United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 10 R · 8 D cosponsors

HR 956 — Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025

Last action — Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 04, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 18 sponsors

    1 primary, 17 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (10 R · 8 D) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025This bill reauthorizes the Department of Defense to sell its excess aircraft and aircraft parts that are acceptable for commercial sale for wildfire suppression purposes. Such authority begins October 1, 2025, and ends October 1, 2035.The bill also provides that such aircraft may be used to deliver water by air in order to suppress wildfire (the previous authority only provided for the delivery of fire retardant).The bill removes the previous limitation on providing international wildfire suppression assistance with such purchased aircraft.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

5 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill modifies and reauthorizes the sale of aircraft and parts for wildfire suppression, impacting the existing regulation of surplus military equipment sales.

  • 10 U.S.C. 2576 note

    a period → the period

    Clarifies the timing related to the sale of aircraft.

  • 10 U.S.C. 2576 note

    sold under subsection (a) → sold under subsection (a) may be used only for the provision of aircraft services for wildfire suppression purposes.

    Limits the use of sold aircraft to wildfire suppression services.

  • 10 U.S.C. 2576 note

    fire retardant → fire retardant or water

    Expands the material that can be dropped from aircraft to include water.

  • 10 U.S.C. 2576 note

    subsection (a)(1) → subsection (g)

    Updates the reference from one subsection to another for clarity in sales authority.

  • 10 U.S.C. 2576 note

    subsection (g) → (g) Period for Exercise of Authority.--The period specified in this subsection is the period beginning on October 1, 2025, and ending on October 1, 2035.

    Establishes a defined time frame for the authority to sell aircraft.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  4. Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  5. Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

  6. Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 17 co-sponsors · 529 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (17)

Not signed on (529)

529 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 529 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety environment veterans transportation
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 956 do?
Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025This bill reauthorizes the Department of Defense to sell its excess aircraft and aircraft parts that are acceptable for commercial sale for wildfire suppression purposes. Such authority begins October 1, 2025, and ends October 1, 2035.The bill also provides that such aircraft may be used to deliver water by air in order to suppress wildfire (the previous authority only provided for the delivery of fire retardant).The bill removes the previous limitation on providing international wildfire suppression assistance with such purchased aircraft.
Who sponsors HR 956?
HR 956 is sponsored by Newhouse, Dan (Republican), Ellzey, Jake (Republican), Carbajal, Salud O. (Democratic), Vasquez, Gabe (Democratic), Zinke, Ryan K. (Republican), Fulcher, Russ (Republican), Bentz, Cliff (Republican), Jacobs, Sara (Democratic), Stansbury, Melanie A. (Democratic), Simpson, Michael K. (Republican), Cisneros, Gilbert Ray (Democratic), Harder, Josh (Democratic), Downing, Troy (Republican), Valadao, David G. (Republican), Biggs, Andy (Republican), LaMalfa, Doug (Republican), Vindman, Eugene Simon (Democratic), and Whitesides, George (Democratic).
What is the current status of HR 956?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 04, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HR 956?
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Last checked for changes 2 months ago · updated continuously

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