Military planes help fight wildfires through 2035

What it does

The bill lets wildfire agencies buy military planes. They can get them from the Department of Defense until 2035. The planes drop water or fire retardant. State and local fire agencies pay less than buying new planes.

Who it affects

State and local wildfire suppression agencies gain access to more aircraft. Citizens in areas with wildfires benefit from faster response.

One thing to notice

The program lasts ten years. Wildfire agencies can rely on military planes being available.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

8 cosponsors: 5 Democrats, 3 Republicans.

• Jan 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Jan 21, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Armed Services · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services”
• Apr 8, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Senate Committee on Armed Services discharged by Unanimous Consent”
• Apr 8, 2025 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text: CR S2480)”
• Jun 3, 2025 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2390)”
• Jun 3, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Comer moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”
• Jun 10, 2025 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
• Jun 12, 2025 — Signed into law · Congress.gov: “Became Public Law No: 119-18”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

7 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 12 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $4,145,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 6 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 86% of bills with any report.

Tim Sheehy, who sponsored the bill, received $389,325 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• American Property Casualty Insurance Association — $3,540,000 in 2 reports
• Capitol Counsel, LLC on Behalf of Perimeter Solutions — $180,000 in 2 reports
• Perimeter Solutions — $180,000 in 2 reports
• Prime Minute, Inc. — $120,000 in 2 reports
• Capitol Counsel, LLC on Behalf of Prime Minute, Inc. — $90,000 in 2 reports

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• Department of Defense — the U.S. government agency that runs the military
• wildfire suppression agencies — groups that work to stop and control wildfires
• fire retardant — a substance dropped from planes to slow down fire spread
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.