Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act of 2025

Josh Harder

Democrat · CA · Representative

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

5 cosponsors on record at Congress.gov. The named list is syncing into Govwatch and will appear here shortly — view on Congress.gov in the meantime.

Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.

2025-03-28

Source: Congress.gov

Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act of 2025 This bill addresses wildfires by expanding emergency and disaster assistance, establishing scientific monitoring, and increasing assistance for firefighting personnel. The bill is based on recommendations in a 2023 report from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, a congressionally established group of public and private experts. The bill expands and expedites federal assistance for wildfire response, recovery, and mitigation by expanding presidential wildfire emergency and major disaster declarations to include natural hazard events stemming from the wildfire (e.g., landslides, floods) within three years after the fire, requiring payment to recipients within 90 days for certain emergency land restoration and disaster assistance for wildfires, and requiring increased accessibility of wildfire risk reduction and recovery grants. Additionally, it authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to allow certain emergency and disaster grant recipients to use unexpended management cost funds for five years, including for capacity-building. The bill requires federal agencies to enhance scientific wildfire monitoring and analysis by establishing a Joint Office of the Fire Environment Center to provide information and services to support community decision-making, establishing a national smoke monitoring and alert system for wildfire smoke, and developing dynamic risk maps. The bill increases assistance for wildland firefighting personnel by establishing grants to colleges and training programs for educational or vocational programs in wildfire emergency management, increasing flexibility for wildland firefighters to retain retirement benefits, and establishing assistance (e.g., notification, counseling) for families of wildland firefighting personnel who are critically injured or killed.

Plain-English rewrite of the Congressional Research Service summary published on Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed.

• HR3717Golden Mussel Eradication and Control Act of 2025
  Referred to Committee · 2026-09-10
• HR10274Partnerships for Better Health Act
  Referred to Committee · 2026-09-03
• HR10156Better Jobs through Evidence and Innovation Act
  Referred to Committee · 2026-08-27
• HR10124Mail Theft and Postal Key Crime Prevention Act of 2026
  Referred to Committee · 2026-08-20