H.R. 369 would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to research standards for coordinating public safety efforts among wildland firefighters, fire response officials, and member agencies of the National Interagency Fire Center. NIST also would need to research how to improve existing systems that facilitate communication between such officials and firefighters and report to the Congress on how to improve coordination standards among such groups. Finally, the bill would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to the Congress on the extent to which member agencies have implemented the published recommendations.
The bill would allocate $3 million from amounts made available to NIST for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to implement the bill’s requirements. Assuming the availability of appropriated funds and based on historical spending patterns for similar activities, CBO estimates that it would cost the agency $14 million over the 2024-2028 period to implement H.R. 369. In addition, CBO estimates it would cost GAO less than $500,000 to complete the required report; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
