Wildfire Recovery Act
Wildfire Recovery Act would tighten and expand how the federal government shares costs for fire management assistance under the Stafford Act. The bill would guarantee a federal cost share of at least 75% for eligible Fire Management Assistance (FMA) activities for new appropriations, effectively increasing the federal role in wildfire response. It also requires a future rulemaking to set criteria for when the President could raise the federal share beyond 75%, including a metric to measure the financial impact on states and local governments. Finally, it directs FEMA to update its grants policy to allow reimbursement under section 420 for predeployment of domestic assets by states, localities, and tribal governments, aligning FMA with the treatment of major disaster assistance.
Key Points
- 1The federal share for Fire Management Assistance (FMA) would be not less than 75% of eligible costs for amounts appropriated after enactment.
- 2The change applies only to new appropriations, not existing funding already available under FMA.
- 3Within three years, FEMA and the White House would undertake rulemaking to establish criteria for increasing the federal cost share beyond 75%, including a metric that assesses the financial impact on states/localities.
- 4The bill requires a threshold or framework in the rulemaking to determine when higher federal support may be appropriate.
- 5FEMA must update its grants policy under section 420 to allow reimbursement for predeployment of domestic assets by states, local governments, and tribal governments, consistent with how major disaster and emergency declarations are treated.