[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 73 (Monday, April 29, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2646-H2651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  FIRE WEATHER DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2024

  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4866) to direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration to establish a program to improve fire 
weather and fire environment forecasting, detection, and local 
collaboration, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4866

       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 ``Fire Weather Development Act 
     of 2024''.

     SEC. 2. FIRE WEATHER FORECASTING AND DETECTION.

       (a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall establish a 
     program (in this Act referred to as the ``Program'') to 
     improve fire weather and fire environment forecasting, 
     detection, and delivery of products or services through 
     collaboration with Federal and State agencies or departments, 
     local emergency mangers, and relevant entities.
       (b) Goals.--The goals of the Program shall be to develop 
     and improve accurate fire weather and fire environment 
     forecasts and warnings in order to reduce loss of life, 
     reduce injuries, protect property, and reduce damage to the 
     economy from wildfires. The Program shall seek to improve the 
     assessment of fire weather and fire environments, the 
     understanding and prediction of wildfires, and the 
     communications regarding such assessments with State and 
     local emergency officials in a timely and streamlined 
     fashion, with a focus on improving the following:
       (1) The prediction of ignition, intensification and spread 
     of wildfires.
       (2) The observation and monitoring of fire weather and fire 
     environments.
       (3) The forecast and communication of smoke dispersion from 
     wildfires.
       (4) Information dissemination and risk communication to 
     develop more effective watch and warning products relating to 
     wildfires.
       (5) The early detection of wildfires, including pre-
     ignition analysis and ground condition characterizations.
       (6) The development, testing, and deployment of novel tools 
     and techniques related to understanding, monitoring, and 
     predicting fire weather and fire environments.
       (7) The understanding and association of climate change and 
     its impacts on fire weather and fire environments.
       (8) The unique characteristics, including observation or 
     modeling requirements, related to fires at the wildland-urban 
     interface.
       (9) The forecasting and understanding of the impacts of 
     prescribed burns (as such term is defined in section 2 of the 
     Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 551c-1 
     note)).
       (c) Collaboration With Stakeholders.--In developing the 
     Program required under this section, the Administrator of the 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall solicit 
     and take into consideration input from the weather industry, 
     such academic entities as the Administrator considers 
     appropriate, and other relevant stakeholders.
       (d) Activities.--To achieve the goals specified in 
     subsection (b), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration may conduct research, development, 
     testing, demonstration, and operational transition activities 
     related to fire weather and fire environments, including 
     regarding the following:
       (1) Tools and services to inform, support, and complement 
     active land management, local emergency personnel, the United 
     States Forest Service, and State, local, and Tribal entities 
     during their response and mitigation efforts.
       (2) Sensing technologies, such as infrared, microwave, and 
     active sensors suitable for potential deployment on 
     spacecraft, aircraft, and unmanned aircraft systems, to 
     improve the monitoring and forecasting of fire fuel and 
     active wildfires, wildfire behavior models and forecasts, 
     mapping efforts, and the prediction of wildfires and the 
     impacts of such.
       (3) Grid-based assessments and outlooks of fuel moisture 
     and danger levels.
       (4) Social and behavior sciences related to fire weather 
     and fire environment warning products.
       (5) Advanced satellite detection products coupled with 
     atmosphere and fire weather modeling systems.
       (6) Education and training to expand the number of students 
     and researchers in areas of study and research related to 
     wildfires, fire weather, and fire environments.
       (7) Modeling systems to link long-term climate predictions 
     to localized or general land management decisions.
       (8) Communication and outreach to communities, energy 
     utilities, owners and operators of critical infrastructure, 
     and other relevant stakeholders regarding fire weather and 
     fire environment risk.
       (9) Stewardship and dissemination, to the extent 
     practicable, of National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration scientific data and related products and 
     services in formats meeting shared standards to enhance the 
     interoperability, usability, and accessibility of such data 
     in order to better meet the needs of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration, other Federal agencies, and 
     relevant stakeholders.
       (10) Improvement of spatial and temporal resolution 
     observations.
       (11) Any other topic or activity the Administrator 
     determines relevant.
       (e) Novel Tools for Monitoring and Prediction.--The 
     Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration, in consultation with the heads of the 
     agencies specified in section 3, or other appropriate

[[Page H2647]]

     stakeholders, including commercial partners, shall develop 
     novel tools and technologies to support the activities of the 
     Program and which may be applied to broader wildland fire 
     research, monitoring, and mitigation activities, as 
     practicable and appropriate.
       (f) Extramural Research.--The Administrator of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall collaborate with 
     and support the non-Federal wildland fire research community, 
     which includes institutions of higher education, private 
     sector entities, nongovernmental organizations, and other 
     relevant stakeholders, by making funds available through 
     competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements.
       (g) Commercial Data.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with 
     the heads of other Federal agencies and relevant 
     stakeholders, may enter into contracts with one or more 
     private sector entities to obtain additional airborne and 
     space-based data and observations that may enhance or 
     supplement the understanding, monitoring, and prediction, of 
     fire weather and fire environments, and the relevant Program 
     activities under this section.
       (2) Consultation.--In carrying out activities under 
     paragraph (1), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration shall consult with private sector 
     entities through the National Advisory Committee on Wildfires 
     under section 4 to identify needed tools and data that can be 
     best provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration satellites and are most beneficial to wildfire 
     and smoke detection and monitoring.
       (h) Nonduplication.--To the maximum extent practicable, the 
     Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration shall consult with the National Interagency 
     Fire Center, including the Joint Fire Science Program, to 
     avoid duplication of activities under this section and ensure 
     the Administration's focus on unique research activities best 
     suited for transition to operations.
       (i) Unmanned Aircraft Systems.--
       (1) In general.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic 
     and Atmospheric Administration shall--
       (A) assess the role and potential benefits of unmanned 
     aircraft systems to improve data collection in support of 
     fire weather and fire environment modeling, meteorological 
     observations, predictions, and forecasts;
       (B) identify objectives for testing such systems' use for 
     obtaining fire weather and fire environment observations, and 
     other relevant activities; and
       (C) transition unmanned aircraft systems technologies from 
     research to operations as the Administrator considers 
     appropriate.
       (2) Briefing.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
     enactment of the Act, the Administrator of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall brief the 
     appropriate committees of Congress on the activities under 
     paragraph (1).
       (3) Pilot programs.--Not later than 18 months after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may conduct 
     pilot programs of unmanned aircraft systems for fire weather 
     and fire environment observations, including relating to the 
     following:
       (A) Testing of unmanned aircraft systems in approximations 
     of real-world scenarios.
       (B) Assessment of the utility of meteorological data 
     collected from fire response and assessment aircraft.
       (C) Input into appropriate models of collected data to 
     predict fire behavior, including coupled atmosphere and fire 
     models.
       (D) Collection of best management practices for deployment 
     of unmanned aircraft systems for fire weather and fire 
     environment observations.
       (4) Prohibition.--
       (A) In general.--Except as provided under subparagraphs (B) 
     and (C), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration may not procure any unmanned 
     aircraft system that is manufactured or assembled by an 
     entity in a foreign country of concern.
       (B) Exemption.--The prohibition under subparagraph (A) 
     shall not apply to the Administrator of the National Oceanic 
     and Atmospheric Administration if the Administrator 
     determines, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security, that the procurement of an unmanned aircraft system 
     is necessary for the sole purpose of marine or atmospheric 
     science or management.
       (C) Waiver.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration may waive the prohibition under 
     subparagraph (A) on a case-by-case basis--
       (i) with the approval of the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security; and
       (ii) upon written or electronic notification to appropriate 
     committees of Congress not later than 30 days after any such 
     waiver.
       (5) Airspace operations system.--The Administrator of the 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 
     cooperation with the Administrator of the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall utilize the 
     capabilities of unmanned aircraft systems as appropriate for 
     fire weather and fire environment observations, and may use a 
     wildfire airspace operations system that accounts for piloted 
     aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, and other new and 
     emerging capabilities after such airspace operations system 
     is developed and determined ready for operational use by the 
     Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration.
       (6) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 to carry 
     out this subsection.
       (j) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
     ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means the Committee on 
     Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Homeland 
     Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on 
     Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
       (2) Critical infrastructure.--The term ``critical 
     infrastructure'' has the meaning given such term in section 
     1016(e) of Public Law 107-56 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)).
       (3) Foreign country of concern.--The term ``foreign country 
     of concern'' has the meaning given such term in section 9901 
     of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense 
     Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651).
       (4) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 1001).
       (5) Unmanned aircraft system.--The term ``unmanned aircraft 
     system'' has the meaning given such term in section 44801 of 
     title 49, United States Code.
       (6) Weather industry.--The term ``weather industry'' has 
     the meaning given such term in section 2 of the Weather 
     Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 
     8501).

     SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON WILDFIRES.

       (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of 
     Science and Technology Policy shall establish an interagency 
     coordinating committee to be known as the ``Interagency 
     Coordinating Committee on Wildfires'' (in this section 
     referred to as the ``Committee''). The chair of the Committee 
     shall be the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration.
       (b) Purpose.--The Committee shall coordinate the 
     development of accurate and timely wildfire forecasting, 
     detection, monitoring, and delivery of related products or 
     services that best assist State and local emergency officials 
     while avoiding duplication of activities.
       (c) Membership.--In addition to the chair, the Committee 
     shall be composed of the heads or appropriate designees of 
     the following program agencies:
       (1) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
       (2) The United States Fire Administration.
       (3) The United States Forest Service.
       (4) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
       (5) The Department of the Interior.
       (6) The Department of Agriculture.
       (7) The United States Geological Survey.
       (8) The Office of Science and Technology Policy.
       (9) Any other Federal department or agency the Director of 
     the Office of Science and Technology Policy considers 
     appropriate.
       (d) Strategic Plan.--Not later than one year after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the Committee shall submit to 
     Congress a strategic plan for the Program that includes the 
     following:
       (1) A description of short-term, mid-term, and long-term 
     objectives to achieve the purpose specified in subsection 
     (b).
       (2) A description of how agencies specified in subsection 
     (c) will collaborate with stakeholders and take into account 
     stakeholder needs and recommendations in developing such 
     objectives.
       (3) A description of existing and new observational and 
     data infrastructure needed to accomplish such objectives.
       (4) A description of the role of each such agency in 
     achieving such objectives.
       (5) Guidance regarding how the Committee's recommendations 
     are best used in climate adaptation planning for Federal, 
     State, local, Tribal, and territorial entities.
       (e) Interagency Agreements.--The heads of agencies 
     specified in subsection (c) may enter into one or more 
     interagency agreements providing for cooperation and 
     collaboration in the development of wildfire forecasting, 
     detection, and monitoring tools, instruments, technologies, 
     and research to accomplish the purpose described in 
     subsection (b).
       (f) Collaboration.--The head of each agency specified in 
     subsection (c) shall, to the extent practicable, increase 
     engagement and cooperation with international, academic, 
     State, and local communities regarding the infrastructure, 
     data, and scientific research necessary to best advance the 
     forecasting, detection, and monitoring of and preparation for 
     wildfires.

     SEC. 4. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WILDFIRES.

       (a) Establishment.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the 
     submission of the strategic plan required by section 3(d), 
     the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 
     shall establish a national advisory committee to be known as 
     the ``National Advisory Committee on Wildfires'' (in this 
     section referred

[[Page H2648]]

     to as the ``Advisory Committee''). The Advisory Committee 
     shall consist of not fewer than seven and not more than 15 
     members who are qualified to provide advice regarding 
     wildfire forecasting, detection, monitoring, and delivery of 
     related products or services, including from the following 
     entities:
       (A) Research and academic institutions.
       (B) Public communication or broadcast entities.
       (C) Emergency management agencies.
       (D) State, local, or Tribal governments.
       (E) The National Association of State Foresters.
       (F) Business communities.
       (G) Other entities as designated by the Director of the 
     Office of Science and Technology Policy.
       (2) Prohibition.--Members of the Advisory Committee may not 
     be employees of the Federal Government.
       (b) Assessment.--The Advisory Committee shall offer 
     assessments and recommendations relating to the following:
       (1) Tailored forecasting, detection, and monitoring 
     products and tools.
       (2) Communication and delivery methods of wildfire 
     forecasting, detection, and monitoring information.
       (3) Opportunities to streamline Federal forecasting, 
     monitoring, and detection information to local emergency 
     personnel and communities.
       (4) The management, coordination, implementation, and 
     activities of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on 
     Wildfires under section 3.
       (5) The effectiveness of the Interagency Coordinating 
     Committee on Wildfires in meeting its purposes.
       (c) Compensation.--Members of the Advisory Committee shall 
     serve without compensation.
       (d) Reports.--Not less frequently than biennially, the 
     Advisory Committee shall report to the Director of the Office 
     of Science and Technology Policy on the assessments carried 
     out under subsection (b) and its recommendations for ways to 
     improve the coordination and dissemination of wildfire 
     forecasts, warnings, and detection and monitoring 
     information.
       (e) Charter.--Notwithstanding section 1013(b)(2) of title 
     5, United States Code, the Advisory Committee shall not be 
     required to file a charter subsequent to its initial charter, 
     filed under section 1008(c) of such title, before the 
     termination date specified in subsection (f) of this section.
       (f) Termination.--The Advisory Committee shall terminate on 
     September 30, 2028.
       (g) Conflict of Interest.--An Advisory Committee member 
     shall recuse himself or herself from any Advisory Committee 
     activity in which he or she has an actual pecuniary interest.

     SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF FIRE WEATHER TESTBED.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic 
     and Atmospheric Administration shall establish a fire weather 
     testbed to enable engagement across the Federal Government, 
     State and local governments, academia, private and federally 
     funded research laboratories, the private sector, and end-
     users in order to evaluate the accuracy and usability of 
     technology, models, fire weather products and services, and 
     other research to accelerate the implementation, transition 
     to operations, and use of new capabilities by the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal and land 
     management agencies, and other relevant stakeholders.
       (b) Resources.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration may not transfer or reprogram any funds, 
     detail any personnel, or make use of any infrastructure from 
     cooperative institutes of the National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration in existence as of the date of the 
     enactment of this Act for the fire weather testbed 
     established under subsection (a).
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 
     through 2028 to carry out this section.

     SEC. 6. INCIDENT METEOROLOGIST WORKFORCE.

       (a) Workforce and Training Assessment.--Not later than six 
     months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
     Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration shall submit to the Committee on Science, 
     Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate the results of an assessment of National Weather 
     Service workforce and training challenges for Incident 
     Meteorologists, and a roadmap for overcoming such challenges. 
     Such assessment shall take into consideration information 
     technology support, logistical and administrative operations, 
     anticipated weather and climate conditions, and feedback from 
     relevant stakeholders, and shall include, to the maximum 
     extent practicable, an identification by the National Weather 
     Service of the following:
       (1) The expected number of Incident Meteorologists needed 
     over the next five years.
       (2) Potential hiring authorities necessary to overcome any 
     identified workforce and training challenges.
       (3) Alternative services or assistance options the National 
     Weather Service could provide to meet operational needs.
       (b) Overtime Pay.--
       (1) In general.--Any premium pay for services performed by 
     Incident Meteorologists of the National Weather Service that 
     are determined by the Secretary of Commerce to be primarily 
     related to emergency wildland fire suppression activities 
     shall be disregarded in calculating the aggregate of such 
     employee's basic pay and premium pay for purposes of a 
     limitation under section 5547 of title 5, United States Code, 
     or under any other provision of law.
       (2) Rates.--Section 5542(a)(5) of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting ``, the National Weather 
     Service,'' after ``Interior''.

     SEC. 7. RESEARCH ON WILDLAND FIRE COMMUNICATIONS AND 
                   INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) Public safety research.--Not later than 60 days after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director, acting 
     through the head of the Public Safety and Communications 
     Research Division and in consultation with the Fire Research 
     Division and technology manufacturers, shall carry out 
     research on the following:
       (A) Public safety communication coordination standards 
     among Federal, State, Tribal, and local wildland 
     firefighters, fire management response officials, and member 
     agencies.
       (B) Improving and integrating existing communications 
     systems to transmit secure real-time data, alerts, and 
     advisories to and from fire management response officials and 
     wildland firefighters.
       (2) Field testing and measurement of information 
     dissemination and technology.--The Public Safety and 
     Communications Research Division, in consultation with the 
     Fire Research Division and member agencies, shall conduct 
     both live and virtual field testing of equipment, software, 
     and other technologies to determine current times of 
     information dissemination and develop standards for the 
     delivery of useful and secure real-time data among member 
     agencies, fire management response officials, and wildland 
     firefighters, based on findings from research under paragraph 
     (1).
       (b) Recommendations.--
       (1) In general.--The Director shall develop and publish 
     recommendations to improve public safety communication 
     coordination standards among wildland first responders and 
     fire management response officials.
       (2) Transmittal.--The Director shall transmit the 
     recommendations under paragraph (1) to the Office of 
     Management and Budget and the Office of Science and 
     Technology Policy for member agencies to implement.
       (3) Reporting requirements.--
       (A) In general.--The Director shall submit to the Committee 
     on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate a report containing the 
     recommendations published under paragraph (1).
       (B) Implementation.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
     of the publication of the Director's recommendations under 
     paragraph (1), the Comptroller General of the United States 
     shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
     Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
     on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 
     report on the extent to which member agencies have 
     implemented such recommendations.
       (c) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
       (2) Member agency.--The term ``member agency'' means a 
     member agency of the National Interagency Fire Center, 
     including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land 
     Management, National Park Service, National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
     Forest Service, United States Fire Administration, and the 
     Department of Defense.
       (3) Wildland firefighter.--The term ``wildland 
     firefighter'' means any person who participates in wildland 
     firefighting activities.
       (4) Fire management response officials.--The term ``fire 
     management response officials'' means regional fire 
     directors, deputy regional fire directors, agency officials 
     who directly oversee fire operations, fire management 
     officers, and individuals serving on incident management 
     teams.
       (5) Technology manufacturers.--The term ``technology 
     manufacturers'' means private sector entities that 
     manufacture communications technologies used by Federal, 
     State, Tribal, or local wildland fire authorities.

     SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Fire environment.--The term ``fire environment'' 
     means--
       (A) the environmental conditions, such as soil moisture, 
     vegetation, topography, snowpack, atmospheric temperature, 
     moisture, and wind, that influence--
       (i) fuel and fire behavior; and
       (ii) smoke dispersion and transport; and
       (B) the associated environmental impacts occurring during 
     and after fire events.
       (2) Fire weather.--The term ``fire weather'' means the 
     weather conditions that influence the start, spread, 
     character, or behavior of wildfires or fires at the wildland-
     urban interface and relevant meteorological and chemical 
     phenomena, including air quality, smoke, and meteorological 
     parameters such as relative humidity, air temperature, wind

[[Page H2649]]

     speed and direction, and atmospheric composition and 
     chemistry, including emissions and mixing heights.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gimenez). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas) and the gentlewoman from Michigan 
(Ms. Stevens) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 4866, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oklahoma?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4866, the Fire Weather 
Development Act of 2024, offered by the gentleman from California (Mr.  
Mike Garcia), my friend and colleague on the House Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology.
  This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
to improve the forecasting and detection of fire weather as well as 
increase collaboration with State and local partners to predict and 
fight fires.
  Just over a month ago, the largest wildfire in U.S. history burned 
over a million acres in the Texas Panhandle and parts of my district in 
western Oklahoma.
  The Smokehouse Creek fire, as it is now known, was the result of 
extremely dry and windy conditions that saw a half million acres burn 
within 24 hours of the fire's start.
  With two fatalities, along with hundreds of homes and thousands of 
cattle lost, the effects of this fire will be felt in this region of 
our country for many years.
  If it wasn't for a shift in wind direction at just the right time, my 
property would have been a part of that destruction.
  At home, I had to take the precaution of moving cattle into fields 
that were less likely to burn, if the fire kept coming our way.
  Looking back on this event today, there is one good thing we can take 
from it: We know with certainty that the National Weather Service has 
the tools and capability for fire weather forecasting and prediction 
that can protect lives and property.
  The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center began mentioning 
the potential for fire weather conditions in their extended forecast 6 
days before the Smokehouse Creek fire started.
  In my case, I closely monitored this weather outlook and made 
critical decisions based on the weather data, models, and forecasts 
that were available.
  While two lives were lost, and that is two too many, it is likely 
there would have been more, if not for the work of the National Weather 
Service.
  With an increased innovative focus provided by direction from 
Congress and the necessary resources, NOAA and the NWS can expand these 
capabilities and ensure every region of our country is prepared for the 
extreme weather events of the future.
  Every citizen can and should have the most accurate tools readily 
available, just like I did. The bill we are considering today, the Fire 
Weather Development Act, is a critical step in that direction.
  H.R. 4866 directs NOAA to develop and improve accurate fire weather 
and fire environment forecasts and warnings.
  It places an emphasis on developing and using novel technologies such 
as advanced weather, advanced satellite detection paired with AI 
modeling systems, or active sensors for potential deployment on 
unmanned aircraft systems.
  These technologies will improve wildfire behavior models, mapping 
efforts, and the monitoring of fire fuel and active fires, while also 
eliminating the risk of sending firefighters and operators into 
potential danger.
  The Fire Weather Development Act also recognizes the critical need 
for Federal collaboration by establishing an Interagency Coordinating 
Committee on Wildfires.
  With all the relevant bodies working together, this committee will 
coordinate the development of accurate and timely wildfire forecasting, 
detection, monitoring, and delivery of products or services that best 
assist State and local emergency officials.
  Lastly, this bill establishes an independent National Advisory 
Council on Wildfires to ensure that local officials, communities, and 
people who are directly affected by wildfires have a seat at the table 
and can provide input on what tools or services are most needed.
  I thank Representative  Mike Garcia for introducing this bill along 
with his cosponsors, Representatives Caraveo and Kim.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join us in supporting this 
bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in Hawaii, California, Colorado, and Michigan, wildfires 
are posing an increasing threat to the lives and livelihoods of so many 
Americans.
  Over the last 30 years, the wildfire season in the West alone has 
lengthened by several months, and the total number of acres burned per 
year has nearly doubled.
  Climate change has contributed to warmer temperatures and drier 
conditions, causing more frequent and intense wildland fires.
  Understanding the fundamental science behind wildfires, including the 
impacts of climate change, is absolutely essential to our ability to 
improve the prediction and forecasting of increasingly severe 
wildfires.
  Another essential element to our response to wildfires is the 
effective communication of information and risks to land managers and 
to those living in wildfire-vulnerable areas.
  To accomplish that, we have H.R. 4866, a phenomenal bipartisan piece 
of legislation to direct NOAA to establish a program that will increase 
the accuracy of, and effectively communicate, fire forecasts and 
warnings.

  The brave and tireless work of incident management teams is 
absolutely the cornerstone of successful wildfire responses. This 
includes incident meteorologists, or IMETs, who work around the clock 
at active fire sites for days or weeks at a time, providing lifesaving 
information about wildfire and environmental conditions to firefighters 
and managers.
  This bill also allows NOAA's National Weather Service to fully 
compensate IMETs for overtime work during active fire events, which 
will expand the capacity of IMETs to conduct their essential work.
  The bill also requires NOAA to leverage collaborations with State, 
local, and Tribal governments, Federal agencies, academia, and the 
private sector to decrease the loss of lives and property from 
wildfires and support fire response personnel.
  I truly commend Congressman  Mike Garcia and my colleague from 
Colorado (Ms. Caraveo) for working on this important legislation that 
will truly put the United States in a better position to respond to 
increasing threats of wildfires.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California (Mr.  Mike Garcia) to speak on this bill.
  Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for 
his leadership on this bill.
  In my district, it is all about security. It is about economic 
security. It is about national security. It is about school security, 
neighborhood security, and yes, border security, as well as protecting 
Social Security.
  If you live in my district, you will recognize that this bill, H.R. 
4866, is truly about security. My district in north L.A. County has the 
most dense and largest interface of wildlands with human beings and 
housing developments.
  They are all too familiar, my constituents, with the dangers that 
wildfires pose to our homes and to our livelihoods.
  For my constituents, wildfire mitigation isn't a red or blue issue. 
It is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It is a life-or-death 
issue. That is why I have made it a top priority since coming to 
Washington to improve our ability to predict and to fight these 
disasters in order to keep our firefighters,

[[Page H2650]]

our homes, and our families safe from harm.
  My bill, H.R. 4866, the Fire Weather Development Act, is a strong 
bipartisan step forward in a constant fight against these catastrophic 
wildfires.
  This bill will dramatically improve NOAA's ability to predict, 
prevent, and respond to wildfires and to get information down to the 
local emergency responders.
  It would be easy, the last 2 years have been relatively calm fire 
seasons, to get lulled into a false sense of security in southern 
California, but the next big fire season is right around the corner.
  We have had 2 years of record rain that has spurred an explosion of 
grass and dense shrubbery across the hills in my district.
  As the weather starts to dry out again, so will the forest, 
transforming greenery into an abundance of fuel and Btus that a stray 
spark or lightning strike can set ablaze in a moment's notice.
  Southern California will be a tinderbox this fall, and the time to 
prevent wildfires is now. We can't allow ourselves to wait for another 
wildfire season like we had in 2020 where California lost over 4 
million acres and 10,000 buildings due to mismanagement in years prior, 
like the fires that we saw in Texas just recently and in Hawaii just 
last year, so horrifically taking the lives of so many Americans.
  Half the wildland in my district falls in Federal forests, so this is 
very important that we, at the Federal level, take care of this issue.
  We need to be investing now, not just for our prediction efforts, but 
to ensure that our firefighters have every possible tool at their 
disposal to respond.
  Firefighters are like frontline combat operators against wildfires, 
and there is no reason they shouldn't be as well-equipped as they fight 
fires as our soldiers are when they fight our enemies overseas.
  They need the tools this bill provides; advanced imaging to see the 
fires before they grow out of control, drones to reach the small and 
remote fires, and improved communications to adjust the forward line of 
combat operations quickly and safely.
  Just like our soldiers, we also need to send the firefighters into 
dangerous situations only when it is absolutely necessary.
  My bill invests in fuel mapping, unmanned vehicles, unmanned aerial 
vehicles, wildfire behavior models and more, and all the steps to make 
1 firefighter fight like 10 and to minimize the need to put them in 
danger. More importantly, to make sure that when they fight, they come 
home each night.
  The side benefit of all of this is there is an ongoing fight against 
insurance companies in California, and this is going to improve lives 
outside of just the wildfire events as well.

                              {time}  1645

  This is a constant threat, and we haven't done a good job in 
California managing our wildlands.
  As a result of that, we have seen a disastrous effect on livelihoods 
and the economy, especially in southern California. The threat has 
gotten so bad that insurance companies are jacking up rates on current 
customers and have stopped offering policies to any new homeowners in 
my district.
  I have heard countless stories from constituents about their house 
fire policies going up anywhere from 5 to 10 times what they were just 
in one year. I had a church pastor reach out this last weekend, Mr. 
Speaker, who said his premiums went from $3,000 a year for his fire 
insurance to $30,000 a year for a very small church.
  To be clear, this bill is not a silver bullet that is going to solve 
the insurance problem. That is a problem made in Sacramento that this 
will hopefully mitigate, but there is still a whole lot of bad policies 
coming out of Sacramento that need to be addressed.
  If we can drastically improve our ability to protect people's homes, 
it will hopefully be a massive step in the right direction and allow 
the insurance companies to come back to California.
  I thank Chairman Lucas for his leadership on this bill and allowing 
this to come to the floor. I thank Ms. Caraveo for her cosponsorship of 
this bill. I urge my colleagues to support the Fire Weather Development 
Act to ensure the security of our constituents in all districts, not 
just mine, but throughout the Nation that face the daily threat of 
catastrophic wildfires.
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Colorado (Ms. Caraveo).
  Ms. CARAVEO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 
4866, the Fire Weather Development Act. I thank my colleagues, 
Congressman  Mike Garcia and Congresswoman Kim, for working with me to 
run this bipartisan piece of legislation. Thank you also to Ranking 
Member Lofgren and Chairman Lucas for their steadfast leadership.
  Sadly, Coloradans are no strangers to wildfires, and we know that 
wildfires are no longer seasonal but can happen year-round. The impacts 
of these fires are felt long after the flames are extinguished and have 
lasting effects on our environment, economy, infrastructure, and more. 
With that, we are also seeing wildfires begin to encroach on 
communities that are not used to experiencing fires.
  The Marshall fire in Colorado was the most expensive wildfire in our 
State's history and was primarily driven by an extreme windstorm that 
blew the fire into suburban parts of Colorado right next door to my 
district. With the total monetary cost of the Marshall fire estimated 
at $2 billion, it is critical that we continue to invest in new ways to 
understand fire weather.
  This is where our bill, the Fire Weather Development Act, comes in. 
This bill will give NOAA the tools it needs to stay ahead of the curve 
when it comes to fire weather technology by allowing the agency to do 
things like access airborne and space-based data to enhance fire 
weather and fire environment monitoring. The bill also gives NOAA the 
ability to determine drone usage to improve data collection and even 
conduct drone pilot programs. Finally, the bill helps our local and 
State responders even more through several provisions focused on 
improving communications, especially around forecasting.
  The Front Range and northern Colorado know how important it is that 
we do what we can to better predict fire weather, especially when it 
means protecting our homes and economic well-being.
  In Colorado's Eighth District, we have a burgeoning energy sector and 
the largest agriculture economy in the State, but as we saw in Texas 
earlier this year, one wildfire can pose serious damage to that. By 
passing the Fire Weather Development Act, we are ensuring that we keep 
bolstering the tools we have to respond to fire weather. I look forward 
to continuing to work with Representatives  Mike Garcia and Kim to get 
this commonsense solution in this bill across the finish line as soon 
as possible.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for 
closing.
  Mr. Speaker, we find ourselves at a prominent moment here on the 
House floor, hopefully seeing the passage of H.R. 4866 to address some 
of these extraordinary fire considerations that have taken place. I 
continue to encourage my colleagues to join those of us who do this 
hard and great work on the Science Committee to pass this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Over the last 5 years, the average annual cost of Federal 
firefighting suppression has been $2.8 billion. While forest and land 
management can help prevent wildfires, long- and short-term weather 
observations, or modeling, play a critical role in limiting their 
spread and damage.
  The Fire Weather Development Act takes immediate action to address 
this by increasing NOAA and the National Weather Service's activities 
to best protect lives and property at risk of wildfires.
  I again thank the gentleman from California (Mr.  Mike Garcia) for 
working tirelessly to get this bill across the finish line and 
increasing the lifesaving services available to his constituents.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr.

[[Page H2651]]

Lucas) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4866, 
as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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