Sponsors (15)
The bill increases federal support for firefighter training, equipment, health research, and interagency coordination—improving responder and community safety—while raising taxpayer costs, creating access and implementation limits for some local agencies, and posing trade‑offs around DoD involvement and administrative burden.
Firefighters and communities nationwide will get more standardized wildfire/WUI training and a systematic assessment of training gaps, improving responder safety and reducing fire damage in at‑risk communities.
Local fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations can receive a one-time $100M grant program in FY2026 to buy PPE and provide training, immediately boosting frontline capacity in high‑need jurisdictions.
Sustained federal research funding ($20M/year FY2026–2031) will study firefighter respiratory health and measure PFAS and carcinogens, producing evidence to reduce exposures and improve safety standards.
Taxpayers face increased federal spending from multiple authorizations and appropriations (e.g., $5M/year, $20M/year, $10M/year, and $100M FY2026 appropriation), raising budgetary costs and potential trade‑offs with other programs.
Relying on DoD personnel and equipment for wildfire response could divert military resources and readiness from defense missions, creating national security risks and readiness trade‑offs.
Grant eligibility limits and competitive/ capped award structures (including some nonprofits‑only rules and per‑recipient caps) may disadvantage municipal, small, or rural departments and concentrate funds away from those with less grant-writing capacity.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Creates federal training standards, grants, a USDA Under Secretary, DoD assistance authority, NIOSH research on respiratory/PFAS risks, and stronger mental‑health rules for wildfire response.
Introduced August 1, 2025 by Josh Harder · Last progress August 1, 2025
Requires USDA (Forest Service) to produce a national training plan so structural firefighters can respond safely to wildfires and wildland‑urban interface (WUI) fires; establishes competitive grant programs to fund that training and to buy PPE and training for local fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS providers. Creates a Senate‑confirmed Under Secretary for Fire Coordination at USDA to coordinate federal, state, and local wildfire preparedness and response, adds a labor representative to key wildfire coordination bodies, and authorizes DoD firefighter support upon request and reimbursement. Directs NIOSH to run a research program on firefighter respiratory health and PFAS/carcinogen exposure, strengthens FEMA task‑force mental‑health participation criteria and peer support training, and requires a report on local fire service WUI training and coordination. Funds are authorized for training grants, NIOSH research, FEMA mental‑health work, and a one‑year competitive grant pot for departments/EMS; several provisions require agency reports or rules and set timelines (e.g., national plan due within one year, NIOSH initial report within 180 days).