            (2) the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration;
            (3) the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency;
            (4) the United States Fire Administration;
            (5) the Chief of the Forest Service;
            (6) the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration;
            (7) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency;
            (8) the Secretary of Energy;
            (9) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
        Policy;
            (10) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
            (11) the Secretary of the Interior;
            (12) the Director of United States Geological Survey;
            (13) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
            (14) the Secretary of Defense;
            (15) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and
            (16) the head of any other Federal agency that the Director 
        considers appropriate.
    (c) Meetings.--The Committee shall meet not less than twice a year 
for the first 2 years and then not less than once a year at the call of 
the Director.
    (d) General Purpose and Duties.--The Committee shall oversee the 
planning, management, and coordination of the Program, and solicit 
stakeholder input on Program goals.
    (e) Strategic Plan.--The Committee shall develop and submit to 
Congress, not later than 1 year after enactment, a Strategic Plan for 
the Program that includes--
            (1) prioritized goals for the Program, consistent with the 
        purposes of the Program as described in section 2;
            (2) short-term, mid-term, and long-term research and 
        development objectives to achieve those goals;
            (3) a description of the role of each Program agency in 
        achieving the prioritized goals;
            (4) a description of how the Committee will foster 
        collaboration between and among the Program agencies to help 
        meet the goals of the Program;
            (5) the methods by which progress toward the goals will be 
        assessed;
            (6) an explanation of how the Program will foster the 
        translation of research into measurable reductions in the 
        losses of life and property from wildland fires, including 
        recommended outcomes and metrics for each program goal and how 
        operational Program agencies will transition demonstrated 
        technologies and research findings into operations;
            (7) a description of the research infrastructure, including 
        databases and computational tools, needed to accomplish the 
        research and development objectives outlined in paragraph (2), 
        a description of how research infrastructure in existence at 
        the time of the development of the plan will be used to meet 
        the objectives, and an explanation of how new research 
        infrastructure will be developed to meet the objectives;
            (8) a description of how Program agencies will collaborate 
        with stakeholders and take into account stakeholder needs and 
        recommendations in developing research and development 
        objectives;
            (9) recommendations on the most effective means to 
        integrate the research results into wildland fire preparedness 
        and response actions across Federal, State, and local levels; 
        and
            (10) guidance on how the Committee's recommendations are 
        best used in climate adaptation planning for Federal, State, 
        local, Tribal, and territorial entities.
    (f) Coordination With Other Federal Efforts.--The Director shall 
ensure that the activities of the Program are coordinated with other 
relevant Federal initiatives as appropriate.
    (g) Progress Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
transmission of the Strategic Plan from subsection (e) to Congress and 
not less frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, the Committee 
shall submit to the Congress a report on the progress of the Program 
that includes--
            (1) a description of the activities funded under the 
        Program, a description of how those activities align with the 
        prioritized goals and research objectives established in the 
        Strategic Plan, and the budgets, per agency, for these 
        activities; and
            (2) the outcomes achieved by the Program for each of the 
        goals identified in the Strategic Plan.

SEC. 5. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW.

    Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to 
Congress that--
            (1) evaluates the progress and performance of the Program 
        in establishing and making progress toward the goals of the 
        Program as set forth in this Act; and
            (2) includes such recommendations as the Comptroller 
        General determines are appropriate to improve the Program.

SEC. 6. RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROGRAM AGENCIES.

    (a) National Institute of Standards and Technology.--The 
responsibilities of the Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology with respect to the Program are as follows:
            (1) Research and development activities.--The Director of 
        the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall--
                    (A) carry out research on the impact of wildland 
                fires on communities, buildings, and other 
                infrastructure;
                    (B) carry out research on the generation of 
                firebrands from wildland fires and on methods and 
                materials to prevent or reduce firebrand ignition of 
                communities, buildings, and other infrastructure;
                    (C) carry out research on novel materials, systems, 
                structures, and construction designs to harden 
                structures, parcels, and communities to the impact of 
                wildland fires;
                    (D) carry out research on the impact of 
                environmental factors on wildland fire behavior, 
                including wind, terrain, and moisture; and
                    (E) support the development of performance-based 
                tools to mitigate the impact of wildland fires, and 
                work with appropriate groups to promote the use of such 
                tools, including through model building codes and fire 
                codes, standard test methods, voluntary consensus 
                standards, and construction and retrofit best 
                practices.
            (2) Wildland-urban interface fire post-investigations.--The 
        Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
        shall--
                    (A) coordinate Federal post-wildland fire 
                investigations of fires at the wildland-urban 
                interface; and
                    (B) develop methodologies to characterize the 
                impact of wildland fires on communities and the impact 
                of changes in building and fire codes, including 
                methodologies--
                            (i) for collecting, inventorying, and 
                        analyzing information on the performance of 
                        communities, buildings, and other 
                        infrastructure in wildland fires; and
                            (ii) for improved collection of pertinent 
                        information from different sources, including 
                        first responders, the design and construction 
                        industry, insurance companies, and building 
                        officials.
    (b) National Science Foundation.--As a part of the Program, the 
Director of the National Science Foundation shall support--
            (1) research to improve the understanding and prediction of 
        wildland fire risks, including the conditions that increase the 
        likelihood of a wildland fire, the behavior of wildland fires, 
        and their impacts on buildings, communities, infrastructure, 
        ecosystems and living systems;
            (2) development and improvement of tools and technologies, 
        including databases and computational models, to enable and 
        accelerate the understanding and prediction of wildland fires 
        and their impacts;
            (3) development of research infrastructure, as appropriate, 
        to enable and accelerate the understanding and prediction of 
        wildland fires and their impacts, including upgrades or 
        additions to the National Hazards Engineering Research 
        Infrastructure;
            (4) research to improve the understanding of--
                    (A) the response to wildland fire risk messages by 
                individuals, communities, and policymakers;
                    (B) economic and other factors influencing the 
                implementation and adoption of wildland fire risk 
                reduction measures by individuals, communities, and 
                policymakers; and
                    (C) decision making and emergency response to 
                wildland fires;
            (5) undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and 
        graduate and postdoctoral fellowships and traineeships in 
        fields of study relevant to wildland fires and their impacts; 
        and
            (6) research to improve the understanding of the impacts of 
        climate change and climate variability on wildland fires, 
        including wildland fire risk, frequency, and severity, and 
        wildland fire prediction, mitigation, and resilience 
        strategies.
    (c) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic 
        and Atmospheric Administration (in this subsection referred to 
        as the ``Administrator'') shall conduct research, observations, 
        modeling, forecasting, prediction, and historical analysis of 
        wildland fires to improve understanding of wildland fires, and 
        associated fire weather and smoke, for the protection of life 
        and property and for the enhancement of the national economy.
            (2) Weather forecasting and decision support for wildland 
        fires.--The Administrator shall--
                    (A) develop and provide accurate, timely, and 
                effective warnings and forecasts of wildland fires and 
                fire weather events that endanger life and property. 
                Such warnings may include red flag warnings, 
                operational fire weather alerts, and any other warnings 
                or alerts the Administrator deems appropriate;
                    (B) provide stakeholders and the public with 
                impact-based decision support services, seasonal 
                climate predictions, air quality products, and smoke 
                forecasts; and
                    (C) provide on-site weather forecasts, seasonal 
                climate predictions, and other decision support to 
                wildland fire incident command posts.
            (3) Wildland fire incident research database.--The 
        Administrator, in collaboration with Program agencies and 
        relevant stakeholders, shall develop a publicly accessible Fire 
        Incident Research Database to support the archiving, 
        stewardship, and understanding of historical wildland fire and 
        fire weather data, and to advance wildland fire science. In 
        developing the database, NOAA shall collaborate with Program 
        agencies and stakeholders to--
                    (A) develop data standards to enhance 
                interoperability of diverse wildland fire data and 
                improve usability of data for a diverse range of 
                stakeholders; and
                    (B) solicit data from other Program agencies and 
                from relevant stakeholders.
            (4) Wildland fire and fire weather surveillance and 
        observations.--The Administrator, in coordination with 
        Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration, shall
                    (A) leverage existing observations, technologies 
                and assets and develop new technologies to sustain and 
                enhance environmental observations used for wildland 
                fire prediction and detection, fire weather and smoke 
                forecasting and monitoring, and post-wildland fire 
                recovery, with a focus on--
                            (i) collecting data for pre-ignition 
                        analysis, such as drought, fuel conditions, and 
                        soil moisture, that will help predict severe 
                        wildland fire conditions on subseasonal to 
                        decadal timescales;
                            (ii) supporting identification and 
                        classification of fire environments to 
                        determine vulnerability to wildland fires and 
                        rapid wildland fire growth;
                            (iii) detecting, observing, and monitoring 
                        wildland fires and smoke;
                            (iv) supporting research on the interaction 
                        of weather and wildland fire behavior; and
                            (v) supporting post-fire assessments 
                        conducted by Program agencies; and
                    (B) prioritize the ability to detect wildfire and 
                smoke in its requirements for its current and future 
                operational space-based assessments and commercial data 
                purchases.
            (5) Fire weather testbed.--In collaboration with Program 
        agencies, the Administrator shall establish a Fire Weather 
        Testbed to evaluate physical and social science, technology, 
        and other research to develop fire weather products and 
        services for implementation by relevant stakeholders.
            (6) Wildland fire and fire weather research and 
        development.--The Administrator shall support a wildland fire 
        and smoke research and development program with the goals of--
                    (A) improving the understanding, prediction, 
                detection, forecasting, monitoring, and assessments of 
                wildland fires and associated fire weather and smoke;
                    (B) developing products and services to meet 
                stakeholder needs;
                    (C) transitioning physical and social science 
                research into operations;
                    (D) improving modeling and technology, including 
                coupled fire-atmosphere fire behavior modeling; and
                    (E) better understanding of links between fire 
                weather events and subseasonal-to-climate impacts.
            (7) Extramural research.--The Administrator shall 
        collaborate with and support the non-Federal wildland fire 
        research community, which includes institutions of higher 
        education, private entities, nongovernmental organizations, and 
        other relevant stakeholders, by making funds available through 
        competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements.
            (8) High performance computing.--The Administrator shall 
        acquire high performance computing technologies and 
        supercomputing technologies to conduct research and development 
        activities, support research to operations under this section, 
        and host operational fire and smoke forecast models.
            (9) Incident meteorologist workforce assessment.--Not later 
        than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
        Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, 
        and Technology in the House, and the Committee on Commerce, 
        Science, and Transportation in the Senate the results of an 
        assessment of National Weather Service workforce and training 
        needs for Incident Meteorologists for wildland fires and other 
        extreme events and the potential need for more such Incident 
        Meteorologists. Such assessment shall take into consideration 
        information technology support, logistical and administrative 
        operations, future climate conditions, and feedback from 
        relevant stakeholders.
    (d) Federal Emergency Management Agency.--The Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency shall--
            (1) support--
                    (A) the development of risk assessment tools and 
                effective mitigation techniques for wildland fires;
                    (B) wildland fire-related data collection and 
                analysis;
                    (C) public outreach and information dissemination 
                related to wildland fires and wildland fire risk; and
                    (D) promotion of the adoption of wildland fire 
                preparedness and risk reduction measures, including for 
                households, businesses, and communities;
            (2) work closely with standards development organizations 
        and building code organizations, in conjunction with the 
        National Institute of Standards and Technology, to promote the 
        implementation of research results and promote better buildings 
        and retrofit practices within the design and construction 
        industry, including architects, engineers, contractors, 
        builders, and inspectors; and
            (3) acting through the United States Fire Administration--
                    (A) help translate new information and research 
                findings into best practices to improve the training of 
                firefighters in wildland fire firefighting; and
                    (B) conduct outreach and information dissemination 
                to fire departments regarding best practices for 
                wildland fire firefighting and training in wildland 
                fire firefighting.
    (e) National Aeronautics and Space Administration.--The 
responsibilities of the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration (in this subsection referred to as the 
``Administrator'') with respect to the Program are as follows:
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall, with respect to 
        the Program--
                    (A) support relevant basic and applied scientific 
                research and modeling;
                    (B) ensure the use in the Program of all relevant 
                National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth 
                observations data for maximum utility;
                    (C) explore and apply novel tools and technologies 
                in the activities of the Program;
                    (D) support the translation of research to 
                operations, including to Program agencies and relevant 
                stakeholders; and
                    (E) facilitate the communication of wildland fire 
                research, knowledge, and tools to relevant 
                stakeholders.
            (2) Wildland fire research and applications.--The 
        Administrator shall support basic and applied wildland fire 
        research and modeling activities, including competitively-
        selected research, to--
                    (A) improve the understanding and prediction of 
                fire environments, wildland fires, associated smoke, 
                and their impacts;
                    (B) improve the understanding of the impacts of 
                climate change and variability on wildland fire risk, 
                frequency, and severity;
                    (C) characterize the pre-fire phase and fire-
                inducing conditions, such as soil moisture and 
                vegetative fuel availability;
                    (D) characterize the active fire phase, such as 
                fire and smoke plume mapping, fire behavior and spread 
                modeling, and domestic and global fire activity;
                    (E) characterize the post-fire phase, such as 
                landscape changes, air quality, erosion, landslides, 
                and impacts on carbon distributions in forest biomass;
                    (F) contribute to advancing predictive wildland 
                fire models;
                    (G) address other relevant investigations and 
                measurements prioritized by the National Academies of 
                Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Decadal Survey on 
                Earth Science and Applications from Space;
                    (H) improve the translation of research knowledge 
                into actionable information;
                    (I) develop research and data products, including 
                maps, decision-support information, and tools, and 
                support related training as appropriate and 
                practicable;
                    (J) collaborate with other Program agencies and 
                relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, on joint 
                research and development projects, including research 
                grant solicitations and field campaigns; and
                    (K) transition research advances to operations, 
                including to Program agencies and relevant 
                stakeholders, as practicable.
            (3) Wildland fire data systems and computational tools.--
                    (A) In general.--The Administrator shall--
                            (i) identify, from the National Aeronautics 
                        and Space Administration's Earth science data 
                        systems, data, including combined data 
                        products, that can contribute to improving the 
                        understanding, monitoring, prediction, and 
                        mitigation of wildland fires and their impacts, 
                        including data related to fire weather, plume 
                        dynamics, smoke and fire behavior, impacts of 
                        climate change and variability, land and 
                        property burned, wildlife and ecosystem 
                        destruction, among other areas;
                            (ii) prioritize the dissemination of data 
                        identified under this subparagraph to the 
                        widest extent practicable to support relevant 
                        research and operational stakeholders;
                            (iii) consider opportunities to support the 
                        Program under section 2 and the Program 
                        activities under section 3 when planning and 
                        developing Earth observation satellites, 
                        instruments, and airborne measurement 
                        platforms;
                            (iv) identify opportunities, in 
                        collaboration with Program agencies and 
                        relevant stakeholders, as practicable and 
                        appropriate, to acquire additional airborne and 
                        space-based data and observations that may 
                        enhance or supplement the understanding, 
                        monitoring, prediction, and mitigation of 
                        wildland fire risks, and the relevant Program 
                        activities under section 3; and
                            (v) lead, in collaboration with Program 
                        agencies, the development of a Wildland Fire 
                        Risk Reduction Scientific Data Collaboration 
                        Environment for the purposes of accelerating 
                        the understanding and prediction of wildland 
                        fires and to facilitate communications and 
                        outreach on wildland fire data, science, and 
                        risk to Program agencies and relevant 
                        stakeholders.
                    (B) Data collaboration environment 
                specifications.--The Wildland Fire Risk Reduction 
                Scientific Data Collaboration Environment under clause 
                (v) of subparagraph (A) shall be--
                            (i) a publicly available means of accessing 
                        Program agencies' wildland fire risk scientific 
                        data related to active wildland fires; and
                            (ii) comprised of observations, available 
                        real-time and near-real-time measurements, 
                        derived science and data products, such as risk 
                        and spread maps, and other relevant decision 
                        support and information tools.
            (4) Novel tools for active wildland fire monitoring and 
        risk mitigation.--The Administrator, in collaboration with 
        other Program agencies and relevant stakeholders shall apply 
        novel tools and technologies to support active wildland fire 
        research, monitoring, mitigation, and risk reduction, as 
        practicable and appropriate. In particular, the Administrator 
        shall:
                    (A) Establish a program to develop and demonstrate 
                a unified concept of operations for the safe and 
                effective deployment of diverse air capabilities in 
                active wildland fire monitoring, mitigation, and risk 
                reduction. The objectives of the Program shall be to--
                            (i) develop a wildland fire airspace 
                        operations system accounting for piloted 
                        aircraft, uncrewed aerial systems, and other 
                        new and emerging capabilities such as 
                        autonomous and high-altitude assets;
                            (ii) develop an interoperable 
                        communications strategy to support such system;
                            (iii) develop a roadmap for the on-ramping 
                        of new technologies, capabilities, or entities 
                        into such system;
                            (iv) identify additional development, 
                        testing, and demonstration that would be 
                        required to expand the scale of operations of 
                        such system;
                            (v) identify actions that would be required 
                        to transition the program into ongoing, 
                        operational use; and
                            (vi) identify other objectives for such 
                        system, as deemed appropriate by the 
                        Administrator.
                    (B) Develop and demonstrate affordable and 
                deployable sensing technologies, in consultation with 
                other Program agencies and relevant stakeholders, to 
                improve the monitoring of fire fuel and active wildland 
                fires, wildland fire behavior models and forecast, 
                mapping efforts, and the prediction and mitigation of 
                wildland fires and their impacts. The Administrator 
                shall--
                            (i) test and demonstrate technologies such 
                        as infrared, microwave, and active sensors 
                        suitable for deployment on spacecraft, 
                        aircraft, and uncrewed aerial systems, as 
                        appropriate and practicable;
                            (ii) develop and demonstrate affordable and 
                        deployable sensing technologies that can be 
                        transitioned to operations for collection of 
                        near-real-time localized measurements;
                            (iii) identify opportunities and actions 
                        required, in collaboration with Program 
                        agencies and relevant stakeholders, to 
                        transition relevant technologies, techniques, 
                        and data to science operations, upon successful 
                        demonstration of the feasibility and scientific 
                        utility of the sensors and data;
                            (iv) transition demonstrated technologies, 
                        techniques, and data into ongoing, operational 
                        use, including to Program agencies and relevant 
                        stakeholders; and
                            (v) prioritize and facilitate, to the 
                        greatest extent practicable, the dissemination 
                        of these science data to operations, including 
                        to Program agencies and relevant stakeholders.
    (f) Environmental Protection Agency.--The Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency shall support environmental research 
and development activities to--
            (1) improve the understanding of--
                    (A) wildland fire and smoke impacts on communities, 
                and on water and outdoor and indoor air quality;
                    (B) wildland fire smoke plume characteristics, 
                chemical transformation, and transport;
                    (C) wildland fire and smoke impacts to contaminant 
                containment and remediation;
                    (D) the contribution of wildland fire emissions to 
                climate forcing emissions;
                    (E) differences between the impacts of prescribed 
                fires compared to other wildland fires on communities 
                and air and water quality; and
                    (F) climate change and variability on wildland 
                fires and smoke plumes, including on smoke exposure;
            (2) develop and improve tools, sensors, and technologies 
        including databases and computational models, to accelerate the 
        understanding, monitoring, and prediction of wildland fires and 
        smoke exposure;
            (3) better integrate observational data into wildland fire 
        and smoke characterization models to improve modeling at finer 
        temporal and spatial resolution; and
            (4) improve communication of wildland fire and smoke risk 
        reduction strategies to the public in coordination with 
        relevant stakeholders and other Federal agencies.
    (g) Department of Energy.--The Secretary of Energy shall carry out 
activities to research and develop tools, techniques, and technologies 
for--
            (1) withstanding and addressing the current and projected 
        impact of wildland fires on energy sector infrastructure;
            (2) providing real-time or near-time awareness of the risks 
        posed by wildland fires to the operation of energy 
        infrastructure in affected and potentially affected areas;
            (3) early detection of malfunctioning electrical equipment 
        on the transmission and distribution grid, including detection 
        of spark ignition causing wildland fires;
            (4) assisting with the planning, safe execution of, and 
        safe and timely restoration of power after emergency power shut 
        offs following wildland fires started by grid infrastructure;
            (5) improving electric grid and energy sector safety and 
        resilience in the event of multiple simultaneous or co-located 
        weather or climate events leading to extreme conditions, such 
        as extreme wind, wildland fires, extreme cold, and extreme 
        heat;
            (6) coordinating data across relevant entities to promote 
        resilience and wildland fire prevention in the planning, 
        design, construction, operation, and maintenance of 
        transmission infrastructure; and
            (7) considering optimal building energy efficiency 
        practices, as practicable, in wildland fire research.

SEC. 7. BUDGET ACTIVITIES.

    The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
the Director of the National Science Foundation, the Administrator of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Director of 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Administrator of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Secretary of Energy shall each 
include in the annual budget request to Congress of each respective 
agency a description of the projected activities of such agency under 
the Program for the fiscal year covered by the budget request and an 
estimate of the amount such agency plans to spend on such activities 
for the relevant fiscal year.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
            (2) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Program 
        established under section 2.
            (3) Program agencies.--The term ``Program agencies'' means 
        any Federal agency with responsibilities under the Program.
            (4) Stakeholders.--The term ``stakeholders'' means any 
        public or private organization engaged in addressing wildland 
        fires, associated smoke, and their impacts, and shall include 
        relevant Federal agencies, States, territories, Tribes, State 
        and local governments, businesses, not-for-profit 
        organizations, including national standards and building code 
        organizations, firefighting departments and organizations, 
        academia, and other users of wildland fire data products.
            (5) Wildland fire.--The term ``wildland fire'' means any 
        non-structure fire that occurs in vegetation or natural fuels 
        and includes wildfires and prescribed fires.
            (6) Wildland-urban interface.--The term ``Wildland-Urban 
        Interface'' has the meaning given such term in section 4(11) of 
        the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 
        2203(11)).
            (7) Fire environment.--The term ``fire environment'' means 
        surrounding conditions, influences, and modifying forces of 
        topography, fuel, and weather that determine fire behavior.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) National Institute of Standards and Technology.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology for carrying out this Act--
            (1) $35,800,000 for fiscal year 2022;
            (2) $36,100,000 for fiscal year 2023;
            (3) $36,400,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (4) $36,700,000 for fiscal year 2025; and
            (5) $37,100,000 for fiscal year 2026.
    (b) National Science Foundation.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Science Foundation for carrying out this 
Act--
            (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
            (2) $53,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
            (3) $56,200,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (4) $59,600,000 for fiscal year 2025; and
            (5) $63,100,000 for fiscal year 2026.
    (c) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration for carrying out this Act--
            (1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
            (2) $215,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
            (3) $220,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (4) $230,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and
            (5) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.
    (d) National Aeronautics and Space Administration.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration for carrying out this Act--
            (1) $95,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
            (2) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023;
            (3) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (4) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and
            (5) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.
    (e) Environmental Protection Agency.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Environmental Protection Agency for carrying out 
this Act--
            (1) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2022;
            (2) $11,700,000 for fiscal year 2023;
            (3) $12,400,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (4) $13,100,000 for fiscal year 2025; and
            (5) $13,900,000 for fiscal year 2026.
                                 <all>