H.R. 5777 — National Fire Academy RESCUE Act

This section requires the FEMA Administrator to reimburse fire departments for covered expenses (i.e., travel and backfill costs such as staffing adjustments and overtime) related to covered courses or activities (i.e., in-person on- or off-campus courses or programs, virtual courses or programs, or in-person on-campus conferences or symposia offered by the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control) cancelled during or as a result of a lapse in appropriations for FEMA. (As background, the academy, established under 15 U.S.C. 2206, trains fire service personnel in fire prevention, inspection, firefighting, investigation, command, management, aircraft fire control, and crash rescue.) Fire department chiefs must submit an itemized application within 30 days after the lapse ends, and reimbursements must occur no later than 90 days after the later of the lapse's end or receipt of the itemization, excluding cancellations for good cause (e.g., facility closure unrelated to the lapse, instructor illness or unavailability, or national emergency impeding access).