H.R. 390

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 390 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 390

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 24, 2026

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To utilize the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response to 
Operations project of NASA to improve aerial responses to wildfires, 
and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Advanced Capabilities for Emergency 
Response Operations Act'' or the ``ACERO Act''.

SEC. 2. ADVANCED CAPABILITIES FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE OPERATIONS.

(a) In General.--The Administrator shall leverage NASA-developed 
tools and technologies to conduct research and development activities 
under the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations 
(ACERO) project, or appropriate successor project or projects, to 
improve aerial responses to wildfires.
(b) Goals.--The research and development activities conducted under 
subsection (a) may include the following:
(1) Advanced aircraft technologies and airspace management 
efforts to assist in the management, deconfliction, and 
coordination of aerial assets during wildfire response efforts.
(2) Information sharing and real-time data exchange for 
wildfire response teams.
(3) Development of an interoperable platform to provide 
situational awareness of aerial assets during wildfire 
response.
(4) Establishment of a multi-agency concept of operations, 
which may involve Federal, State, and local government 
agencies, to enable coordination of aerial activities for 
wildfire response.
(c) Collaboration.--In carrying out this section, the 
Administrator--
(1) may coordinate and collaborate with other Federal, 
State, and local government agencies, regional organizations, 
and commercial partners and academic institutions involved in 
wildfire management; and
(2) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, consult with 
the heads of other Federal departments and agencies to avoid 
duplication of activities.
(d) Prohibition.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in this subsection, the 
Administrator may not procure an unmanned aircraft system to 
conduct activities described in this section if such unmanned 
aircraft system is manufactured or assembled by a covered 
foreign entity.
(2) Exemption.--The Administrator may waive the prohibition 
under paragraph (1) on a case-by-case basis if the 
Administrator--
(A) determines that the procurement of an unmanned 
aircraft system is--
(i) in the national interest of the United 
States; and
(ii) necessary for the sole purpose of 
improving aerial responses to wildfires; and
(B) notifies the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate not later than 30 days after a determination 
in the affirmative under subparagraph (A).
(e) Annual Reports.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter until December 31, 2030, 
the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space and 
Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report describing 
the activities, including results, carried out pursuant to this 
section. Each such report, at minimum, shall contain the following:
(1) A description of any research and development 
activities.
(2) A description of the Administrator's activities 
pursuant to subsection (c).
(3) An identification of any topics related to improvement 
of aerial responses to wildfires that could benefit from 
further research.
(4) A description of any continuing efforts under this 
section.
(5) Any other information determined appropriate by the 
Administrator.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration.
(2) Covered foreign entity.--The term ``covered foreign 
entity'' has the meaning given such term in section 1822 of the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public 
Law 118-31).
(3) NASA.--The term ``NASA'' means the National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration.
(4) Unmanned aircraft system.--The term ``unmanned aircraft 
system'' has the meaning given

such term in section 44801 of title 49, United States Code.

Passed the House of Representatives February 23, 2026.

Attest:

KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

Clerk.