[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2272 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 205
118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2272

                          [Report No. 118-97]

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 12, 2023

  Ms. Sinema (for herself, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Daines, Mr. 
Padilla, and Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill; which was read 
     twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                          Governmental Affairs

                           September 11, 2023

               Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Wildland Firefighter 
Paycheck Protection Act of 2023''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY FOR WILDLAND 
              FIREFIGHTERS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5332 the 
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland 
              firefighters</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) the term `firefighter' means an employee 
        who--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) is a firefighter within the meaning 
                of section 8331(21) or section 8401(14);</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) the term `wildland firefighter' means a 
        firefighter--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) who is employed by the Forest 
                Service or the Department of the Interior; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Special Base Rates of Pay.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) replace the otherwise applicable 
                General Schedule base rate for the wildland 
                firefighter;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) be basic pay for all purposes, 
                including the purpose of computing a locality-based 
                comparability payment under section 5304 or 5304a; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) be computed as described in 
                paragraph (2) and adjusted at the time of adjustments 
                in the General Schedule.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Computation.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) For GS-1, 42 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) For GS-2, 39 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) For GS-3, 36 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) For GS-4, 33 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(v) For GS-5, 30 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(vi) For GS-6, 27 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(vii) For GS-7, 24 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(viii) For GS-8, 21 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ix) For GS-9, 18 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(x) For GS-10, 15 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(xi) For GS-11, 12 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(xii) For GS-12, 9 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(xiii) For GS-13, 6 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(xiv) For GS-14, 3 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(xv) For GS-15, 1.5 
                        percent.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland 
                            firefighters.''.
<DELETED>    (c) Prevailing Rate Employees.--Section 5343 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(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.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. WILDLAND FIRE INCIDENT RESPONSE PREMIUM PAY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Subchapter V of chapter 55 of title 5, 
United Sates Code, is amended by inserting after section 5545b the 
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees 
              engaged in wildland firefighting</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) the term `appropriate committees of 
        Congress' means--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 
                and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                Resources of the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) the Committee on Agriculture, 
                Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) the Committee on Appropriations of 
                the Senate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) the Committee on Oversight and 
                Accountability of the House of 
                Representatives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(F) the Committee on Agriculture of the 
                House of Representatives;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(G) the Committee on Natural Resources 
                of the House of Representatives; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(H) the Committee on Appropriations of 
                the House of Representatives;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) the term `covered employee' means an 
        employee of the Forest Service or the Department of the 
        Interior who is--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) a wildland firefighter, as defined 
                in section 5332a(a); or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) the term `incident response premium pay' 
        means pay to which a covered employee is entitled under 
        subsection (c);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) the term `qualifying incident'--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) means--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) a wildfire incident, a 
                        prescribed fire incident, or a severity 
                        incident; or</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) does not include an initial response 
                incident that is contained within 36 hours; 
                and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Eligibility.--A covered employee is eligible for 
incident response premium pay under this section if--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) the covered employee is deployed to respond 
        to a qualifying incident; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) the deployment described in paragraph (1) 
        is--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) outside of the official duty station 
                of the covered employee; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Entitlement to Incident Response Premium Pay.--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Computation.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Limitation.--Premium pay under this 
                subsection may not be paid--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) to a covered employee in a 
                        total amount that exceeds $9,000 in any 
                        calendar year.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) Adjustments.--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(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).</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Treatment of Incident Response Premium Pay.--
Incident response premium pay under this section--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) is not considered part of the basic pay of a 
        covered employee for any purpose;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) may not be used in determining pay under 
        section 8114 (relating to compensation for work 
        injuries);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Additional Premium Pay Amendments.--Subchapter V of 
chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in section 5544--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) by amending the section heading to 
                read as follows: ``wage-board overtime, sunday rates, 
                and other premium pay''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) by adding at the end the 
                following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(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--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) is employed by the Forest Service or the 
        Department of the Interior; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2)(A) is a wildland firefighter, as defined in 
        section 5332a(a); or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in section 5547(a), in the matter preceding 
        paragraph (1), by inserting ``5545c,'' after 
        ``5545a,''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Clerical Amendments.--The table of sections for 
subchapter V of chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by amending the item relating to section 5544 
        to read as follows:</DELETED>

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

<DELETED>``5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees engaged 
                            in wildland firefighting.''.
<DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. REST AND RECUPERATION LEAVE FOR EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN 
              WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 63 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>``Sec. 6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees 
              engaged in wildland firefighting</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) the term `applicable Secretary' means the 
        Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior, as 
        applicable to a covered employee;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) the term `covered employee' means an 
        employee of the Forest Service or the Department of the 
        Interior who--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) the term `qualifying incident' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 5545c(a).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Rest and Recuperation Leave.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Content of policies.--The policies 
        prescribed under paragraph (2) may include--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) a maximum period of days in which a 
                covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying 
                incident, which shall--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) be followed by a minimum 
                        number of days of rest and recuperation for the 
                        covered employee; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Use of Leave.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--Rest and recuperation leave 
        granted under this section--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) shall be used during scheduled hours 
                within the tour of duty of the applicable covered 
                employee established for leave-charging 
                purposes;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) shall be paid in the same manner as 
                annual leave;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) shall be used immediately after a 
                qualifying incident; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) may not be set aside for later 
                use.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) No payment.--A covered employee may not 
        receive any payment for unused rest and recuperation leave 
        granted under this section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Intermittent Work Schedule.--A covered employee with 
an intermittent work schedule--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) shall receive a payment as if the covered 
        employee were entitled to rest and recuperation leave under 
        subsection (b).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (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:</DELETED>

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

<DELETED>SEC. 5. TRANSFER AUTHORITY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    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).</DELETED>

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 relate 
                primarily to wildland fires, as opposed to structure 
                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 shall not apply to the positions 
described in such section 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 
                (including an initial attack fire) in which a wildfire 
                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--
                            ``(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, shall 
                        be paid at the daily rate established under 
                        subparagraph (A) for the applicable rate for 
                        step 10 of GS-10 (where the applicable rate is 
                        the rate in effect in the same locality that is 
                        the basis for a locality-based comparability 
                        payment payable to the covered employee under 
                        section 5304); and
                            ``(ii) may not be paid 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 the lump-sum 
        payment of a covered employee for accumulated and accrued 
        annual leave under section 5551 or section 5552;
            ``(3) may not be used in determining pay under section 
        8114;
            ``(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, in the 
        sole and exclusive discretion of the Secretaries acting 
        jointly, 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).
                                                       Calendar No. 205

118th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 2272

                          [Report No. 118-97]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 11, 2023

                       Reported with an amendment