Sponsors (2)
Official title: Authorize transitional sheltering assistance for individuals who live in areas with unhealthy air quality caused by wildfires, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 18, 2025 by Ronald Lee Wyden · Last progress September 18, 2025
The bill improves protection for vulnerable people during prolonged hazardous smoke by funding distribution of mitigation equipment and temporary shelter, but it raises federal costs and risks uneven access and eligibility gaps.
Low-income people and at-risk individuals (including people with chronic conditions, children and youth) will be able to receive air filters, NIOSH respirators, and other mitigation devices when the Air Quality Index is unhealthy for 3+ days, reducing smoke-related illness risk.
State and local public health authorities (and hospitals/health systems) can receive federal assistance to procure and distribute mitigation equipment, easing local fiscal burden and enabling faster response during wildfire smoke events.
At-risk people who cannot make their homes safe indoors can access cost-efficient transitional sheltering, giving low-income households, seniors, and pregnant people a safe place during prolonged smoke events.
All taxpayers may face higher federal spending because expanding FEMA assistance to purchase/distribute equipment and provide shelter increases federal costs or requires diverting funds from other programs.
Rural and underserved communities may experience delays or unequal distribution because implementation relies on state/local capacity and coordination, leaving some areas with limited access to equipment and shelters.
Some vulnerable households could be excluded because the bill uses taxable income (26 U.S.C. §63) to define 'low-income,' which may not reflect low cash resources or eligibility for assistance.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires FEMA to supply smoke-prevention equipment and, if needed, transitional shelter to at-risk individuals when AQI is unhealthy for 3+ days, via qualified local entities.
Requires FEMA, when running its Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, to fund and distribute smoke-inhalation prevention equipment to people at risk of wildfire smoke illness after air quality is “unhealthy” for three straight days, and to provide cost-efficient temporary shelter when equipment is insufficient. Defines who qualifies (at-risk individuals, low-income thresholds tied to federal poverty levels) and which entities can receive and deliver equipment (state/local governments, public health authorities, coordinated care organizations).