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Congressional Daily Record
This section focuses on legislation moving through Congress. It mentions legislation such as FIRE SMART Act of 2026, committees such as Committee on Environment and Public Works, members such as Alejandro Padilla.
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June 17, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextBy Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Crapo,
Mr. Kelly, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Schiff, and Mr. Sheehy):
S. 4812. A bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to modify regulations with respect to drinking water State revolving funds, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Mr. PADILLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the FIRE SMART Act. This legislation would expand eligibility for Drinking Water State Revolving Funds to allow for funding of certain water infrastructure needed for fighting wildfires in rural communities at high risk of wildfire.
adequate water storage and flow for fire suppression. Federal assistance is critical because many smaller rural communities in the wildland-urban interface that are at increased risk of wildfire lack the ratepayer bases to upgrade their firefighting infrastructure on their own.
communities in the wildland-urban interface was demonstrated during the Caldor Fire in the Lake Tahoe area in 2021. Firefighters were able to successfully defend the Christmas Valley neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe from the Caldor Fire due to the combination of one, investments in modernized watermains sized for fire suppression flows and a sufficient network of fire hydrants, water tanks, and water sources, and two, thinning of forests and the creation of defensible space around homes. This combination of thinned forests to slow the fire and improves water infrastructure to prepare homes is particularly effective.
State Revolving Fund to allow States to include water infrastructure projects with both drinking water and fire suppression benefits in rural areas to address gaps in Federal assistance programs. This eligibility expansion would help rural communities invest in projects to improve water system transmission, distribution capacity, and storage.
Boozman, Schiff, and Crapo for coleading this bill, and I urge my colleagues to work with us to pass it as swiftly as possible.