# 119-hr-178: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.

119-hr-178, To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-5] (R-CA); status in_committee (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-178
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-178
- Congress: 119
- Title: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-01-03
- Sponsor: Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-5] (R-CA)
- Cosponsors: 9
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**This bill would require rapid, mandatory wildfire suppression on high‑risk National Forest System lands.** It would also restrict prescribed burns and backfires and tie covered areas to drought and wildfire‑risk metrics. - Forest Service leaders and crews would have to use all available resources to extinguish wildfires on covered lands within 24 hours of detection and to immediately suppress any prescribed fire that exceeds its prescription. - State and local firefighting agencies authorized to respond would be protected from federal actions that inhibit their suppression efforts, preserving their ability to fight fires on those lands. - Land managers would be limited to conducting prescribed fires that comply with law and regulations, and backfires or burnouts during wildfires could be started only by the incident commander or when needed to protect firefighter safety. - Covered lands would be National Forest areas rated severe to exceptional drought by the U.S. Drought Monitor, designated at the highest national wildfire preparedness level, or placed in the top decile of fireshed exposure under Forest Service risk models.

## Cosponsors (9)

- Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41] (R-CA), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. LaMalfa, Doug [R-CA-1] (R-CA), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] (R-AZ), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stauber, Pete [R-MN-8] (R-MN), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Issa, Darrell [R-CA-48] (R-CA), 2025-01-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kiley, Kevin [I-CA-3] (I-CA), 2025-01-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Zinke, Ryan K. [R-MT-1] (R-MT), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4] (R-UT), 2025-01-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Downing, Troy [R-MT-2] (R-MT), 2025-03-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Faster wildfire response on high-risk forests: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Forest Service would have to use all available resources to put out wildfires on certain high-risk National Forest lands. It would aim to extinguish any detected wildfire within 24 hours and immediately stop any prescribed fire that escapes its plan. Only the incident commander coul…

## Related bills

- 119-hres-719: Honoring the life and legacy of Charles Charlie James Kirk.
- 119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025
- 119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-hr-1301: Death Tax Repeal Act
- 119-hr-471: Fix Our Forests Act
- 119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-178 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/178)

## Related
- [119-hres-719: Honoring the life and legacy of Charles Charlie James Kirk.](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-719)
- [119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-38)
- [119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-21)
- [119-hr-1301: Death Tax Repeal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1301)
- [119-hr-471: Fix Our Forests Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-471)
- [119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1502)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-178 (as of 2026-09-21).