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To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to provide certain fire management assistance to Indian Tribal Governments, and for other purposes.
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to provide certain fire management assistance to Indian Tribal Governments, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill would amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to make Indian Tribal Governments eligible to receive federal fire management assistance. Currently, only states and local governments can request this assistance; the bill would allow tribal governments to directly request fire management assistance from the President without requiring a state governor's request. The bill ensures that if a tribal government's direct request is denied, the tribe can still receive assistance through a state's request for the same fire incident. The President would be required to issue regulations within one year specifying how the Federal Emergency Management Agency will process tribal requests and establishing procedures that account for the unique conditions affecting tribal governments.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
1 cosponsor
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Sharice Davids’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $243,550
- UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS $13,893
- DENTONS US LLP $12,650
- BYRNE PELOFSKY + ASSOCIATES LLC $11,350
- BARKLEY $10,700
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Sharice Davids → · Outside spending →
Actions (3)
- Jun 13, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. · house
- Jun 12, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. · house
- Jun 12, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2025
Ms. Davids of Kansas (for herself and Mr. Johnson of South Dakota) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to provide certain fire management assistance to Indian Tribal Governments, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT ELIGIBILITY.
(a) In General.—Section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting “, Indian Tribal Government,” before “or local government”;
(2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) as subsections (c) through (f), respectively;
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
“(b) Procedure for Request.—The Governor of a State or the Chief Executive of an Indian Tribal Government affected by a fire described in subsection (a) may directly submit a request to authorize assistance under this section.”; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
“(g) Savings Provision.—Nothing in this section shall prohibit an Indian Tribal Government from receiving assistance under this section pursuant to an authorization made at the request of a State under subsection (b) if assistance is not authorized under this section for the same incident based on a request by the Indian Tribal Government under subsection (b).”.
(b) Regulations.—
(1) Update.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall issue regulations updating part 204 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, to carry out the amendments made by subsection (a).
(2) Contents.—In issuing the regulations required under paragraph (1), the President shall—
(A) authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to directly receive a request for a fire management assistance declaration from an Indian Tribal Government and directly provide related grants and resources to Indian Tribal Governments;
(B) clarify that Indian Tribal Governments for which the President does not grant a request described in subparagraph (A) remain eligible to receive assistance under section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) through assistance granted under a fire management assistance declaration made at the request of a State;
(C) consider the unique conditions that affect the general welfare of Indian Tribal Governments; and
(D) enter into government-to-government consultation with Indian Tribal Governments regarding the regulations.
(3) Fire management assistance declaration defined.—In this subsection, the term “fire management assistance declaration” means a declaration approved under section 204.21(a) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations. <all>
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