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Read the latest policy update from Neil Simpson, CWSF/WFLC Director of Policy. This month’s policy update covers: 

• Senate Farm Bill Discussion Draft Released
• Office of Management and Budget Proposed Rule Changes for Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements 
• Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act Passes the House and Senate
• Wildfire Smoke Emergency Declaration Act Introduced in the House and Senate
• Legislation Introduced to Support Rural Water Infrastructure for Wildfire Purposes
• Reauthorization of the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund Passes Senate Committee
• Legislation Introduced to Streamline Oil and Gas Permitting on Federal Lands

Senate Farm Bill Discussion Draft Released

In a June 23, 2026 press release, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) announced the release of a discussion draft of the Agricultural Act of 2026, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill. This follows the passage of H.R. 7576, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act, which passed the House in May. 

The bill includes numerous forestry provisions, including creating a Blue Ribbon Panel for the USDA Forest Service (Forest Service) Forest Inventory and Analysis program, increasing the size of certain categorical exclusions for Forest Service projects, and providing flexible funding for the implementation of State Forest Action Plans. 

View a section-by-section summary.

View the bill text.

Office of Management and Budget Proposed Rule Changes for Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements

In the May 29, 2026 Federal Register, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a proposed rule to revise Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations related to federal grants and cooperative agreements. OMB’s stated purpose for the proposed rulemaking is to “improve transparency, accountability, and oversight for federal awards.” 

The wide-ranging proposal would reclassify 2 CFR Part 200 from its current status as guidance to a binding OMB regulation and make over 300 distinct rule changes across government-wide parts of 2 CFR (1, 25, 170, 175, 176, 180, 182, 183, and 200) and agency-specific rule changes in parts 300 through 6600.

The changes in 2 CFR 200 are likely to affect the broadest range of federal grant recipients and cooperators. A few key changes propose to:

• 2 CFR 200.201 - Eliminate fixed-award grants unless specifically authorized by statute.
• 2 CFR 200.204 - Clarify that funding opportunities may allow for open competition, limited competition, or selection on a non-competitive basis, depending upon the authorizing law(s). Regardless of the competitive category, there must be a public Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for all discretionary awards. 
• 2 CFR 200.205 - Strengthen the merit review process and require a senior appointee within each federal agency to review awards to ensure they “advance the President’s policy priorities,” among other criteria. 
• 2 CFR 200.322 - Require all federal awards to “maximize the use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States.” 
• 2 CFR 200.329-332 - Increase Sam.gov reporting requirements for subawards and pass-through entities. 
• 2 CFR 200.340 - Expand the federal agencies' authority to terminate an award for noncompliance, and when a federal agency “determines that a termination is in the interest of the federal agency or pass-through entity, including if a federal award does not effectuate program goals, Federal agency priorities, or the national interest.”
• 2 CFR 200.421 - Specify that all advertising and public relations costs are unallowable unless specifically authorized in statute.
• 2 CFR 200.432 - Specify that costs for attending conferences are only allowable if approved and included in terms of the grant or cooperative agreement. 
• 2 CFR 200.454 - Require prior approval of all memberships, subscriptions, and professional activity costs and limit those costs to only those which are necessary to fulfill the award requirements.
• 2 CFR 200.461 - Make publication costs unallowable unless such costs are expressly required by statute or approved in advance by the federal agency on a case-by-case basis.

Comments are due by July 13, 2026, and must be submitted via regulations.gov Docket # OMB-2026-0034. 

Additional Resources

Federal Funds Information for States Issue Brief

Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act Passes the House and Senate 

The Cross-Boundary Wildfire Solutions Act has passed both the House and Senate. H.R. 3922, sponsored by Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO), passed the House by voice vote on June 2, 2026, and S. 2033, sponsored by Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), passed the Senate by unanimous consent on June 11, 2026. 

The companion bills direct the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study and provide Congress with a report identifying federal programs, rules, and authorities that enable or inhibit the completion of cross-boundary wildfire mitigation work, and identifying changes that could increase capacity or funding for cross-boundary wildfire mitigation.

The Senate version is being held at the desk in the House, and the House version has been placed on the Senate calendar, signaling that either one of the identical bills could quickly pass the other chamber and be sent to the President for signature. 

Wildfire Smoke Emergency Declaration Act Introduced in the House and Senate

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Congressman Josh Harder (D-CA) have introduced the Wildfire Smoke Emergency Declaration Act in their respective chambers. 

The bill would:

• Authorize the President to declare a smoke emergency in any state when there is a “significant decrease in air quality due to wildland fire smoke” or when such a decrease in air quality is expected.
• Allow Governors to request the President declare a smoke emergency.
• Make assistance available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help states and local communities establish smoke shelters, deploy air purifiers, and expand air-quality monitoring sites during declared smoke emergencies. 
• Allow the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide grants to small businesses that suffer significant revenue losses due to wildfire smoke.

H.R. 9243 has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Committee on Small Business, and the Committee on the Budget. S. 4732 is co-sponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Alex Padilla (D-CA). It has been referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 

View the press release from Senator Merkley.

Legislation Introduced to Support Rural Water Infrastructure for Wildfire Purposes

Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and John Curtis (R-UT), along with a bipartisan group of six other co-sponsors, have introduced the Firefighting Infrastructure for Rural and Exurban Smaller Municipalities Augmenting Residential Fuels Treatments Act of 2026 (FIRE SMART Act).

The FIRE SMART Act would require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to amend the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund regulations. Currently, the regulations prohibit projects that are “primarily needed for fire suppression.” The bill would change the regulations to authorize the “enhancement of water infrastructure for fire suppression in a rural area in communities at high risk from fire or wildfire.” 

View Senator Padilla’s press release with links to the bill text, summary, and details of the changes to the Code of Federal Regulations.

Reauthorization of the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund Passes Senate Committee

S. 1547, the America the Beautiful Act, sponsored by Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 66 Senators, passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee by a unanimous voice vote. 

The bill reauthorizes the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund through 2031. The fund utilizes revenue from energy development on federal lands and waters to provide $1.9 billion annually for deferred maintenance on public lands. The bill also includes provisions to expand public-private partnerships and reforms to increase transparency, prioritize projects, and establish clear reporting requirements. 

House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-CA) have introduced a companion bill, H.R. 9250, titled the Great American Outdoors Act 250. The Committee will markup the bill at 10:30 a.m. ET on June 24. 

View the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Statement.

View the House Committee on Natural Resources Statement. 

Legislation Introduced to Streamline Oil and Gas Permitting on Federal Lands

Wyoming Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) have introduced S. 4765, the Let America Build Act of 2026.

The bill generally seeks to speed up federal permitting and increase state oversight and regulatory authority for energy projects on federal lands. It would simplify National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews for new coal leases, clarify the scope of environmental impacts that must be analyzed under NEPA, and simplify the processes required to export liquefied natural gas. It would also authorize “Cooperative Federalism in Oil and Gas Permitting on Available Federal Land,” allowing the Secretary of the Interior to delegate to states the authority to:

• Issue permits for drilling on federal land.
• Approve drilling plans on federal land.
• Perform compliance and regulatory enforcement for oil and gas drilling on federal land.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, of which Majority Whip Barrasso is a member.