[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 135 (Friday, September 18, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H6142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              FEDERAL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER RECOGNITION ACT

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, this year, 8\1/2\ million acres so far 
have been consumed due to wildfire. This is approaching the record that 
we don't want to break of 10 million that happened in 2006.
  Recently, the Forest Service in this year's wildland fire season has 
spent $243 million just in the last week of August alone. We have 
30,000 American firefighters deployed, as well as hundreds from 
Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Despite this dedication, the 
current Federal firefighters are given erroneous job titles, such as 
wildland technician or forestry technician.
  H.R. 3363, the Federal Wildland Firefighter Recognition Act, would 
give them the proper title of wildland firefighters and allows those 
who risk their lives to be recognized properly and given the respect 
they deserve. Let's pass H.R. 3363 to give them their proper title.

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