Latest news with #AerialFirefightingEnhancementAct
E&E News
4 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
House OKs bill to sell military aircraft to fight wildfires
The House approved legislation Tuesday allowing the Department of Defense to sell aircraft and parts for wildfire suppression, sending the bill on to President Donald Trump for signature. The 'Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act,' S. 160, would reauthorize a program letting the Pentagon sell the items to companies that contract with the government for aerial firefighting. It passed the House on a voice vote, having already passed the Senate in April. Chief sponsors included Sens. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-Calif.) and Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.). Advertisement In a news release, Newhouse called the bill a 'huge step' in mitigating wildfires and added, 'Utilizing the Department of Defense's excess aircraft gives aerial firefighters an upper hand while leveraging the assets we already have at our disposal.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Heinrich, Vasquez bill meant to boost aerial firefighting passes Congress
Jun. 3—Led by a New Mexico senator and congressman, bipartisan legislation that would allow the Department of Defense to sell excess aircraft and aircraft parts to be used for wildfire suppression is headed to the president's desk after sailing through the House on Tuesday. With the president's signature, the legislation could help aerial firefighting companies experiencing shortages in airplane parts, including those based in New Mexico. Several legislators from western states, including New Mexico, Washington, Montana, Arizona and California, were vocal supporters of the bill. Catastrophic wildfires in the West have displaced communities and cost cities millions in recent years, most prominently the Los Angeles fires in January, which killed at least 29. "This lifesaving authority protects our aerial firefighters and also brings in revenue from military aircraft that are not needed," said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., after he called for a suspension of the rules, so the House could vote on the bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the legislation will reduce government spending by less than $500,000. Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., introduced the Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act in the Senate, where it passed unanimously in April. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., authored the bill in the House. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., were both cosponsors. An Albuquerque-based aerial firefighting company, 10 Tanker Air Carrier, could directly benefit from the bill, Vasquez said. "They currently don't have a sufficient supply of spare engines and aircraft parts. In particular, there's a shortage of brakes for some of their existing aircraft," Vasquez said. From 1996 until 2005, DOD had permission to sell its excess aircraft or aircraft parts to people or entities that contract with the government to fight wildfires from the air at a fair market value, as long as the plane parts are used only for wildfire suppression. The authority was reauthorized from 2012 to 2017, then lapsed again. Why it lapsed, Vasquez said he could only guess at. Since the authority lapsed, taxpayer-owned aircraft parts that the Defense Department no longer needed were being turned into scrap, Vasquez said. He believes President Donald Trump is likely to sign the bill. "I urge the president to immediately sign the Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act, which is urgently needed to expand the operations of very large air tankers that have proven absolutely essential to firefighters battling large wildfires in New Mexico and across the West," Heinrich said in a statement. Very large air tankers are able to deliver 9,400 gallons of fire retardant at once, and the U.S. Forest Service manages contracts for the airtankers, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. "When we send hotshot crews into a hot, burning fire in places like the Gila National Forest or the Carson or anywhere else across the state, they need that aerial support," Vasquez said.
E&E News
6 days ago
- General
- E&E News
Aerial firefighting bill may soon become law
The House plans to vote this week on bipartisan legislation that seeks to bolster aerial firefighting. S. 160, the 'Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act,' from Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), passed the Senate by unanimous consent in April. House passage this week would send it to the White House for President Donald Trump's signature. The bill would reauthorize until 2035 a program that allows the Department of Defense to sell excess aircraft and parts to fight wildfires. Authorization for the program lapsed in 2017. Advertisement Sheehy, who unseated Democrat Jon Tester last year, founded an aerial firefighting company. The bill is co-sponsored by Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. Senate passes Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich (D) and a local company are praising the passage of a bill to keep firefighting planes in the skies. The United States Senate cleared the Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act, which reauthorizes the Defense Department to sell excess planes to be used as suppression tankers, as well as aircraft parts to maintain fleets. Rio Rancho neighbors push back against golf course redevelopment plans The bill reauthorizes an earlier act passed back in 1996, but that lapsed in 2005 and again in 2017. Joel Kerley, the owner of Albuquerque-based 10 Tanker, said airplane parts are in short supply right now. 'We need parts and pieces to keep these airplanes going, and the world market has completely dried up. There is nothing available for us to replace engines, thrust reversers, landing gears, things like that,' said Kerley. Sen. Heinrich said, 'We knew we couldn't wait on a couple of years for a bureaucratic process to work its way out. We want all of these tools in the toolbox for this fire season.' The bill now heads to the House for its approval. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
