I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 390
To utlitize the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response to Operations
project of NASA to improve aerial responses to wildfires, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY14, 2025
Mr. F
ONG(for himself and Ms. MCCLELLAN) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
A BILL
To utlitize the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Re-
sponse to Operations project of NASA to improve aerial
responses to wildfires, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Capabilities 4
for Emergency Response Operations Act’’ or the ‘‘ACERO 5
Act’’. 6
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•HR 390 IH
SEC. 2. ADVANCED CAPABILITIES FOR EMERGENCY RE-1
SPONSE OPERATIONS. 2
(a) I
NGENERAL.—The Administrator shall leverage 3
NASA-developed tools and technologies to conduct re-4
search and development activities under the Advanced Ca-5
pabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) 6
project to improve aerial responses to wildfires. 7
(b) G
OALS.—The research and development activities 8
conducted under subsection (a) shall, to the extent prac-9
ticable, address the following: 10
(1) Advanced aircraft technologies and airspace 11
management efforts to assist in the management, 12
deconfliction, and coordination of aerial assets dur-13
ing wildfire response efforts. 14
(2) Information sharing and real-time data ex-15
change for wildfire response teams. 16
(3) Development of an interoperable platform to 17
provide situational awareness of aerial assets during 18
wildfire response. 19
(4) Establishment of a multi-agency concept of 20
operations, which may involve Federal, State, and 21
local government agencies, to enable coordination of 22
aerial activities for wildfire response. 23
(c) C
OLLABORATION.—In carrying out this section, 24
the Administrator— 25
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•HR 390 IH
(1) may coordinate and collaborate with other 1
Federal, State, and local government agencies, re-2
gional organizations, and commercial partners and 3
academic institutions involved in wildfire manage-4
ment; and 5
(2) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 6
consult with the heads of other Federal departments 7
and agencies to avoid duplication of activities. 8
(d) P
ROHIBITION.— 9
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 10
subsection, the Administrator may not procure an 11
unmanned aircraft system to conduct activities de-12
scribed in this section if such unmanned aircraft sys-13
tem is manufactured or assembled by a covered for-14
eign entity. 15
(2) E
XEMPTION.—The Administrator may 16
waive the prohibition under paragraph (1) on a case- 17
by-case basis if the Administrator— 18
(A) determines that the procurement of an 19
unmanned aircraft system is— 20
(i) in the national interest of the 21
United States; and 22
(ii) necessary for the sole purpose of 23
improving aerial responses to wildfires; and 24
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•HR 390 IH
(B) notifies the Committee on Science, 1
Space, and Technology of the House of Rep-2
resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 3
Science, and Transportation of the Senate not 4
later than 30 days after a determination in the 5
affirmative under subparagraph (A). 6
(e) A
NNUALREPORTS.—Not later than one year 7
after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually 8
thereafter until December 31, 2030, the Administrator 9
shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space and 10
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Com-11
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 12
Senate a report describing the activities, including results, 13
carried out pursuant to this section. Each such report, at 14
minimum, shall contain the following: 15
(1) A description of any research and develop-16
ment activities. 17
(2) A description of the Administrator’s activi-18
ties pursuant to subsection (c). 19
(3) An assessment of the effectiveness of such 20
activities in preventing injuries and loss of life, pro-21
tecting property, and reducing economic damage. 22
(4) An identification of any topics related to 23
improvement of aerial responses to wildfires that 24
could benefit from further research. 25
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•HR 390 IH
(5) A description of any continuing efforts 1
under this section. 2
(6) Any other information determined appro-3
priate by the Administrator. 4
(f) A
UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 5
authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for fiscal year 6
2026 to carry out this section. 7
(g) D
EFINITIONS.—In this section: 8
(1) A
DMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-9
trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 10
Aeronautics and Space Administration. 11
(2) C
OVERED FOREIGN ENTITY .—The term 12
‘‘covered foreign entity’’ has the meaning given such 13
term in section 1822 of the National Defense Au-14
thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 15
118–31). 16
(3) NASA.—The term ‘‘NASA’’ means the Na-17
tional Aeronautics and Space Administration. 18
(4) U
NMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM .—The term 19
‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ has the meaning given 20
such term in section 44801 of title 49, United 21
States Code. 22
Æ
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