119-s2039

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2039 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2039

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out a quadrennial fire 
 review, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 June 11, 2025

 Mr. Gallego introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out a quadrennial fire 
 review, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Wildfire Risk Evaluation Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

 It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) wildfire management is a complex, multi-jurisdictional 
 issue that requires a whole-of-government approach before, 
 during, and after a fire;

    (2) wildfires spread quickly and may invoke various 
 Federal, State, Tribal, and local jurisdictions simultaneously;

    (3) effective wildfire management requires interagency, 
 cross-boundary, strategic, and holistic solutions;

    (4) relevant Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments 
 should be included in any planning, decision-making, or 
 response activities with respect to wildfire management;

    (5) a purpose of a quadrennial fire review is--
        (A) to forecast conditions that may present the 
 greatest challenges for wildland fire management 
 throughout the 20-year period immediately following 
 such review; and
        (B) to inform the development of long-term, 
 strategic actions to address such challenges;

    (6) the report of the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
 Secretary of the Interior entitled ``The National Strategy: the 
 Final Phase in the Development of the National Cohesive 
 Wildland Fire Management Strategy'' (April 2014), as updated by 
 the report entitled ``National Cohesive Wildland Fire 
 Management Strategy Addendum Update'' (January 2023), 
 represents a strategic, collaborative effort to address 
 wildfire management in all landscapes and using the best 
 science available to make meaningful progress toward the 3 
 goals established in such report regarding--
        (A) resilient landscapes;
        (B) fire-adapted communities; and
            (C) safe and effective wildfire response; and

    (7) the report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and 
 Management Commission entitled ``ON FIRE: The Report of the 
 Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission'' (September 
 2023) presents a consensus set of recommendations developed by 
 50 diverse experts and intended to result in improved outcomes 
 for wildfire management in the United States.

SEC. 3. QUADRENNIAL FIRE REVIEW.

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Qualified agencies.--The term ``qualified agencies'' 
 means--
        (A) with respect to the Secretary of Agriculture, 
 the Forest Service;
        (B) with respect to the Secretary of the Interior, 
 the Department of the Interior;
            (C) with respect to the Secretary of Homeland 
 Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and 
 the United States Fire Administration; and
            (D) such other entities as the Secretaries 
 determine appropriate.

    (2) Relevant committees.--The term ``relevant committees'' 
 means--
        (A) the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources, 
 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and 
 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 
 and
        (B) the Committees on Natural Resources, Homeland 
 Security, and Science, Space, and Technology of the 
 House of Representatives.

    (3) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the 
 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and 
 the Secretary of Homeland Security.

    (b) Quadrennial Review.--The Secretaries, acting jointly through 
the qualified agencies, shall conduct a quadrennial review of the 
comprehensive wildfire environment in the United States that includes--

    (1) a quantitative analysis of changes to built and natural 
 environments since the most recent quadrennial fire review and 
 the impact of such changes on pre-fire mitigation, wildfire 
 incident response, and proactive recovery from wildfire; and

    (2) an analysis of the intersection between wildfire and 
 public health, conducted in coordination with the Administrator 
 of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of 
 Health and Human Services, acting through the Centers for 
 Disease Control and Prevention.
            (c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and every 4 years for the 20 years thereafter, the 
Secretaries shall jointly submit to the relevant committees a report 
that contains--

    (1) the results of the reviews conducted under subsection

    (b) and specifies the administrative actions and outcomes that 
 have occurred as a result of such reviews;

    (2) a summary of--
        (A) the challenges relating to wildfire that are 
 anticipated during the 20-year period immediately 
 following the report; and
        (B) the most significant long-term wildland fire 
 management challenges;

    (3) recommendations regarding such Federal legislation and 
 administrative actions as the Secretaries determine necessary 
 to address the results described in paragraph

    (1) and the 
 challenges described in paragraph

    (2) ;

    (4) an evaluation of any progress made toward--
        (A) achieving the 3 goals established in the report 
 of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of 
 the Interior entitled ``The National Strategy: the 
 Final Phase in the Development of the National Cohesive 
 Wildland Fire Management Strategy'' (April 2014), as 
 updated by the report entitled ``National Cohesive 
 Wildland Fire Management Strategy Addendum Update'' 
 (January 2023); and
        (B) implementing recommendations set forth in the 
 report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management 
 Commission entitled ``ON FIRE: The Report of the 
 Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission'' 
 (September 2023); and

    (5) projected future scenarios to highlight areas of 
 consideration for realignment of programs, strategies, 
 capabilities, and the workforce that will assist the 
 Secretaries in addressing the challenges described in paragraph

    (2) .
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