Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
The bill directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to jointly develop a plan to consolidate federal wildland fire preparedness, suppression, and recovery authorities into a new agency under the Department of the Interior called the National Wildland Firefighting Service. The plan must include a budget, qualifications for a presidentially appointed Director (Senate-confirmed), and the resources and authorities needed for consolidation, and must be reported to relevant congressional committees within 180 days of enactment.
Governance: centralize wildfire authority under DOI vs preserve USDA control
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill functions primarily as a directive to prepare a consolidation plan and report.
The bill directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to jointly develop a plan to consolidate federal wildland fire preparedness, suppression, and recovery authorities into a new agency under the Department of the Interior called the National Wildland Firefighting Service.
The plan must include a budget, qualifications for a presidentially appointed Director (Senate-confirmed), and the resources and authorities needed for consolidation, and must be reported to relevant congressional committees within 180 days of enactment.
Mandates a study/plan rather than immediate reorganization, lowering barriers; institutional and jurisdictional resistance remain meaningful.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill functions primarily as a directive to prepare a consolidation plan and report. It names responsible officials, sets a 180-day reporting deadline, and requires that the plan include budgetary and organizational components and Director qualifications. The bill is modestly detailed for a planning-stage administrative measure but stops short of providing the legal, fiscal, and operational mechanics that would be required to effectuate the consolidation it envisions.
Governance: centralize wildfire authority under DOI vs preserve USDA control
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Governance: centralize wildfire authority under DOI vs preserve USDA control
Generally supportive of stronger, centralized federal capacity to address worsening wildfires and climate-driven risks.
Wants assurances that ecological management, civil rights, labor protections, and tribal consultation are preserved during consolidation.
Sees potential for improved national strategy, but expects specific protections and funding guarantees.
Cautiously optimistic about streamlining wildfire response and clarifying leadership, but wary of implementation complexity and costs.
Will look for a clear budget, phased transition, and protections for existing agency functions and intergovernmental partnerships.
Support likely contingent on concrete, evidence-based planning.
Skeptical or opposed due to concerns about expanding federal bureaucracy and shifting authority from the Department of Agriculture to Interior.
Prefers state and local leadership and is concerned about mission drift, higher costs, and reduced multiple-use land management.
Views the bill as centralizing power without clear benefit.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Mandates a study/plan rather than immediate reorganization, lowering barriers; institutional and jurisdictional resistance remain meaningful.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Governance: centralize wildfire authority under DOI vs preserve USDA control
Mandates a study/plan rather than immediate reorganization, lowering barriers; institutional and jurisdictional resistance remain meaningfu…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill functions primarily as a directive to prepare a consolidation plan and report. It names responsible officials, sets a 180-day reporting deadline, and requires that th…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.