Fire Department Repayment Act of 2025

House Bill

H.R. 345

119th Congress

Fire Department Repayment Act of 2025

Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.

Introduced:Jan 22, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Darren Soto

Representative

Democratic

FL-9

Cosponsors

9

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary

This bill establishes standard operating procedures for reciprocal fire suppression cost share agreements between federal and local governments. The Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Homeland Security, and Defense must create payment timelines and review existing agreements within one year. Federal agencies must reimburse local fire departments that submit proper invoices, ensuring timely payment for wildfire suppression assistance.

Latest Action

Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill establishes standard operating procedures for reciprocal fire suppression cost share agreements between federal and local governments. The Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Homeland Security, and Defense must create payment timelines and review existing agreements within one year. Federal agencies must reimburse local fire departments that submit proper invoices, ensuring timely payment for wildfire suppression assistance.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Fire Department Repayment Act of 2025This bill requires standard operating procedures for reciprocal fire suppression cost share agreements, which are agreements between federal, state, and local governments to share the costs of suppressing wildfires that occur across multiple jurisdictions. The Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, Homeland Security, and Defense must establish standard operating procedures relating to payment timelines for fire suppression cost share agreements established under the Reciprocal Fire Protection Act. The departments must also review each agreement that is in operation within a year of this bill's enactment and modify an agreement as necessary to comply with the standard operating procedures.The standard operating procedures must require that (1) each fire suppression cost share agreement be aligned with each of the cooperative fire protection agreements applicable to the entity subject to such fire suppression cost share agreement, and (2) the federal paying entity reimburse a local fire department if the fire department submits an invoice in accordance with cost settlement procedures.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Establishes standard procedures for fire suppression cost sharing
Requires payment timeline standards across agencies
Mandates review of existing agreements within one year
Guarantees reimbursement for compliant local fire department invoices
Aligns cost share with cooperative fire protection agreements

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

Local fire departments often struggle to recover costs when assisting with federal wildfire response. This bill addresses payment delays and inconsistent procedures that can strain local department budgets. Standardized timelines and guaranteed reimbursement for proper invoices provide financial certainty for departments that mutual aid federal firefighting efforts.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Public Lands and Natural Resources

Related Subjects

Fires

First responders and emergency personnel

State and local government operations

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

345, 119th Congress (2025). "Fire Department Repayment Act of 2025". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-345