# 119-s-5439: A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to improve safety standards for wildland firefighters.

119-s-5439, A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to improve safety standards for wildland firefighters., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5439
- As of: 2026-10-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5439
- Congress: 119
- Title: A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to improve safety standards for wildland firefighters.
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-17
- Sponsor: Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Labor and Employment
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-17

## Summary

**Establishes national smoke exposure safety standards to protect wildland firefighters and supporting staff.** This bill would require federal leaders to define exposure limits, pick appropriate respiratory protective gear, and push for commercially available respirators where smoke risks are high. - Wildland firefighters and supporting staff: Would require appropriate respiratory personal protective equipment in settings where smoke exceeds the covered permissible exposure limits and would apply to both federal employees and contract personnel. It also directs a strategy to make suitable respirators commercially available within 1 year. - Federal agencies and coordination: Would make the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Forest Service, coordinate with the Secretary of the Interior, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, NIOSH, and OSHA to determine PPE and to convene a task force to develop an interim smoke exposure standard and pursue a wildfire-specific exposure limit. - Equipment and standards: Would incorporate by reference the most recent NFPA 1984 respirator standard into the safety requirements and direct updates to PPE and related protections as needed.

## Provisions PRIA read

- New smoke rules for wildland firefighters: benefit, medium. This bill would require the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Forest Service, to set new smoke safety standards for wildland firefighters and support staff. It would define "covered permissible exposure limits" as the smoke limits set by NIOSH and OSHA. Within 1 year, the Secretary would work w…

## Related bills

- 119-s-4949: Water Resources Development Act of 2026
- 119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-1507: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-5439 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5439)

## Related
- [119-s-4949: Water Resources Development Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4949)
- [119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1541)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-1507: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1507)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5439 (as of 2026-10-17).