YourVoice.Now Summary
Workers & JobsTargeted & Unrelated ProvisionsTransparency & AccountabilityTrains city fire crews for wildfires, funds $100 million in 2026 gear grants, and studies cancer chemicals in their gear.
Workers & Jobs
Most city and town fire crews train for house and building fires, not wildfires. The Forest Service would write one national training plan within a year, then pay nonprofits to teach it.
Two federal groups plan how agencies fight wildfires. Each would have to add a firefighters' union member within 60 days.
Fire gear and burned areas can hold PFAS, man-made chemicals linked to cancer. Federal health researchers would measure them and study smoke harm to firefighters' lungs.
Each FEMA search and rescue team would need trained mental health staff. Every member would learn to spot stress injuries, paid from the program's current budget.
Fire departments and stand-alone ambulance crews could apply for gear or training money. Grants are capped by the number of people served: $1 million for small towns, $9 million for the biggest areas.
Targeted & Unrelated Provisions
To win a training grant, a group must already write firefighter courses, teach them in class and online, and work with safety research groups. All three tests must be met.
Transparency & Accountability
Money for training, research, and mental health runs from 2026 through 2031. The $100 million gear fund is set for 2026 only, so Congress would have to act again.
More about this bill
If you live where homes meet open brush or forest, your local fire crews would get more federal help. Firefighters who mainly handle house and building fires would get formal training for wildfires. The Forest Service would write one national training plan within a year of the law passing. Fire departments and stand-alone ambulance services could then apply for grants to buy wildfire gear or train staff. The grant pot is $100 million, and only for 2026. A single department could get $1 million to $9 million, based on how many people it serves. Training money runs at $5 million a year through 2031. The bill sets no new taxes or fees for households. A new senior job at the Agriculture Department would coordinate federal, state, and local fire crews. A firefighters' union would get a seat on two federal planning groups. Federal safety researchers would study PFAS and other cancer-linked chemicals in gear and burn zones. That work gets $20 million a year. FEMA's national search and rescue teams would have to add mental health staff. Every team member would train in peer mental health support. The Defense Department could send its own firefighters when an agency asks and pays.
Congressional Summary
This bill establishes grants, training, and interagency coordination for responding to wildfires and fires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) (i.e., where undeveloped land or vegetation meets human infrastructure). It also requires measures for protecting the health of firefighters and emergency responders.The bill establishes an Under Secretary of Agriculture for Fire Coordination to manage coordination of government preparation and response to wildfires and WUI fires. Such office may award grants to fire departments and emergency medical services organizations for training firefighting personnel or obtaining personal protective equipment for responding to such fires. Also, the Forest Service must establish a national plan with guidelines for training structural (i.e., urban) firefighters to respond to wildfires and WUI fires. The Forest Service may provide grants to certain nonprofit organizations to carry out training programs pursuant to the plan.Upon request from agencies, the Department of Defense (DOD) may allow its firefighters to conduct operations or assist in responding to wildfires and WUI fires. Agencies must reimburse DOD for such services.Additionally, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health must perform research and development and report to Congress on protecting the respiratory health of firefighters and identifying certain hazardous substances in areas affected by wildfires and WUI fires. Also, task forces within the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must train each member in peer mental health support and include members who are mental health practitioners.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-08-01
- Date Added
- 2026-03-30
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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