Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) and Vice Chair Dan Newhouse (WA-04) celebrated passage of S. 160, the Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025. Vice Chair Newhouse introduced the House companion legislation.
“During peak wildfire season, Western Caucus Members strongly support boosting all available assets to combat these disasters,” said Chairman LaMalfa. “Aerial firefighting is an essential part of our wildland firefighting toolkit, and it’s important to allow greater flexibility in procuring parts to keep the firefighting fleet in the air. This bill will directly lead to improved State and local aerial firefighting mission capabilities, thus decreasing wildfire risk and increasing public safety. I would like to thank Vice Chair Newhouse for his leadership on this legislation.”
“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,” said Vice Chair Newhouse. “Utilizing the Department of Defense’s excess aircraft gives aerial firefighters an upper hand while leveraging the assets we already have at our disposal. I thank Senator Sheehy from Montana for his leadership as we send this legislation to the president’s desk.”
This bill amends the Wildfire Suppression Aircraft Transfer Act of 1996 by reauthorizing, through Fiscal Year 2035, a provision to allow the Department of Defense to sell aircraft and parts for wildfire suppression activities.
