The Wildfire Homeowner Relief Act directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the feasibility of creating a federal program to buy homes from willing sellers in high-risk wildfire areas, either before disasters occur or after they've happened. The study would examine how existing federal buyout programs (currently used mainly for flood-prone areas) could be adapted for wildfires, identify which federal agency should manage such a program, and make recommendations on how purchased land should be used afterward—with consideration for differences between rural and urban communities and between wealthy and disadvantaged areas. The GAO must also develop a national database of existing property buyouts and create a methodology for identifying which wildfire-threatened areas would benefit most from the program. The bill requires the GAO to submit its findings and recommendations to Congress within 12 months, including analysis of the program's potential costs and economic impacts, but does not appropriate funding or establish an actual buyout program itself.
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