Federal wildfire prevention and post-fire recovery funding expands across western states.

What it does

This bill establishes federal programs to prevent, detect, and recover from wildfires on federal and tribal lands. It requires better tracking of wildfire spending, ensures the Department of Defense reimburses states for fire suppression costs from military training, mandates strategic fire management planning by 2027, funds wildfire detection equipment and drone research, and creates a new federal account to pay for post-fire ecosystem restoration and infrastructure repair on burned lands, with states and tribes contributing up to 20% of costs.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is establishing federal planning, detection, and post-fire recovery programs funded through new appropriations accounts. It is a public-safety and land-management measure, not a tax or subsidy carve-out.

What the text implies

• The 'Long-Term Burned Area Rehabilitation account' creates an open-ended federal spending authority for post-fire recovery with no explicit annual cap, potentially creating a permanent entitlement to federal restoration funding.
• Section 103 requires federal agencies to incorporate wildfire planning into all forest and resource management plans, which may slow or redirect existing land-use decisions in western states.
• The bill mandates federal reimbursement to states for fire suppression costs caused by military training, shifting costs from DoD to the federal budget without a spending offset.
• Slip-on tanker unit funding (Section 202) extends to Indian Tribes, creating a new federal subsidy stream for tribal firefighting equipment with no explicit sunset or performance metrics.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill expands federal wildfire prevention, detection, and post-fire recovery resources available to communities and states at risk. Citizens in wildfire zones gain access to improved early warning systems, better-coordinated firefighting, and federally-funded ecosystem restoration. The 20% cost-share for recovery projects is modest and includes in-kind contributions, spreading the burden.

Who stands to gain

• State and local fire agencies (reimbursement for suppression costs)
• Indian Tribes (equipment funding and cost-sharing partnerships)
• Universities and research institutions (Joint Fire Science Program contracts)
• Contractors performing post-fire ecosystem restoration and infrastructure repair
• Technology vendors (wildfire detection equipment, unmanned aircraft systems, radio communications)

Named in the bill

Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture / Forest Service, Department of Defense, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Fire Administration, National Wildfire Coordinating Group, State fire agencies, Indian Tribes, Joint Fire Science Program

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.

• Jan 14, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Jan 14, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
• Dec 2, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held”
• Feb 4, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a…”

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

Money around this bill

4 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $4,692,167 in lobbying spend. A filing names 75 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.

Catherine Cortez Masto, the sponsor, reported $298,634 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Property Casualty Insurance Association — $3,540,000 on 2 filings
• National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies — $1,005,758 on 2 filings
• Advanced Environmental Monitoring Holdings (aemh) — $120,000 on 2 filings
• Backcountry Hunters & Anglers — $26,409 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.