PRIA Logo™
119-hr-10061119th CongressWALLET

Wildfire Response and Readiness Act

Sponsored By: Representative Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2]

In Committee

Summary

dramatically expand prescribed fire and landscape‑scale restoration. This bill would create a National Prescribed Fire Program plus a 10‑year National Wildfire Plan to grow prescribed‑fire acreage and coordinate landscape restoration across Federal and partner lands while building workforce, monitoring, and grant tools.

Show full summary
  • Families and communities: creates an Individual Household Disaster Mitigation program offering up to $10,000 per household for qualifying pre‑disaster measures, with income caps of $250,000 (single) and $500,000 (joint).
  • Workers and agencies: funds workforce pipelines including Civilian Conservation Centers, training grants, and hiring goals that target 300 program graduates per Secretary each year, plus CPI‑based annual pay increases and new pay and hazard‑duty authorities for wildland firefighters.
  • Landscapes, Tribes, and rural economies: authorizes landscape restoration and post‑fire rehabilitation accounts, including a Long‑Term Burned Area Rehabilitation account capped at $100.0 million per year and a Collaborative Prescribed Fire Program capped at $20.0 million per year.

*Net fiscal: would authorize new, multi‑year federal spending across many programs and accounts and therefore increase federal outlays over FY2027–FY2036.*

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

19 provisions identified: 17 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

Household disaster grants and faster aid

If enacted, the bill would create an Individual Household Disaster Mitigation Program that lets States and Tribes give up to $10,000 per household for qualifying pre‑disaster home mitigation. The household limit would not exceed actual costs and would rise with the Consumer Price Index. Households with AGI over $250,000 (or $500,000 for joint filers) would be ineligible. Amounts received under this program would be excluded from gross income for federal taxes. The bill would also require many wildfire recovery payments to be disbursed within 90 days, direct FEMA to update wildfire recovery guidance within one year, and require several agencies to simplify and expand help for grant applicants within 90 days.

Retirement, disability, and comp changes

If enacted, qualifying Federal wildland firefighter service back to January 1, 1989 could count toward Federal retirement if the worker makes a written election and required deposits. Some service from October 1, 2003 to the day before enactment could also count if the worker and agency remit required contributions with interest. Overtime paid on or after enactment would count in retirement pay calculations. The bill would expand disability annuity rules for exposure-related diseases and require workers’ compensation to cover fire-related psychological injuries and PTSD, with ongoing coverage and faster claims handling.

Nationwide smoke alerts and satellite monitoring

If enacted, the bill would create a nationwide smoke monitoring and alert system within one year. It would fund real‑time smoke forecasts and county‑level alerts and modernize AirNow. The bill would authorize $32 million per year for smoke monitoring and $20 million per year for State satellite grants for FY2027–2036. It would also require updated seasonal wildfire risk maps and boost use of satellite data.

More Community Wildfire Grants

If enacted, the Agriculture Department would get an extra $1 billion each year for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Program. That money would be in addition to amounts already available. The bill does not set an end date or how much any one community or household would receive.

Prescribed fire and landscape restoration

If enacted, the bill would push federal agencies to expand prescribed fire on Federal land by 10 percent each fiscal year for nine years and allow up to 15% of certain hazardous-fuels funds to pay for prescribed fire. Training centers and non‑Federal practitioner inclusion would be expanded, and the government could obligate up to $5 million per year from unobligated Reforestation Trust Fund money for nursery and seed support. At the same time, the Collaborative Prescribed Fire Program would be capped at $20 million total per year, $1 million per project per year, projects limited to 10 years, and a limit of 20 project selections per year; some funds are further limited to $10 million per year for FY2027–2036. States would need to submit annual prescribed‑fire reporting or lose eligibility for title funds.

Grants to Harden Homes

If enacted, community wildfire grants would be allowed to pay to make buildings resist flames and embers. Grants could fund changes to a structure or nearby areas like vegetation, garages, sheds, and fencing. Eligible work would need to reduce exposure to flame, radiation, or embers. This change would not guarantee a grant to any property owner.

Hiring, training, and firefighter tuition help

If enacted, the bill would expand hiring and training pathways for wildfire workers. It would let agencies directly hire eligible covered graduates in FY2027–2036 and set a goal to hire 300 graduates each year. The bill would create a leadership academy and grant programs and require a voluntary tuition assistance payment of at least $4,000 per eligible permanent federal wildland firefighter each year.

Hiring, training, and worker supports

If enacted, agencies would set up mental health programs for federal wildland firefighters by January 1, 2027, including peer support and a distinct trauma‑informed service. Each firefighter would get 7 consecutive paid days off per year for mental health. Agencies could convert qualifying seasonal firefighters to permanent jobs without competition if they meet performance criteria. The bill would expand hiring pathways and pilots for veterans, let agencies employ covered students at regular pay and encourage student hiring, require shorter but hands-on paths to prescribed‑fire supervisor certification, create a housing renovation pilot using students, and limit workforce layoffs at Interior and the Forest Service through September 30, 2030 absent congressional approval.

More livestock aid after fires

If enacted, the bill would let livestock producers get Livestock Forage and Emergency Livestock Assistance for losses tied to prescribed fire, beneficial fire, and wildfires managed for resource objectives. Producers would still need to meet other program rules to get payments.

Federal post‑fire recovery and reforestation funding

If enacted, the bill would fund and speed post‑fire recovery on mostly Federal land. It would create a long‑term burn rehabilitation account authorizing up to $100 million per year for FY2027–2036. The bill would also require restoration project planning, add competitive community resilience grants with Tribal set‑asides, expand nursery and seed programs, and set deadlines for restoring temporary roads and starting rehabilitation work.

More prescribed fire and planning tools

If enacted, the bill would boost use of prescribed fire and require regional operational plans. It would create collaborative, landscape‑scale prescribed‑fire project rules (generally 50,000‑acre minimum, 10‑year plans), allow multi‑year agreements, and require regional strategies and training centers where missing. The bill would also direct agencies to expand detection technology and coordinate smoke‑management rules for prescribed burns.

Public wildfire data and research support

If enacted, the bill would create or expand public wildfire data, research, and technology programs. It would require a public Wildfire Digital Data Center and fund research, advisory work, and prizes to move science into operations. The bill would authorize $15 million per year for the data center and $10 million to support a permanent science advisory board and related activities.

Worker health, liability, and survivor supports

If enacted, the bill would expand protections and supports for wildfire workers. It would extend Federal tort‑claim treatment to qualifying partners under supervision, require voluntary training on liability protections, and create a survivor assistance program within six months to help next‑of‑kin with travel costs and benefit navigation. The bill would also require a public firefighter cancer and heart‑disease database and fund a NIOSH smoke exposure risk assessment with best practices.

Electric Grid Resilience Awards

If enacted, the Energy Department would run a Resilience Accelerator program to fund National Laboratory projects that test technologies to protect the electric grid from wildfires. Projects could include vegetation-management monitoring and tools to improve responder safety. The bill would authorize $10 million per year for each fiscal year from 2027 through 2036.

Higher pay, bonuses, and housing support

If enacted, covered federal wildland firefighters would get annual pay increases tied to the Consumer Price Index starting one year after enactment. The bill would allow recruitment or retention bonuses of at least $1,000 (indexed to CPI) after passing a work test, and it would create a hazardous-duty pay differential for listed dangerous tasks. The bill would require a housing allowance for deployments over 50 miles. At the same time, aggregate basic, premium, and hazard pay could not exceed the Executive Schedule Level II rate, though a Secretary could waive that cap after consultation.

Protect research labs and roadless areas

If enacted, the Agriculture Secretary would have to get prior notice and approval from key House and Senate appropriations leaders before closing Forest Service research facilities. The bill would also bar road construction, major road rebuilding, and logging in inventoried roadless areas where the Roadless Rule already prohibits those actions.

Public education and mitigation advisory committee

If enacted, the bill would direct agencies to run a national prescribed‑fire education program using ads, materials, and awards. The President would also create a 50‑member hazard mitigation advisory committee to recommend mitigation activities for household mitigation programs. These actions would be advisory and educational and would not directly give households money.

Faster payments to local fire departments

If enacted, the bill would require agencies to set standard payment procedures for fire‑suppression cost‑share agreements within one year. Federal paying entities would have to reimburse local fire departments or State wildland firefighter agencies for properly submitted invoices. Congress would state a non‑binding expectation that repayments occur quickly, generally within one year after suppression.

Utility Vegetation Removal on Federal Lands

If enacted, Agriculture or Interior officials would be able to allow covered electric utilities to cut or remove trees and other vegetation near power lines on National Forest and BLM lands. The work would have to follow land management plans and environmental laws. If a utility sold removed material, it would give the proceeds to the responsible Secretary, minus transportation costs.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2]

CO • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Rep. Craig, Angie [D-MN-2]

    MN • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6]

    OR • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Rep. Whitesides, George [D-CA-27]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7]

    CO • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

  • Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 8/20/2026

  • Rep. Torres, Norma J. [D-CA-35]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 8/20/2026

  • Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1]

    HI • D

    Sponsored 8/20/2026

  • Rep. Bera, Ami [D-CA-6]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 8/31/2026

  • Rep. Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 8/31/2026

  • Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6]

    WA • D

    Sponsored 8/31/2026

  • Rep. Vasquez, Gabe [D-NM-2]

    NM • D

    Sponsored 8/31/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation