S. 1932Senate115th Congress (2017-2019)In Committee

Wildfire Mitigation Assistance Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated April 15, 2026 at 6:25 PM UTC

The Wildfire Mitigation Assistance Act amends the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to give the President authority to provide hazard mitigation funding for wildfire‑affected areas, regardless of whether a major disaster is declared. It also lets the President set a minimum funding level for such wildfire projects and adds a yearly reporting requirement for FEMA on how the funds are used. The changes affect federal disaster assistance processes and aim to improve wildfire preparedness and recovery.

Key Provisions

Adds a new “Hazard Mitigation Assistance” option that lets the President provide mitigation aid for areas affected by wildfire, even if a major disaster has not been declared.
Allows the President to set a minimum amount of mitigation funding for a wildfire or fire complex under this new provision.
Updates other parts of the Stafford Act to reference the new wildfire assistance provision wherever “major disaster” is mentioned, ensuring consistency.
Requires FEMA to report each year to relevant Senate and House committees on the projects funded and the amounts spent under the new wildfire mitigation assistance.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

October 5, 2017

View full timeline

SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

October 5, 2017

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

October 5, 2017

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode

Raw Text PDF XML

Introduced in SenateIssued October 5, 2017

115th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1932

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

October 5, 2017

Mr. Bennet (for himself, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Tester, Mr. Risch, and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

A BILL

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide for certain wildfire mitigation assistance.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Wildfire Mitigation Assistance Act.

Wildfire mitigation assistance

(a)

In General

Section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended—

(1)

by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and

(2)

by inserting after subsection (c) the following:

(d)

Hazard Mitigation Assistance

(1)

In general

Whether or not a major disaster is declared, the President may provide hazard mitigation assistance in accordance with section 404 in any area or related area affected by a fire for which assistance was provided under this section.

(2)

Minimum amount

Notwithstanding section 404(a), the President may establish a minimum amount of hazard mitigation assistance to be provided for a wildfire or fire complex under this subsection.

(b)

Conforming Amendments

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended—

(1)

in section 404(a) (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a))—

(A)

by inserting before the first period , or any area in which assistance was provided under section 420; and

(B)

in the third sentence, by inserting or event under section 420 after major disaster each place that term appears; and

(2)

in section 322(e)(1) (42 U.S.C. 5165(e)(1)), by inserting or event under section 420 after major disaster each place that term appears.

(c)

Reporting requirement

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report containing a summary of any projects carried out, and any funding provided to those projects, under subsection (d) of section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) (as amended by section 2(a)(2)).