S 4654 United States Senate · 118th Congress

Fire Management Assistance Grants for Tribal Governments Act

This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act to allow federally recognized tribal governments to directly apply for federal fire management grants, which previously required state government requests. It creates a new process where tribal leaders (not just state governors) can submit requests for assistance after wildfires, and requires FEMA to update regulations within 360 days to implement this change. The regulations must let FEMA accept direct tribal applications, clarify that tribes remain eligible for state-authorized assistance if their direct request is denied, and include tribal consultation. This directly affects tribes managing wildfire response by giving them independent access to federal funding for fire prevention and recovery efforts.
Sub-Topics: Natural Disasters Forestry Tags: Tribal Nations Emergency Management
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jul 2024
Committee Review
Nov 2024
Senate Passage
Dec 2024
House Passage
President
Introduced Jul 10, 2024 Last action Dec 18, 2024
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced in Senate → Engrossed in Senate · 1 edit · Dec 17, 2024
MINOR
The Senate engrossed version of S 4654 made a single technical change: it replaced '360 days' with '1 year' as the deadline for the President to issue regulations updating part 204 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations. This extends the regulatory deadline by approximately five days and is a minor drafting clarification rather than a substantive policy shift.
TIMELINE

The deadline for the President to issue implementing regulations was changed from 'not later than 360 days after the date of enactment' to 'not later than 1 year after the date of enactment,' extending the window by roughly five days.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate. No roll call record of that vote is available.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
10
Key actions
4
Committee
3
Dec 17, 2024
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7095; text: CR S7095)
upper
Dec 17, 2024
Upper · Passed
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
upper
Nov 12, 2024
Upper · Passed
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Peters with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 118-237.
upper
Jul 31, 2024
Upper · Passed
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
upper
Jul 10, 2024
Committee
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
upper
Jul 10, 2024
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors