H.R. 1242 · 118th Congress
Military Support for Fighting Wildfires Act of 2023
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 118th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
GaramendiSponsor5 cosponsors · 5 D
5 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill addresses the role of the Department of Defense (DOD) in wildfire emergency response.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Feb 28, 2023
Military Support for Fighting Wildfires Act of 2023
This bill addresses the role of the Department of Defense (DOD) in wildfire emergency response.
Specifically, the bill requires DOD to reimburse a state for the costs of fighting wildfires caused by DOD activities on state lands.
The bill also makes permanent the Fireguard Program, under which DOD may use members of the National Guard to help detect and monitor wildfires and support emergency response to such fires.
The bill updates provisions related to the transfer of certain aircraft from DOD and the Department of Homeland Security to other agencies for wildfire suppression and other related purposes.
Under the bill, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) within DOD may not require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or a federal land management agency to reimburse NGA for the use of resources for any request approved in relation to (1) a request made by the federal agency through the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), or (2) an area of federal land affected by extreme weather.
Further, reimbursement requirements under the Economy Act do not apply to DOD assistance provided to FEMA or a federal land management agency for requests made through the NIFC or those pertaining to an area covered by a declaration of a major disaster or emergency.
DOD must issue guidance for the use of unmanned aircraft systems by the National Guard for specified activities (e.g., emergency operations) in a manner no more restrictive than the use of other aircraft for such activities.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Military Support for Fighting Wildfires Act of 2023
Latest action (Jun 7, 2023): Referred to the Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security · Origin: House · Introduced: Feb 28, 2023
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.