Congress·In Committee·H.R. 4038

Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act of 2025

Congress Proposes 30-Minute Response Goal for Wildfires on Federal Lands

Jan 14·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committeeNo action in 6 months

A house committee must act next: committee consideration.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

Mrs. Kim introduced a bill that would require federal agencies to set strict speed limits for how fast they react to wildfires. The goal is for officials to evaluate a new fire within 30 minutes of it starting.
The plan also aims to get firefighting tools, like airplanes and ground crews, to the fire within three hours. This would apply to millions of acres of federal land, including National Parks and National Forests.
To meet these goals, the government would have to study how many more planes and firefighters are needed. They would also look for ways to fix the dispatch system so help can be sent out much faster than it is today.
This policy is designed to stop small fires from turning into giant disasters that threaten lives and homes. By setting a clear clock for response times, the bill tries to hold agencies accountable for how quickly they protect communities.
The bill also asks for a single person to be in charge of wildfire response and a unified budget. This would help different government groups work together more easily and ensure firefighting resources are available all year long.

Energy EnvironmentAgriculture

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works

Federal wildland firefighters and personnel across five agencies (Forest Service, BLM, BIA, National Park Service, and Fish & Wildlife Service) would be directly affected by new response time standards. The bill could lead to increased staffing, equipment, and year-round availability requirements, which may improve working conditions through better resources but also create new performance pressures and operational demands.

ImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Broader Impacts

DomainScoreShort-termLong-termReversibilityConfidence

Score

Scores: -5 (harmful) to +5 (beneficial)Short-term: 0-2 yearsLong-term: 10-30 years

State Impacts

StateScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

5 milestones5 actions

Jan 14, 2026House

Subcommittee Hearings Held

Jan 7, 2026House

Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jun 18, 2025House

Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jun 17, 2025House

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jun 17, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Related News

4 articles

Politico·Jan 12

House panel to revisit federal wildfire response

A House Natural Resources subcommittee is taking testimony on the 'Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act' (H.R. 4038). The bill, led by Rep. Young Kim, requires the Interior and Agriculture departments to set standards of no less than 30 minutes to evaluate fires and 3 hours to deploy assets.

Center Left

Wildfire Today·Jan 14

National 30-minute wildfire response law faces debate

During a House hearing, Rep. Tom Tiffany called the 30-minute response standard a 'commonsense' measure. However, the U.S. Forest Service and firefighter advocacy groups warned that chronic staffing shortages and terrain limitations make such strict mandates difficult to achieve safely.

Spectrum News·Jun 17, 2025

California Reps. Kim, Gray introduce legislation to create standard response time for wildfires on federal land

Reps. Young Kim and Adam Gray introduced the WRAP Act to establish a national standard for wildfire response. Kim noted that timely response can be the difference between life and death, citing the 2024 Airport Fire that devastated her district in Orange County.

Center Left

No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.