Bill · H.R. 4038· House(119-HR-4038)
Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025
- Introduced
- 6/17/2025
- Last activity
- 1/14/2026 — Subcommittee Hearings Held
- Sponsored by
- Young Kim
- Cosponsors
- - 0 - 2
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025 requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to create standards for how quickly they respond to wildfire incidents. These standards aim to establish a response time of no more than 30 minutes for evaluation and no more than 3 hours for the deployment of fire suppression assets. The bill also mandates that the Secretaries submit a joint report to relevant congressional committees within one year of enactment. This report must include details on budget requests, performance indicators, and the required size of the firefighting fleet. Additionally, the report must address improvements to dispatch systems and federal contracting mechanisms.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Faster Wildfire Evaluation: The bill sets a goal for the response time to be no more than 30 minutes from the time of ignition to evaluation by a public safety officer or volunteer (Section 2(b)(2)(A)). This could help address fires more quickly once they start.
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Quicker Deployment of Resources: The proposed standard includes deploying fire suppression assets in no more than 3 hours (Section 2(b)(2)(B)). This aims to ensure that help arrives shortly after the initial evaluation.
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Improved Coordination and Planning: The bill requires a report that includes a unified budget request and a single point of contact for Federal wildland fire response (Section 2(c)(1)-(2)). This could lead to more organized and efficient fire management activities.
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Enhanced Fleet and Dispatch Readiness: The report requires descriptions of the current firefighting fleet, the size required to meet goals, and necessary changes to dispatch systems to allow for faster movement of assets (Section 2(c)(4)-(5)). This focus on improving systems could help ensure resources are available when needed.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No specific negative impacts or burdens are explicitly mentioned in the provided text.
- 1/14/2026
- Subcommittee Hearings Held
- 1/7/2026
- Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
- 8/15/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 6/18/2025
- Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
- 6/17/2025
- Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science, Space, and Technology, 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.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Adam GrayDemocrat · California
Eugene VindmanDemocrat · Virginia