Bill > HR5615

This bill amends title 32 of the United States Code to establish the FireGuard Program as an official program of record within the National Guard, changing the program's status from optional to mandatory. The bill requires the Secretary of Defense to submit five annual briefings to Congressional Armed Services Committees about the program, starting within one year of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. These briefings must detail the states, counties, municipalities, and tribal governments that received information through the program, provide a comparative analysis of wildfires from initial detection to containment, analyze the time between fire detection via satellite data and local responder alerts, and review efforts to integrate emerging satellite and aerial surveillance technologies from private, nonprofit, and public sector sources. The FireGuard Program is set to automatically terminate on December 31, 2031, which provides a built-in sunset provision to periodically reassess the program's effectiveness and relevance. By mandating the program and requiring detailed annual reporting, the bill aims to improve wildfire detection, monitoring, and response capabilities across different levels of government.

Military Affairs and Security

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5615/all-info