ACERO Act

Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations Act or the ACERO Act

This bill provides statutory authority for the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project. The ACERO project conducts research and development activities regarding aerial response to wildfires using uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and other advanced aviation technologies. It is administered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 

The bill directs the ACERO project to address airspace management and deconfliction during wildfire response efforts, including through real-time information sharing among response teams and the development of a platform to provide situational awareness of aerial assets. The bill also directs the ACERO project to establish a multiagency concept of operations to facilitate the coordination of aerial wildfire response among federal, state, and local government agencies. NASA must consult with other federal agencies and departments to avoid duplication of these efforts. 

NASA generally may not procure UAS manufactured or assembled by specified foreign entities, including entities domiciled in or controlled by China, for use by the ACERO project.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 390 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 390

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 14, 2025

Mr. Fong (for himself and Ms. McClellan) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To utlitize 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 to improve aerial responses to wildfires.
    (b) Goals.--The research and development activities conducted under 
subsection (a) shall, to the extent practicable, address 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 assessment of the effectiveness of such activities 
        in preventing injuries and loss of life, protecting property, 
        and reducing economic damage.
            (4) An identification of any topics related to improvement 
        of aerial responses to wildfires that could benefit from 
        further research.
            (5) A description of any continuing efforts under this 
        section.
            (6) Any other information determined appropriate by the 
        Administrator.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 to carry out this 
section.
    (g) 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.
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