Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Introduced
In Committee
On Floor
Passed Chamber
Enacted
This bill, known as the Wildfire Smoke Relief Act, aims to provide crucial assistance to individuals affected by unhealthy air quality resulting from wildfires. It expands the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program to address this specific environmental hazard. The legislation authorizes the President to provide support to qualified entities , including state and local governments, to procure and distribute smoke-inhalation prevention equipment. This equipment encompasses items like portable air filtration units, air filters, N95 respirators, and low-cost materials such as weather stripping to improve indoor air quality. Furthermore, for individuals at risk of wildfire smoke-related illness where equipment alone is insufficient, the bill mandates the provision of cost-efficient transitional shelter assistance. An "individual at risk" is defined as someone living in an area with at least three consecutive days of unhealthy air quality who is low-income, a parent of a child under 19, pregnant, 65 or older, or has chronic respiratory, cardiovascular, or other smoke-exacerbated illnesses.
This bill, known as the Wildfire Smoke Relief Act, aims to provide crucial assistance to individuals affected by unhealthy air quality resulting from wildfires. It expands the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program to address this specific environmental hazard. The legislation authorizes the President to provide support to qualified entities , including state and local governments, to procure and distribute smoke-inhalation prevention equipment. This equipment encompasses items like portable air filtration units, air filters, N95 respirators, and low-cost materials such as weather stripping to improve indoor air quality. Furthermore, for individuals at risk of wildfire smoke-related illness where equipment alone is insufficient, the bill mandates the provision of cost-efficient transitional shelter assistance. An "individual at risk" is defined as someone living in an area with at least three consecutive days of unhealthy air quality who is low-income, a parent of a child under 19, pregnant, 65 or older, or has chronic respiratory, cardiovascular, or other smoke-exacerbated illnesses.