The House plans to vote this week on bipartisan legislation that seeks to bolster aerial firefighting.
S. 160, the “Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act,” from Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), passed the Senate by unanimous consent in April. House passage this week would send it to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature.
The bill would reauthorize until 2035 a program that allows the Department of Defense to sell excess aircraft and parts to fight wildfires. Authorization for the program lapsed in 2017.
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Sheehy, who unseated Democrat Jon Tester last year, founded an aerial firefighting company. The bill is co-sponsored by Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).
