Bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) to bolster aerial wildfire suppression efforts via excess military aircraft and parts passed the U.S. House of Representatives on June 3 and is on its way to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
“This legislation is a huge step in mitigating the impacts of wildfires and gives our firefighters the tools they need to keep our communities safe,” Rep. Newhouse said. “Utilizing the Department of Defense’s excess aircraft gives aerial firefighters an upper hand while leveraging the assets we already have at our disposal.”
Rep. Newhouse on Feb. 4 sponsored the Aerial Firefighter Enhancement Act of 2025, H.R. 956, alongside U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA), which is the companion bill to the same-named S. 160 introduced in January by U.S. Sens. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) that passed the House on Tuesday after being approved in April by the U.S. Senate.
The legislation, which is supported by 10 Tanker Air Carrier, Billings Flying Service, and Firehawk Helicopters, will amend the Wildfire Suppression Aircraft Transfer Act of 1996 to reauthorize the sale of aircraft and parts by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for wildfire suppression, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Newhouse’s office.
The bill also will reauthorize the U.S. Defense Secretary to sell excess DOD aircraft and aircraft parts, which are acceptable for commercial sale, to persons or entities that contract with the government for the delivery of fire retardants or water by air to suppress wildfires, as long as the aircraft and parts are used only for wildfire suppression, the summary says.