[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5169 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5169

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for special base rates 
       of pay for wildland firefighters, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 8, 2023

  Mr. Neguse (for himself, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Porter, 
    Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer, Mr. Harder of California, and Mr. C. Scott 
Franklin of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
 to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to 
 the Committees on Natural Resources, and Agriculture, for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for special base rates 
       of pay for wildland firefighters, 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 ``Wildland Firefighter Paycheck 
Protection Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5332 the following:
``Sec. 5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `firefighter' means an employee who--
                    ``(A) is a firefighter within the meaning of 
                section 8331(21) or section 8401(14);
                    ``(B) in the case of an employee who holds a 
                supervisory or administrative position and is subject 
                to subchapter III of chapter 83, but who does not 
                qualify to be considered a firefighter within the 
                meaning of section 8331(21), would otherwise qualify if 
                the employee had transferred directly to that position 
                after serving as a firefighter within the meaning of 
                that section;
                    ``(C) in the case of an employee who holds a 
                supervisory or administrative position and is subject 
                to chapter 84, but who does not qualify to be 
                considered a firefighter within the meaning of section 
                8401(14), would otherwise qualify if the employee had 
                transferred directly to that position after performing 
                duties described in section 8401(14)(A) for at least 3 
                years; or
                    ``(D) in the case of an employee who is not subject 
                to subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84, holds a 
                position that the Office of Personnel Management 
                determines would satisfy subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) 
                if the employee were subject to subchapter III of 
                chapter 83 or chapter 84;
            ``(2) the term `General Schedule base rate' means an annual 
        rate of basic pay established under section 5332 before any 
        additions, such as a locality-based comparability payment under 
        section 5304 or 5304a or a special rate supplement under 
        section 5305;
            ``(3) the term `special base rate' means an annual rate of 
        basic pay payable to a wildland firefighter, before any 
        additions or reductions, that replaces the General Schedule 
        base rate otherwise applicable to the wildland firefighter and 
        that is administered in the same manner as a General Schedule 
        base rate; and
            ``(4) the term `wildland firefighter' means a firefighter--
                    ``(A) who is employed by the Forest Service or the 
                Department of the Interior; and
                    ``(B) the duties of the position of whom primarily 
                relate to fires occurring in forests, range lands, or 
                other wildlands, as opposed to structural fires.
    ``(b) Special Base Rates of Pay.--
            ``(1) Entitlement to special rate.--Notwithstanding section 
        5332, a wildland firefighter is entitled to a special base rate 
        at grades 1 through 15, which shall--
                    ``(A) replace the otherwise applicable General 
                Schedule base rate for the wildland firefighter;
                    ``(B) be basic pay for all purposes, including the 
                purpose of computing a locality-based comparability 
                payment under section 5304 or 5304a; and
                    ``(C) be computed as described in paragraph (2) and 
                adjusted at the time of adjustments in the General 
                Schedule.
            ``(2) Computation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The special base rate for a 
                wildland firefighter shall be derived by increasing the 
                otherwise applicable General Schedule base rate for the 
                wildland firefighter by the following applicable 
                percentage for the grade of the wildland firefighter 
                and rounding the result to the nearest whole dollar:
                            ``(i) For GS-1, 42 percent.
                            ``(ii) For GS-2, 39 percent.
                            ``(iii) For GS-3, 36 percent.
                            ``(iv) For GS-4, 33 percent.
                            ``(v) For GS-5, 30 percent.
                            ``(vi) For GS-6, 27 percent.
                            ``(vii) For GS-7, 24 percent.
                            ``(viii) For GS-8, 21 percent.
                            ``(ix) For GS-9, 18 percent.
                            ``(x) For GS-10, 15 percent.
                            ``(xi) For GS-11, 12 percent.
                            ``(xii) For GS-12, 9 percent.
                            ``(xiii) For GS-13, 6 percent.
                            ``(xiv) For GS-14, 3 percent.
                            ``(xv) For GS-15, 1.5 percent.
                    ``(B) Hourly, daily, weekly, or biweekly rates.--
                When the special base rate with respect to a wildland 
                firefighter is expressed as an hourly, daily, weekly, 
                or biweekly rate, the special base rate shall be 
                computed from the appropriate annual rate of basic pay 
                derived under subparagraph (A) in accordance with the 
                rules under section 5504(b).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter III 
of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 5332 the following:

``5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters.''.
    (c) Prevailing Rate Employees.--Section 5343 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g)(1) For a prevailing rate employee described in section 
5342(a)(2)(A) who is a wildland firefighter, as defined in section 
5332a(a), the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior 
(as applicable) shall increase the wage rates of that employee by an 
amount (determined at the sole and exclusive discretion of the 
applicable Secretary after consultation with the other Secretary) that 
is generally consistent with the percentage increases given to wildland 
firefighters in the General Schedule under section 5332a.
    ``(2) An increased wage rate under paragraph (1) shall be basic pay 
for the same purposes as the wage rate otherwise established under this 
section.
    ``(3) An increase under this subsection may not cause the wage rate 
of an employee to increase to a rate that would produce an annualized 
rate in excess of the annual rate for level IV of the Executive 
Schedule.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on 
or after October 1, 2023.
    (e) Applicability.--Notwithstanding section 40803(d)(4)(B) of the 
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(d)(4)(B)), the 
salary increase in such section 40803(d)(4)(B) shall not apply to the 
positions described in such section 40803(d)(4)(B) for service 
performed on or after the effective date described in subsection (d) of 
this section.

SEC. 3. WILDLAND FIRE INCIDENT RESPONSE PREMIUM PAY.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter V of chapter 55 of title 5, United 
Sates Code, is amended by inserting after section 5545b the following:
``Sec. 5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees engaged in 
              wildland firefighting
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `appropriate committees of Congress' means--
                    ``(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
                    ``(B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
                of the Senate;
                    ``(C) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                Forestry of the Senate;
                    ``(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                Senate;
                    ``(E) the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
                of the House of Representatives;
                    ``(F) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
                Representatives;
                    ``(G) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
                House of Representatives; and
                    ``(H) the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
                of Representatives;
            ``(2) the term `covered employee' means an employee of the 
        Forest Service or the Department of the Interior who is--
                    ``(A) a wildland firefighter, as defined in section 
                5332a(a); or
                    ``(B) certified by the applicable agency to perform 
                wildland fire incident-related duties during the period 
                that employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying 
                incident;
            ``(3) the term `incident response premium pay' means pay to 
        which a covered employee is entitled under subsection (c);
            ``(4) the term `prescribed fire incident' means a wildland 
        fire originating from a planned ignition in accordance with 
        applicable laws, policies, and regulations to meet specific 
        objectives;
            ``(5) the term `qualifying incident'--
                    ``(A) means--
                            ``(i) a wildfire incident, a prescribed 
                        fire incident, or a severity incident; or
                            ``(ii) an incident that the Secretary of 
                        Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior 
                        determines is similar in nature to an incident 
                        described in clause (i); and
                    ``(B) does not include an initial response incident 
                that is contained within 36 hours; and
            ``(6) the term `severity incident' means an incident in 
        which a covered employee is pre-positioned in an area in which 
        conditions indicate there is a high risk of wildfires.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--A covered employee is eligible for incident 
response premium pay under this section if--
            ``(1) the covered employee is deployed to respond to a 
        qualifying incident; and
            ``(2) the deployment described in paragraph (1) is--
                    ``(A) outside of the official duty station of the 
                covered employee; or
                    ``(B) within the official duty station of the 
                covered employee and the covered employee is assigned 
                to an incident-adjacent fire camp or other designated 
                field location.
    ``(c) Entitlement to Incident Response Premium Pay.--
            ``(1) In general.--A covered employee who satisfies the 
        conditions under subsection (b) is entitled to premium pay for 
        the period in which the covered employee is deployed to respond 
        to the applicable qualifying incident.
            ``(2) Computation.--
                    ``(A) Formula.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and 
                (C), premium pay under paragraph (1) shall be paid to a 
                covered employee at a daily rate of 450 percent of the 
                hourly rate of basic pay of the covered employee for 
                each day that the covered employee satisfies the 
                requirements under subsection (b), rounded to the 
                nearest whole cent.
                    ``(B) Limitation.--Premium pay under this 
                subsection may not be paid--
                            ``(i) with respect to a covered employee 
                        for whom the annual rate of basic pay is 
                        greater than that for step 10 of GS-10, at a 
                        daily rate that exceeds the daily rate 
                        established under subparagraph (A) for step 10 
                        of GS-10; or
                            ``(ii) to a covered employee in a total 
                        amount that exceeds $9,000 in any calendar 
                        year.
                    ``(C) Adjustments.--
                            ``(i) Assessment.--The Secretary of 
                        Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior 
                        shall assess the difference between the average 
                        total amount of compensation that was paid to 
                        covered employees, by grade, in fiscal years 
                        2023 and 2024.
                            ``(ii) Report.--Not later than 180 days 
                        after the date that is 1 year after the 
                        effective date of this section, the Secretary 
                        of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
                        Interior shall jointly publish a report on the 
                        results of the assessment conducted under 
                        clause (i).
                            ``(iii) Administrative actions.--After 
                        publishing the report required under clause 
                        (ii), the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
                        Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with 
                        the Director of the Office of Personnel 
                        Management, may, in the sole and exclusive 
                        discretion of the Secretaries acting jointly, 
                        administratively adjust the amount of premium 
                        pay paid under this subsection (or take other 
                        administrative action) to ensure that the 
                        average annual amount of total compensation 
                        paid to covered employees, by grade, is more 
                        consistent with such amount that was paid to 
                        those employees in fiscal year 2023.
                            ``(iv) Congressional notification.--Not 
                        later than 3 days after an adjustment made, or 
                        other administrative action taken, under clause 
                        (iii) becomes final, the Secretary of 
                        Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior 
                        shall jointly submit to the appropriate 
                        committees of Congress a notification regarding 
                        that adjustment or other administrative action, 
                        as applicable.
    ``(d) Treatment of Incident Response Premium Pay.--Incident 
response premium pay under this section--
            ``(1) is not considered part of the basic pay of a covered 
        employee for any purpose;
            ``(2) may not be considered in determining a covered 
        employee's lump-sum payment for accumulated and accrued annual 
        leave under section 5551 or section 5552;
            ``(3) may not be used in determining pay under section 8114 
        (relating to compensation for work injuries);
            ``(4) may not be considered in determining pay for hours of 
        paid leave or other paid time off during which the premium pay 
        is not payable; and
            ``(5) shall be disregarded in determining the minimum wage 
        and overtime pay to which a covered employee is entitled under 
        the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et 
        seq.).''.
    (b) Additional Premium Pay Amendments.--Subchapter V of chapter 55 
of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 5544--
                    (A) by amending the section heading to read as 
                follows: ``wage-board overtime, sunday rates, and other 
                premium pay''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) A prevailing rate employee described in section 5342(a)(2)(A) 
shall receive incident response premium pay under the same terms and 
conditions that apply to a covered employee under section 5545c if that 
employee--
            ``(1) is employed by the Forest Service or the Department 
        of the Interior; and
            ``(2)(A) is a wildland firefighter, as defined in section 
        5332a(a); or
            ``(B) is certified by the applicable agency to perform 
        wildland fire incident-related duties during the period the 
        employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident (as 
        defined in section 5545c(a)).''; and
            (2) in section 5547(a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by inserting ``5545c,'' after ``5545a,''.
    (c) Clerical Amendments.--The table of sections for subchapter V of 
chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by amending the item relating to section 5544 to read 
        as follows:

``5544. Wage-board overtime, Sunday rates, and other premium pay.'';
        and
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 5545b 
        the following:

``5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees engaged in 
                            wildland firefighting.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on 
or after October 1, 2023.

SEC. 4. REST AND RECUPERATION LEAVE FOR EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN WILDLAND 
              FIREFIGHTING.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 63 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in 
              wildland firefighting
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `applicable Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior, as applicable 
        to a covered employee;
            ``(2) the term `covered employee' means an employee of the 
        Forest Service or the Department of the Interior who--
                    ``(A) qualifies as a wildland firefighter based on 
                the definitions of the terms `firefighter' and 
                `wildland firefighter' in section 5332a(a) (applying 
                the definition of `employee' in section 6301(2) in lieu 
                of the definition of `employee' in section 5331(a)); or
                    ``(B) is certified by the applicable Secretary to 
                perform wildland fire incident-related duties during 
                the period the employee is deployed to respond to a 
                qualifying incident; and
            ``(3) the term `qualifying incident' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 5545c(a).
    ``(b) Rest and Recuperation Leave.--
            ``(1) In general.--A covered employee may receive paid rest 
        and recuperation leave following the completion of service in 
        which the covered employee is deployed to respond to a 
        qualifying incident, subject to the policies prescribed under 
        this subsection.
            ``(2) Prescription of policies.--The Secretary of 
        Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall prescribe 
        uniform policies described in paragraph (1) after consulting 
        with the other applicable Secretary.
            ``(3) Content of policies.--The policies prescribed under 
        paragraph (2) may include--
                    ``(A) a maximum period of days in which a covered 
                employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying 
                incident, which shall--
                            ``(i) begin on the date on which the 
                        covered employee departs from the official duty 
                        station of the covered employee and end on the 
                        date on which the covered employee returns to 
                        the official duty station of the covered 
                        employee; and
                            ``(ii) be followed by a minimum number of 
                        days of rest and recuperation for the covered 
                        employee; or
                    ``(B) a requirement that prohibits a covered 
                employee from working more than 16 hours per day on 
                average over a 14-day period during which the covered 
                employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying 
                incident.
    ``(c) Use of Leave.--
            ``(1) In general.--Rest and recuperation leave granted 
        under this section--
                    ``(A) shall be used during scheduled hours within 
                the tour of duty of the applicable covered employee 
                established for leave-charging purposes;
                    ``(B) shall be paid in the same manner as annual 
                leave;
                    ``(C) shall be used immediately after a qualifying 
                incident; and
                    ``(D) may not be set aside for later use.
            ``(2) No payment.--A covered employee may not receive any 
        payment for unused rest and recuperation leave granted under 
        this section.
    ``(d) Intermittent Work Schedule.--A covered employee with an 
intermittent work schedule--
            ``(1) shall be excused from duty during the same period of 
        time that other covered employees in the same circumstances are 
        entitled to rest and recuperation leave; and
            ``(2) shall receive a payment as if the covered employee 
        were entitled to rest and recuperation leave under subsection 
        (b).''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
subchapter II of chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 6329d the following:

``6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland 
                            firefighting.''.

SEC. 5. TRANSFER AUTHORITY.

    Notwithstanding section 40803(c)(2) of the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(2)), not more than 
$5,000,000 of the unobligated balances of amounts made available under 
the heading ``wildland fire management'' under the heading ``Forest 
Service'' under the heading ``DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE'' in title VI 
of division J of that Act (Public Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 1410) pursuant 
to section 40803(c)(2)(B) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(2)(B)) may, as 
necessary to continue uninterrupted the Federal wildland firefighter 
base salary increase described in section 40803(d)(4)(B) of that Act 
(16 U.S.C. 6592(d)(4)(B)), be transferred to and merged with the 
amounts made available under the heading ``wildland fire management'' 
under the heading ``Department-wide Programs'' under the heading 
``DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR'' in title VI of division J of that Act 
(Public Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 1393).
                                 <all>