S. 3149

119 S3149 IS: Responsible Wildland Fire Recovery Act
 U.S. Senate
 2025-11-06
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  II
  119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
  S. 3149
  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
  November 6, 2025
  Mr. Luján  (for himself,  Mrs. Fischer , and  Ms.
  Lummis ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
  referred to the  Committee on Agriculture,
  Nutrition, and Forestry
  A BILL
To provide for cost-share waivers for projects carried out in response to
  wildland fires caused by certain Government actions, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Responsible Wildland Fire Recovery Act  .
2.
Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to ensure that parties affected by wildland fires resulting from management activities conducted by the Department of Agriculture on National Forest System land are eligible to receive 100 percent funding for the cost of remediating direct and indirect damages under authorized Federal recovery programs.
3.
Cost-share waiver for rehabilitation from wildland fires
(a)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Covered matching requirement
The term  covered matching requirement  means a requirement under a program of the Secretary for wildland fire recovery for a State, Indian Tribe, locality, or individual to provide matching funds, in cash, for a project.
(2)
Covered wildland fire
The term  covered wildland fire  means a wildland fire that the Secretary determines to be a result of management activities conducted by the Secretary on National Forest System land.
(3)
Secretary
The term  Secretary  means the Secretary of Agriculture.
(4)
Wildland fire
(A)
In general
The term  wildland fire  means any non-structure fire that occurs in vegetation or natural fuels.
(B)
Inclusions
The term  wildland fire  includes wildfire, prescribed fire, and any direct or indirect damage resulting in watershed impairment.
(b)
Waiver
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may waive any covered matching requirement for a project in response to a covered wildland fire that is in an area affected by that covered wildland fire.