The record

LegislationLegislation· Feb 2026
HR 390 Passed House — in Senate

Sponsored by Vince Fong (R)

ACERO Act

Authorizes NASA to lead research on using uncrewed aircraft to fight wildfires.

Tradeoff

Funds NASA wildfire-response research and requires coordination across federal, state, and local agencies. Bars procurement of drones from Chinese-controlled entities unless the administrator waives it for national interest.

What's in it

See official bill text

Costs less than $500,000 over 2026-2031 for annual reporting requirements; research and development conducted within existing NASA resources.

The $500,000 federal cost is only for NASA's annual reporting to Congress; the bill's actual impact is regulatory — it directs NASA to conduct wildfire research (already underway) and restricts procurement of unmanned aircraft from adversarial nations, with enforcement costs absorbed within NASA's existing budget.

H.R. 390, ACERO Act · Feb 2026

Passed the House by on February 23, 2026 — sitting in the Senate.

  1. House

    Introduced

    (Jan 14, 2025)

  2. House

    Committee on Science, Space, and Technology(Jan 14, 2025)

  3. House

    The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology voted to send it to the floor

    Reported 34 - 0(Jun 11, 2025)

    Committee report H. Rept. 119-501.

  4. House

    Passage of the bill

    Passed by (Feb 23, 2026)

    No individual votes were recorded.

  5. Senate

    Received from the House

    on Commerce, Science, and Transportation(Feb 24, 2026)