[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4235 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4235

    To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
Interior to establish a wildfire technology testbed pilot program, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 21, 2023

   Mrs. Kim of California (for herself and Mr. Crow) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
   Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
Interior to establish a wildfire technology testbed pilot program, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wildfire Technology Demonstration, 
Evaluation, Modernization, and Optimization Act'' or the ``Wildfire 
Technology DEMO Act''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC-PRIVATE WILDFIRE TECHNOLOGY TESTBED PARTNERSHIP.

    (a) Definitions.--In this Act, the term:
            (1) Covered agency.--The term ``covered agency'' means--
                    (A) each Federal land management agency (as such 
                term is defined in the Federal Lands Recreation 
                Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801));
                    (B) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration;
                    (C) the United States Fire Administration;
                    (D) the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
                    (E) the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration;
                    (F) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and
                    (G) any other Federal agency involved in wildfire 
                response.
            (2) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means--
                    (A) a private entity;
                    (B) a nonprofit organization; or
                    (C) an institution of higher education (as defined 
                in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 1001)).
            (3) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the 
        Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, 
        acting jointly.
            (4) Testbed pilot program.--The term ``Testbed Pilot 
        Program'' means the testbed pilot program developed under 
        subsection (b).
    (b) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination with the heads 
of the covered agencies, shall establish a testbed pilot program for 
new and innovative wildfire prevention, detection, communication, and 
mitigation technologies.
    (c) Functions.--In carrying out the Testbed Pilot Program, the 
Secretaries shall--
            (1) incorporate the Testbed Pilot Program into an existing 
        interagency coordinating group on wildfires;
            (2) in consultation with the heads of covered agencies, 
        identify key technology priority areas with respect to the 
        deployment of wildfire prevention, detection, communication, 
        and mitigation technologies, including--
                    (A) hazardous fuels reduction treatments or 
                activities;
                    (B) dispatch communications;
                    (C) remote sensing and tracking;
                    (D) safety equipment; and
                    (E) common operating pictures or operational 
                dashboards; and
            (3) partner each covered entity selected to participate in 
        the Testbed Pilot Program with the appropriate covered agency 
        to coordinate real-time and on-the-ground testing of technology 
        during wildland fire mitigation activities and training.
    (d) Applications.--To participate in the Testbed Pilot Program, a 
covered entity shall submit to the Secretaries an application at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
Secretaries may require, which shall include a proposal to test 
technologies specific to key technology priority areas identified under 
subsection (c)(2).
    (e) Prioritization of Emerging Technologies.--In selecting covered 
entities to participate in the Testbed Pilot Program, the Secretaries 
shall give priority to covered entities developing and applying 
emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum 
sensing, computing and quantum-hybrid applications, augmented reality, 
and 5G private networks and device-to-device communications supporting 
nomadic mesh networks, for wildfire mitigation.
    (f) Outreach.--The Secretaries, in coordination with the heads of 
covered agencies, shall make public the key technology priority areas 
identified under subsection (c)(2) and invite covered entities to apply 
to test and demonstrate their technologies to address those priority 
areas.
    (g) Reports and Recommendations.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter for the 
duration of the Testbed Pilot Program, the Secretaries shall submit to 
the Committees on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Science, Space, 
and Technology of the House of Representatives a report that includes 
the following with respect to the Testbed Pilot Program:
            (1) A list of participating covered entities.
            (2) A brief description of the technologies tested by such 
        covered entities.
            (3) An estimate of the cost of acquiring the technology 
        tested in the program and applying it at scale.
            (4) Outreach efforts by Federal agencies to covered 
        entities developing wildfire technologies.
            (5) Assessments of, and recommendations relating to, new 
        technologies with potential adoption and application at-scale 
        in Federal land management agencies' wildfire prevention, 
        detection, communication, and mitigation efforts.
    (h) Termination.--The Testbed Pilot Program shall expire 4 years 
after the date of its establishment under subsection (b).
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