[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4584 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4584

 To improve the Federal effort to reduce wildland fire risks, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 12, 2023

  Ms. Lofgren (for herself and Ms. Bonamici) introduced the following 
   bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
  Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and 
   Infrastructure, 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 improve the Federal effort to reduce wildland fire risks, 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 ``National Wildland Fire Risk 
Reduction Program Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

    The President shall establish a National Wildland Fire Risk 
Reduction Program with the purpose of achieving major measurable 
reductions in the losses of life and property from wildland fires 
through a coordinated Federal effort to--
            (1) improve the assessment of fire environments and the 
        understanding and prediction of wildland fires, associated 
        smoke, and their impacts, including--
                    (A) at the wildland-urban interface;
                    (B) on communities, buildings and other 
                infrastructure;
                    (C) on ecosystem services; and
                    (D) social and economic impacts;
            (2) develop and encourage the adoption of science-based and 
        cost-effective measures to enhance resilience to wildland fires 
        and prevent and mitigate negative impacts of wildland fires and 
        associated smoke; and
            (3) improve the understanding and mitigation of the impacts 
        of climate change and variability on wildland fire risk, 
        frequency, and severity, and to inform paragraphs (1) and (2).

SEC. 3. PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.

    The Program shall consist of the activities described under section 
7, which shall be designed--
            (1) to support research and development, including 
        interdisciplinary research, related to fire environments, 
        wildland fires, associated smoke, and their impacts, in 
        furtherance of a coordinated interagency effort to address 
        wildland fire risk reduction;
            (2) to support data management and stewardship, the 
        development and coordination of data systems and computational 
        tools, and the creation of a centralized, integrated data 
        collaboration environment for Program agency data, to 
        accelerate the understanding of fire environments, wildland 
        fires, associated smoke, and their impacts, and the benefits of 
        wildland fire risk mitigation measures;
            (3) to support the development of tools and technologies, 
        including decision support tools and risk and hazard maps, to 
        improve understanding, monitoring, prediction, and mitigation 
        of wildland fires, associated smoke, and their impacts;
            (4) to support education and training to expand the number 
        of students and researchers in areas of study and research 
        related to wildland fires;
            (5) to accelerate the translation of research related to 
        wildland fires and associated smoke into operations to reduce 
        risk to communities, buildings, other infrastructure, and 
        ecosystem services;
            (6) to conduct communication and outreach regarding 
        wildland fire science and wildland fire risk mitigation, to 
        communities, energy utilities and operators of other critical 
        infrastructure, and other relevant stakeholders;
            (7) to support research and development projects funded 
        under joint solicitations or through memoranda of understanding 
        between no fewer than two agencies participating in the 
        Program; and
            (8) to disseminate, to the extent practicable, scientific 
        data and related products and services in formats meeting 
        shared standards to enhance the interoperability, usability, 
        and accessibility of Program Agency data, including data as 
        part of paragraph (2) in order to better meet the needs of 
        Program agencies, other Federal agencies, and relevant 
        stakeholders.

SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON WILDLAND FIRE RISK 
              REDUCTION.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after enactment of this 
Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall 
establish an Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildland Fire Risk 
Reduction (in this Act referred to as ``the Committee''), to be co-
chaired by the Director and the Director of the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology.
    (b) Membership.--In addition to the co-chairs, the Committee shall 
be composed of--
            (1) the Director of the National Science Foundation;
            (2) the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration;
            (3) the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency;
            (4) the United States Fire Administrator;
            (5) the Chief of the Forest Service;
            (6) the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration;
            (7) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency;
            (8) the Secretary of Energy;
            (9) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology 
        Policy;
            (10) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
            (11) the Secretary of the Interior;
            (12) the Director of United States Geological Survey;
            (13) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
            (14) the Secretary of Defense;
            (15) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and
            (16) the head of any other Federal agency that the Director 
        considers appropriate.
    (c) Meetings.--The Committee shall meet not less than twice a year 
for the first two years and then not less than once a year at the call 
of the Director.
    (d) General Purpose and Duties.--The Committee shall oversee the 
planning, management, and coordination of the Program, and solicit 
stakeholder input on Program goals.
    (e) Strategic Plan.--The Committee shall develop and submit to 
Congress, not later than 1 year after enactment, and update every 4 
years thereafter, a Strategic Plan for the Program that includes--
            (1) prioritized goals for the Program, consistent with the 
        purposes of the Program as described in section 2;
            (2) short-term, mid-term, and long-term research and 
        development objectives to achieve those goals;
            (3) a description of the role of each Program agency in 
        achieving the prioritized goals;
            (4) a description of how the Committee will foster 
        collaboration between and among the Program agencies and other 
        Federal agencies to help meet the goals of the Program;
            (5) the methods by which progress toward the goals will be 
        assessed;
            (6) an explanation of how the Program will foster the 
        translation of research into measurable reductions in the 
        losses of life, property, and ecosystem services from wildland 
        fires, including recommended outcomes and metrics for each 
        program goal and how operational Program agencies will 
        transition demonstrated technologies and research findings into 
        decision support tools and operations;
            (7) a description of the research infrastructure, including 
        databases and computational tools, needed to accomplish the 
        research and development objectives outlined in paragraph (2), 
        a description of how research infrastructure in existence at 
        the time of the development of the plan will be used to meet 
        the objectives, an explanation of how new research 
        infrastructure will be developed to meet the objectives, and a 
        description of how the program will implement the integrated 
        data collaboration environment per section 3(2);
            (8) a description of how Program agencies will collaborate 
        with stakeholders and take into account stakeholder needs and 
        recommendations in developing research and development 
        objectives;
            (9) recommendations on the most effective means to 
        integrate the research results into wildland fire preparedness 
        and response actions across Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
        territorial levels;
            (10) guidance on how the Committee's recommendations are 
        best used in climate adaptation planning for Federal, State, 
        local, Tribal, and territorial entities;
            (11) a nationally recognized, consensus-based definition of 
        wildland-urban interface and other key terms and definitions 
        relating to wildland fire, developed in consideration of the 
        meaning given such term in section 4(11) of the Federal Fire 
        Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2203(11)); and
            (12) a description of opportunities to support new areas of 
        research and development and new types of collaborations that 
        seek to optimize building and landscape design across multiple 
        resilience goals, including resilience to wildland fires and 
        other natural hazards, energy efficiency, and environmental 
        sustainability.
    (f) Coordination With Other Federal Efforts.--The Director shall 
ensure that the activities of the Program are coordinated with other 
relevant Federal initiatives as appropriate.
    (g) National Academies Study.--The Committee shall assess the need 
for a study, or a series of studies, to be conducted by the National 
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and how such a study, 
or series of studies, could help identify research areas for further 
study and inform research objectives, including further research into 
the interactions between climate change and wildland fires. The 
Committee shall brief the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate on its assessment under this 
subsection not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
    (h) Progress Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
the transmission of the first Strategic Plan under subsection (e) to 
Congress and not less frequently than once every two years thereafter, 
the Committee shall submit to Congress a report on the progress of the 
Program that includes--
            (1) a description of the activities funded under the 
        Program, a description of how those activities align with the 
        prioritized goals and research objectives established in the 
        Strategic Plan, and the budgets, per agency, for these 
        activities; and
            (2) the outcomes achieved by the Program for each of the 
        goals identified in the Strategic Plan.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WILDLAND FIRE RISK REDUCTION.

    (a) In General.--The Director shall establish a National Advisory 
Committee on Wildland Fire Risk Reduction, consisting of not fewer than 
seven and not more than 15 members who are qualified to provide advice 
on wildland fire risk reduction and represent related scientific, 
architectural, and engineering disciplines, none of whom may be 
employees of the Federal Government, including--
            (1) representatives of research and academic institutions;
            (2) standards development organizations;
            (3) emergency management agencies;
            (4) State, local, and Tribal governments;
            (5) business communities, including the insurance industry; 
        and
            (6) other representatives as designated by the Director.
    (b) Assessment.--The Advisory Committee shall offer assessments and 
recommendations on--
            (1) trends and developments in the natural, engineering, 
        and social sciences and practices of wildland fire risk 
        mitigation;
            (2) the priorities of the Program's Strategic Plan;
            (3) the management, coordination, implementation, and 
        activities of the Program;
            (4) the effectiveness of the Program in meeting its 
        purposes; and
            (5) the need to revise the Program.
    (c) Compensation.--The members of the Advisory Committee 
established under this section shall serve without compensation.
    (d) Reports.--At least every 2 years, the Advisory Committee shall 
report to the Director on the assessments carried out under subsection 
(b) and its recommendations for ways to improve the Program.
    (e) Charter.--Notwithstanding section 14(b)(2) of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), the Advisory Committee shall 
not be required to file a charter subsequent to its initial charter, 
filed under section 9(c) of such Act, before the termination date 
specified in subsection (f) of this section.
    (f) Termination.--The Advisory Committee shall terminate on 
September 30, 2026.
    (g) Conflict of Interest.--An Advisory Committee member shall 
recuse himself from any Advisory Committee activity in which he has an 
actual pecuniary interest.

SEC. 6. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REVIEW.

    Not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 
Congress a report that--
            (1) evaluates the progress and performance of the Program 
        in establishing and making progress toward the goals of the 
        Program as set forth in this Act; and
            (2) includes such recommendations as the Comptroller 
        General determines are appropriate to improve the Program.

SEC. 7. RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROGRAM AGENCIES.

    (a) National Institute of Standards and Technology.--The 
responsibilities of the Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology with respect to the Program are as follows:
            (1) Research and development activities.--The Director of 
        the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall--
                    (A) carry out research on the impact of wildland 
                fires on communities, buildings, and other 
                infrastructure, including structure-to-structure 
                transmission of fire and spread within communities;
                    (B) carry out research on the generation of 
                firebrands from wildland fires and on methods and 
                materials to prevent or reduce firebrand ignition of 
                communities, buildings, and other infrastructure;
                    (C) carry out research on novel materials, systems, 
                structures, and construction designs to harden 
                structures, parcels, and communities to the impact of 
                wildland fires;
                    (D) carry out research on the impact of 
                environmental factors on wildland fire behavior, 
                including wind, terrain, and moisture; and
                    (E) support the development of performance-based 
                tools to mitigate the impact of wildland fires, and 
                work with appropriate groups to promote and assist in 
                the use of such tools, including through model building 
                codes and fire codes, standard test methods, voluntary 
                consensus standards, and construction and retrofit best 
                practices.
            (2) Wildland-urban interface fire post-investigations.--The 
        Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
        shall--
                    (A) coordinate Federal post-wildland fire 
                investigations of fires at the wildland-urban 
                interface; and
                    (B) develop methodologies, in collaboration with 
                the Administrator of FEMA and in consultation with 
                relevant stakeholders, to characterize the impact of 
                wildland fires on communities and the impact of changes 
                in building and fire codes, including methodologies--
                            (i) for collecting, inventorying, and 
                        analyzing information on the performance of 
                        communities, buildings, and other 
                        infrastructure in wildland fires; and
                            (ii) for improved collection of pertinent 
                        information from different sources, including 
                        first responders, the design and construction 
                        industry, insurance companies, and building 
                        officials.
    (b) National Science Foundation.--As a part of the Program, the 
Director of the National Science Foundation shall support--
            (1) research, including large-scale convergent research, to 
        improve the understanding and prediction of wildland fire 
        risks, including the conditions that increase the likelihood of 
        a wildland fire, the behavior of wildland fires, and their 
        impacts on buildings, communities, infrastructure, ecosystems 
        and living systems;
            (2) development and improvement of tools and technologies, 
        including databases and computational models, to enable and 
        accelerate the understanding and prediction of wildland fires 
        and their impacts;
            (3) development of research infrastructure, as appropriate, 
        to enable and accelerate the understanding and prediction of 
        wildland fires and their impacts, including upgrades or 
        additions to the National Hazards Engineering Research 
        Infrastructure;
            (4) research to improve the understanding of--
                    (A) the response to wildland fire risk and response 
                messages by individuals, communities, and policymakers;
                    (B) social and economic factors influencing the 
                implementation and adoption of wildland fire risk 
                reduction and response measures by individuals, 
                communities, and policymakers; and
                    (C) decision making and emergency response to 
                wildland fires;
            (5) undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and 
        graduate and postdoctoral fellowships and traineeships in 
        fields of study relevant to wildland fires and their impacts; 
        and
            (6) research to improve the understanding of the impacts of 
        climate change and climate variability on wildland fires, 
        including wildland fire risk, frequency, and severity, and 
        wildland fire prediction, mitigation, and resilience 
        strategies.
    (c) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic 
        and Atmospheric Administration (in this subsection referred to 
        as the ``Administrator'') shall conduct research, observations, 
        modeling, forecasting, prediction, and historical analysis of 
        wildland fires to improve understanding of wildland fires, and 
        associated fire weather and smoke, for the protection of life 
        and property and for the enhancement of the national economy.
            (2) Weather forecasting and decision support for wildland 
        fires.--The Administrator shall--
                    (A) develop and provide in consultation with the 
                relevant Federal Agencies, as the Administrator 
                determines appropriate, accurate, timely, and effective 
                warnings and forecasts of wildland fires and fire 
                weather events that endanger life and property, which 
                may include red flag warnings, operational fire weather 
                alerts, and any other warnings or alerts the 
                Administrator deems appropriate;
                    (B) provide stakeholders and the public with 
                impact-based decision support services, seasonal 
                climate predictions, air quality products, and smoke 
                forecasts; and
                    (C) provide on-site weather forecasts, seasonal 
                climate predictions, and other decision support to 
                wildland fire incident command posts, including by 
                deploying incident meteorologists for the duration of 
                an extreme event.
            (3) Wildland fire data.--The Administrator shall contribute 
        to and support the centralized, integrated data collaboration 
        environment per section 3(2) and any other relevant Federal 
        data systems by ensuring--
                    (A) interoperability, usability, and accessibility 
                of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data 
                and tools related to wildland fires, associated smoke, 
                and their impacts;
                    (B) inclusion of historical wildland fire incident 
                and fire weather data, and identifying potential gaps 
                in such data; and
                    (C) the acquisition or collection of additional 
                data that is needed to advance wildland fire science.
            (4) Wildland fire and fire weather surveillance and 
        observations.--The Administrator, in coordination with 
        Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration and in consultation with relevant stakeholders--
                    (A) shall leverage existing observations, 
                technologies and assets and develop or acquire new 
                technologies and data to sustain and enhance 
                environmental observations used for wildland fire 
                prediction and detection, fire weather and smoke 
                forecasting and monitoring, and post-wildland fire 
                recovery, with a focus on--
                            (i) collecting data for pre-ignition 
                        analysis, such as drought, fuel and vegetation 
                        conditions, and soil moisture, that will help 
                        predict severe wildland fire conditions on 
                        subseasonal to decadal timescales;
                            (ii) supporting identification and 
                        classification of fire environments at the 
                        smallest practical scale to determine 
                        vulnerability to wildland fires and rapid 
                        wildland fire growth;
                            (iii) detecting, observing, and monitoring 
                        wildland fires and smoke;
                            (iv) supporting research on the interaction 
                        of weather and wildland fire behavior; and
                            (v) supporting post-fire assessments 
                        conducted by Program agencies and relevant 
                        stakeholders;
                    (B) shall prioritize the ability to detect, 
                observe, and monitor wildland fire and smoke in its 
                requirements for its current and future observing 
                systems and commercial data purchases; and
                    (C) not later than 12 months after the date of 
                enactment of this Act--
                            (i) may offer to enter into contracts with 
                        one or more entities to obtain additional 
                        airborne and space-based data and observations 
                        that may enhance or supplement the 
                        understanding, monitoring, prediction, and 
                        mitigation of wildland fire risks, and the 
                        relevant Program activities under section 3; 
                        and
                            (ii) in carrying out clause (i), shall 
                        consult with private sector entities through an 
                        advisory committee to identify needed tools and 
                        data that can be best provided by NOAA 
                        satellites and are most beneficial to wildfire 
                        and smoke detection and monitoring.
            (5) Fire weather testbed.--In collaboration with Program 
        agencies and other relevant stakeholders, the Administrator 
        shall establish a Fire Weather Testbed to evaluate physical and 
        social science, technology, and other research to develop fire 
        weather products and services for implementation by relevant 
        stakeholders.
            (6) Wildland fire and fire weather research and 
        development.--The Administrator shall support a wildland fire 
        and smoke research and development program that includes both 
        physical and social science with the goals of--
                    (A) improving the understanding, prediction, 
                detection, forecasting, monitoring, and assessments of 
                wildland fires and associated fire weather and smoke;
                    (B) developing products and services to meet 
                stakeholder needs;
                    (C) transitioning physical and social science 
                research into operations;
                    (D) improving modeling and technology, including 
                coupled fire-atmosphere fire behavior modeling, in 
                consultation with relevant Federal agencies;
                    (E) better understanding of links between fire 
                weather events and subseasonal-to-climate impacts; and
                    (F) pursuing high-priority fire science research 
                needs applicable to the National Oceanic and 
                Atmospheric Administration as identified by any other 
                relevant Federal program.
            (7) Extramural research.--The Administrator shall 
        collaborate with and support the non-Federal wildland fire 
        research community, which includes institutions of higher 
        education, private entities, nongovernmental organizations, and 
        other relevant stakeholders, by making funds available through 
        competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. In 
        carrying out the program under this paragraph, the 
        Administrator, in collaboration with other relevant Federal 
        agencies, may establish one or more national centers for 
        prescribed fire and wildfire sciences that leverage Federal 
        research and development with university and nongovernmental 
        partnerships.
            (8) High performance computing.--The Administrator, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall acquire high 
        performance computing technologies and supercomputing 
        technologies, leveraging existing resources, as practicable, to 
        conduct research and development activities, support research 
        to operations under this subsection, and host operational fire 
        and smoke forecast models.
    (d) Federal Emergency Management Agency.--The Administrator of the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, acting through the United States 
Fire Administration, shall--
            (1) support--
                    (A) the development of community risk assessment 
                tools and effective mitigation techniques for 
                preventing and responding to wildland fires, including 
                at the wildland-urban interface;
                    (B) wildland and wildland-urban interface fire and 
                operational response-related data collection and 
                analysis;
                    (C) public outreach, education, and information 
                dissemination related to wildland fires and wildland 
                fire risk; and
                    (D) promotion of wildland and wildland-urban 
                interface fire preparedness and community risk 
                reduction, to include hardening the wildland-urban 
                interface through proper construction materials, land 
                use practices, sprinklers, assessment of State and 
                local emergency response capacity and capabilities, and 
                other tools and approaches as appropriate;
            (2) in collaboration with the National Institute of 
        Standards and Technology, and other program agencies, as 
        appropriate, promote and assist in the implementation of 
        research results and promote fire-resistant buildings, 
        retrofit, and land use practices within the design and 
        construction industry, including architects, engineers, 
        contractors, builders, planners, code officials, and 
        inspectors;
            (3) establish and operate a wildland fire preparedness and 
        mitigation technical assistance program to assist State, local, 
        Tribal and territorial governments in using wildland fire 
        mitigation strategies, including through the adoption and 
        implementation of wildland and wildland-urban interface fire 
        resistant codes, standards, and land use;
            (4) incorporate wildland and wildland-urban interface fire 
        risk mitigation and loss avoidance data into the Agency's 
        existing risk, mitigation, and loss avoidance analyses;
            (5) incorporate data on the adoption and implementation of 
        wildland and wildland-urban interface fire resistant codes and 
        standards into the Agency's hazard resistant code tracking 
        resources;
            (6) translate new information and research findings into 
        best practices to improve firefighter, fire service, and allied 
        professions training and education in wildland fire response, 
        crew deployment, prevention, mitigation, resilience, and 
        firefighting;
            (7) conduct outreach and information dissemination to fire 
        departments regarding best practices for wildland and wildland-
        urban interface firefighting, training, and fireground 
        deployment;
            (8) in collaboration with other relevant Program agencies 
        and stakeholders, develop a national level, interactive and 
        publicly accessible wildland fire hazard severity map that 
        includes community and parcel level data and that can readily 
        integrate with risk gradations within wildland and wildland-
        urban interface fire resistant codes and standards; and
            (9) develop resources regarding best practices for 
        establishing or enhancing peer-support programs within wildland 
        fire firefighting units.
    (e) National Aeronautics and Space Administration.--The 
responsibilities of the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration (in this subsection referred to as the 
``Administrator'') with respect to the Program are as follows:
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall, with respect to 
        the Program--
                    (A) support relevant basic and applied scientific 
                research and modeling;
                    (B) ensure the use in the Program of all relevant 
                National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth 
                observations data for maximum utility;
                    (C) explore and apply novel tools and technologies 
                in the activities of the Program;
                    (D) support the translation of research to 
                operations, including to Program agencies and relevant 
                stakeholders;
                    (E) facilitate the communication of wildland fire 
                research, knowledge, and tools to relevant 
                stakeholders; and
                    (F) use commercial data where such data is 
                available and accessible through existing Federal 
                Government commercial contracts, agreements, or other 
                means, and purchase data that is deemed necessary based 
                on consultation with other Program agencies.
            (2) Wildland fire research and applications.--The 
        Administrator shall support basic and applied wildland fire 
        research and modeling activities, including competitively 
        selected research, to--
                    (A) improve the understanding and prediction of 
                fire environments, wildland fires, associated smoke, 
                and their impacts;
                    (B) improve the understanding of the impacts of 
                climate change and variability on wildland fire risk, 
                frequency, and severity;
                    (C) characterize the pre-fire phase and fire-
                inducing conditions, such as soil moisture and 
                vegetative fuel availability;
                    (D) characterize the active fire phase, such as 
                fire and smoke plume mapping, fire behavior and spread 
                modeling, and domestic and global fire activity;
                    (E) characterize the post-fire phase, such as 
                landscape changes, air quality, erosion, landslides, 
                and impacts on carbon distributions in forest biomass;
                    (F) contribute to advancing predictive wildland 
                fire models;
                    (G) address other relevant investigations and 
                measurements prioritized by the National Academies of 
                Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Decadal Survey on 
                Earth Science and Applications from Space;
                    (H) improve the translation of research knowledge 
                into actionable information;
                    (I) develop research and data products, including 
                maps, decision-support information, and tools, and 
                support related training as appropriate and 
                practicable;
                    (J) collaborate with other Program agencies and 
                relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, on joint 
                research and development projects, including research 
                grant solicitations and field campaigns; and
                    (K) transition research advances to operations, 
                including to Program agencies and relevant 
                stakeholders, as practicable.
            (3) Wildland fire data systems and computational tools.--
        The Administrator shall--
                    (A) identify, from the National Aeronautics and 
                Space Administration's Earth science data systems, 
                data, including combined data products and relevant 
                commercial data sets, that can contribute to improving 
                the understanding, monitoring, prediction, and 
                mitigation of wildland fires and their impacts, 
                including data related to fire weather, plume dynamics, 
                smoke and fire behavior, impacts of climate change and 
                variability, land and property burned, wildlife and 
                ecosystem destruction, among other areas;
                    (B) prioritize the dissemination of data identified 
                or obtained under this subparagraph to the widest 
                extent practicable to support relevant research and 
                operational stakeholders;
                    (C) consider opportunities to support the Program 
                under section 2 and the Program activities under 
                section 3 when planning and developing Earth 
                observation satellites, instruments, and airborne 
                measurement platforms;
                    (D) identify opportunities, in collaboration with 
                Program agencies and relevant stakeholders, to obtain 
                additional airborne and space-based data and 
                observations that may enhance or supplement the 
                understanding, monitoring, prediction, and mitigation 
                of wildland fire risks, and the relevant Program 
                activities under section 3, and consider such options 
                as commercial solutions, including commercial data 
                purchases, prize authority, academic partnerships, and 
                ground-based or space-based instruments, as practicable 
                and appropriate; and
                    (E) contribute to and support, to the maximum 
                extent practicable, the centralized, integrated data 
                collaboration environment per section 3(2) and any 
                other relevant interagency data systems, by collecting, 
                organizing, and integrating the National Aeronautics 
                and Space Administration's scientific data, data 
                systems, and computational tools related to wildland 
                fires, associated smoke, and their impacts, and by 
                enhancing the interoperability, useability, and 
                accessibility of National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration's scientific data, data systems, and 
                computational tools, including--
                            (i) observations and available real-time 
                        and near-real-time measurements;
                            (ii) derived science and data products, 
                        such as fuel conditions, risk and spread maps, 
                        and data products to represent the wildland-
                        urban interface;
                            (iii) relevant historical and archival 
                        observations, measurements, and derived science 
                        and data products; and
                            (iv) other relevant decision support and 
                        information tools.
            (4) Novel tools for active wildland fire monitoring and 
        risk mitigation.--The Administrator, in collaboration with 
        other Program agencies and relevant stakeholders shall apply 
        novel tools and technologies to support active wildland fire 
        research, monitoring, mitigation, and risk reduction, as 
        practicable and appropriate. In particular, the Administrator 
        shall:
                    (A) Establish, in collaboration with the heads of 
                other relevant Federal agencies, a program to develop 
                and demonstrate a unified concept of operations for the 
                safe and effective deployment of diverse air 
                capabilities in active wildland fire monitoring, 
                mitigation, and risk reduction. The objectives of the 
                Program shall be to--
                            (i) develop and demonstrate a wildland fire 
                        airspace operations system accounting for 
                        piloted aircraft, uncrewed aerial systems, and 
                        other new and emerging capabilities such as 
                        autonomous and high-altitude assets;
                            (ii) develop an interoperable 
                        communications strategy;
                            (iii) develop a roadmap for the on-ramping 
                        of new technologies, capabilities, or entities;
                            (iv) identify additional development, 
                        testing, and demonstration that would be 
                        required to expand the scale of operations;
                            (v) identify actions that would be required 
                        to transition the unified concept of operations 
                        in subparagraph (A) into ongoing, operational 
                        use; and
                            (vi) other objectives, as deemed 
                        appropriate by the Administrator.
                    (B) Develop and demonstrate affordable and 
                deployable sensing technologies, in consultation with 
                other Program agencies and relevant stakeholders, to 
                improve the monitoring of fire fuel and active wildland 
                fires, wildland fire behavior models and forecast, 
                mapping efforts, and the prediction and mitigation of 
                wildland fires and their impacts. The Administrator 
                shall--
                            (i) test and demonstrate technologies such 
                        as infrared, microwave, and active sensors 
                        suitable for deployment on spacecraft, 
                        aircraft, uncrewed aerial systems, and ground-
                        based and in situ platforms, as appropriate and 
                        practicable;
                            (ii) develop and demonstrate affordable and 
                        deployable sensing technologies that can be 
                        transitioned to operations for collection of 
                        near-real-time localized measurements;
                            (iii) develop and demonstrate near-real-
                        time data processing, availability, 
                        interoperability, and visualization, as 
                        practicable;
                            (iv) identify opportunities and actions 
                        required, in collaboration with Program 
                        agencies and relevant stakeholders, to 
                        transition relevant technologies, techniques, 
                        and data to science operations, upon successful 
                        demonstration of the feasibility and scientific 
                        utility of the sensors and data;
                            (v) transition demonstrated technologies, 
                        techniques, and data into ongoing, operational 
                        use, including to Program agencies and relevant 
                        stakeholders;
                            (vi) prioritize and facilitate, to the 
                        greatest extent practicable, the dissemination 
                        of these science data to operations, including 
                        to Program agencies and relevant stakeholders; 
                        and
                            (vii) consider opportunities for potential 
                        partnerships, including commercial data 
                        purchases, among industry, government, academic 
                        institutions, and non-profit organizations and 
                        other relevant stakeholders in carrying out 
                        clauses (i) through (vi), as appropriate and 
                        practicable.
    (f) Environmental Protection Agency.--The Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency shall support environmental research 
and development activities to--
            (1) improve the understanding of--
                    (A) wildland fire smoke plume characteristics, 
                chemical transformation, chemical composition, and 
                transport;
                    (B) wildland fire and smoke impacts to contaminant 
                containment and remediation;
                    (C) the contribution of wildland fire emissions to 
                climate forcing emissions;
                    (D) differences between the impacts of prescribed 
                fires compared to other wildland fires on communities 
                and air and water quality; and
                    (E) climate change and variability on wildland 
                fires and smoke plumes, including on smoke exposure;
            (2) develop and improve tools, sensors, and technologies 
        including databases and computational models, to accelerate the 
        understanding, monitoring, and prediction of wildland fires and 
        smoke exposure;
            (3) better integrate observational data into wildland fire 
        and smoke characterization models to improve modeling at finer 
        temporal and spatial resolution; and
            (4) improve communication of wildland fire and smoke risk 
        reduction strategies to the public in coordination with 
        relevant stakeholders and other Federal agencies.
    (g) Department of Energy.--The Secretary of Energy shall carry out 
research and development activities to--
            (1) create tools, techniques, and technologies for--
                    (A) withstanding and addressing the current and 
                projected impact of wildland fires on energy sector 
                infrastructure;
                    (B) providing real-time or near-time awareness of 
                the risks posed by wildland fires to the operation of 
                energy infrastructure in affected and potentially 
                affected areas, including by leveraging the 
                Department's high-performance computing capabilities 
                and climate and ecosystem models;
                    (C) enabling early detection of, and assessment of 
                competing technologies and strategies for addressing, 
                malfunctioning electrical equipment on the transmission 
                and distribution grid, including spark ignition causing 
                wildland fires;
                    (D) assisting with the planning, safe execution of, 
                and safe and timely restoration of power after 
                emergency power shut offs following wildland fires 
                started by grid infrastructure;
                    (E) improving electric grid and energy sector 
                safety and resilience in the event of multiple 
                simultaneous or co-located weather or climate events 
                leading to extreme conditions, such as extreme wind, 
                wildland fires, extreme cold, and extreme heat; and
                    (F) improving coordination between utilities and 
                relevant Federal agencies to enable communication, 
                information-sharing, and situational awareness in the 
                event of wildland fires that impact the electric grid;
            (2) coordinate data and computational resources across 
        relevant entities to improve our understanding of wildland 
        fires and to promote resilience and wildland fire prevention in 
        the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance 
        of transmission infrastructure;
            (3) consider optimal building energy efficiency and 
        weatherization practices, as practicable, in wildland fire 
        research;
            (4) utilize the Department of Energy's National Laboratory 
        capabilities, including user facilities, earth and 
        environmental systems modeling resources, and high-performance 
        computing and data analytics capabilities, to improve the 
        accuracy of efforts to understand and predict wildland fire 
        behavior and occurrence and mitigate wildland fire impacts; and
            (5) foster engagement between the National Laboratories and 
        practitioners, researchers, policy organizations, utilities, 
        and other entities the Secretary determines to be appropriate 
        to understand the economic and social implications of power 
        disruptions caused by wildland fires, particularly within 
        disadvantaged communities and regions vulnerable to wildland 
        fires, including rural areas.

SEC. 8. BUDGET ACTIVITIES.

    The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
the Director of the National Science Foundation, the Administrator of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Director of 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Administrator of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Secretary of Energy shall each 
include in the annual budget request to Congress of each respective 
agency a description of the projected activities of such agency under 
the Program for the fiscal year covered by the budget request and an 
estimate of the amount such agency plans to spend on such activities 
for the relevant fiscal year.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
            (2) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Program 
        established under section 2.
            (3) Program agencies.--The term ``Program agencies'' means 
        any Federal agency with responsibilities under the Program.
            (4) Stakeholders.--The term ``stakeholders'' means any 
        public or private organization engaged in addressing wildland 
        fires, associated smoke, and their impacts, and shall include 
        relevant Federal agencies, States, territories, Tribes, State 
        and local governments, businesses, not-for-profit 
        organizations, including national standards and building code 
        organizations, firefighting departments and organizations, 
        academia, and other users of wildland fire data products.
            (5) Wildland fire.--The term ``wildland fire'' means any 
        non-structure fire that occurs in vegetation or natural fuels 
        and includes wildfires and prescribed fires.
            (6) Fire environment.--The term ``fire environment'' means 
        surrounding conditions, influences, and modifying forces of 
        topography, fuel, and weather that determine fire behavior.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) National Institute of Standards and Technology.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology for carrying out this Act--
            (1) $35,800,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (2) $36,100,000 for fiscal year 2025;
            (3) $36,400,000 for fiscal year 2026;
            (4) $36,700,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
            (5) $37,100,000 for fiscal year 2028.
    (b) National Science Foundation.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Science Foundation for carrying out this 
Act--
            (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (2) $53,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
            (3) $56,200,000 for fiscal year 2026;
            (4) $59,600,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
            (5) $63,100,000 for fiscal year 2028.
    (c) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration for carrying out this Act--
            (1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (2) $215,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
            (3) $220,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
            (4) $230,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
            (5) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2028.
    (d) National Aeronautics and Space Administration.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration for carrying out this Act--
            (1) $95,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (2) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
            (3) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
            (4) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
            (5) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2028.
    (e) Environmental Protection Agency.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Environmental Protection Agency for carrying out 
this Act--
            (1) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (2) $11,700,000 for fiscal year 2025;
            (3) $12,400,000 for fiscal year 2026;
            (4) $13,100,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
            (5) $13,900,000 for fiscal year 2028.
    (f) Federal Emergency Management Agency.--There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying 
out this Act--
            (1) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
            (2) $6,400,000 for fiscal year 2025;
            (3) $6,700,000 for fiscal year 2026;
            (4) $7,100,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
            (5) $7,600,000 for fiscal year 2028.
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