H.R. 6903: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.

117th Congress · introduced 2022-03-02 · Agriculture and Food · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2022-03-02 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-4] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.

Plain summary

This bill sets out requirements for wildfire suppression and management activities carried out by the Forest Service. Within 24 hours of detecting a wildfire on Forest Service land, the service must use (to the maximum extent practicable) all available resources to extinguish the wildfire. Additionally, the service may not inhibit the firefighting activities of state and local agencies that are authorized to respond to wildfires on Forest Service land. Further, the service may not initiate a backfire or burnout as part of a fire suppression strategy unless ordered by the responsible incident commander and must control any initiated fire until it is extinguished. An individual who is harmed by an improperly initiated or controlled backfire or burnout may sue the United States. The bill also limits the service's use of prescribed fires (i.e., the controlled application of fire by a team of experts under specified weather conditions to restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire). The service must comply with all applicable laws and regulations concerning prescribed fires and must immediately suppress (to the maximum extent practicable) a prescribed fire that exceeds its prescription.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out activities to suppress wildfires, and for other purposes.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-4] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-4] reported raising $1.3 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117hr6903.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/hr>

Record fed-us-cong117-hr6903 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117