Sponsors (4)
The bill provides grieving families of wildland firefighters more comprehensive, better-coordinated support and some travel reimbursement, at the expense of modest additional federal spending and with potential privacy and implementation risks if protections and staffing targets are not met.
Next-of-kin (families and dependents) of wildland firefighters killed or injured in the line of duty will receive reimbursement for travel to visit hospitalized loved ones or attend to deaths, reducing immediate out-of-pocket expenses.
Survivors (families and dependents) will receive centralized short- and long-term case management, rapid access to expert case managers and counselors, and personalized online information about federal benefits, simplifying support and benefits navigation during crisis.
Casualty assistance officers will be subject to clearer procedures, training, and accountability, improving the consistency and quality of survivor support.
Implementing the new survivor-assistance program will likely require additional Interior Department resources, potentially increasing costs for taxpayers.
If required timelines or staffing standards are not met in practice, survivors may continue to face delays or uneven service despite the program's mandates.
Collecting data on assistance quality and outcomes could raise privacy concerns for survivors if safeguards and protections are not robustly implemented.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires DOI to create a Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program to help next-of-kin with notification, travel reimbursement, case management, benefit liaison, and data collection.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of the Interior to develop a Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 23, 2025 by Josh Harder · Last progress July 23, 2025
Creates a Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program within the Department of the Interior to help next-of-kin of wildland firefighters and support personnel who are critically injured, hospitalized, ill, or killed in the line of duty. The program must set procedures for notification, travel reimbursement, casualty assistance officer qualifications and relief, centralized case management, online benefit information, complaint mechanisms, benefit liaison with other federal agencies, and data collection. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to develop the program within six months of enactment and preserves existing Line of Duty Death benefit authorities. Next-of-kin is defined by a ranked priority list starting with spouse and adult children through other relatives designated by state descent law.