[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 26, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2561-S2563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DAINES (for himself and Ms. Cantwell):
  S. 950. A bill to correct problems pertaining to human resources for 
career and volunteer personnel engaged in wildland fire and structure 
fire; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 950

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Wildland 
     Firefighter Fairness Act''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Single qualification and certification system.
Sec. 3. Personnel flexibility relating to the Robert T. Stafford 
              Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
Sec. 4. Extension of service limits for seasonal hires.
Sec. 5. Civil service retention rights.
Sec. 6. Computation of pay.

     SEC. 2. SINGLE QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION SYSTEM.

       (a) Merging 2 Systems.--The Secretary of the Interior and 
     the Secretary of Agriculture shall work with States and the 
     Workforce Development Committee of the National Wildfire 
     Coordinating Group to merge the Incident Qualification System 
     and the Incident Qualification and Certification System into 
     a single system by September 30, 2025.
       (b) Elimination of Bureau Add-On Requirements.--On and 
     after October 1, 2021, the Secretary of the Interior and the 
     Secretary of Agriculture may not require a person to 
     demonstrate additional competencies to obtain, make use of, 
     or maintain a qualification or certification for a fire 
     position, regardless of which jurisdictional agency employs 
     the person.

     SEC. 3. PERSONNEL FLEXIBILITY RELATING TO THE ROBERT T. 
                   STAFFORD DISASTER RELIEF AND EMERGENCY 
                   ASSISTANCE ACT.

       (a) Definition of Time-Limited Appointment.--Section 9601 
     of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking 
     paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
       ``(2) the term `time-limited appointment' includes--
       ``(A) a temporary appointment and a term appointment, as 
     defined by the Office of Personnel Management;
       ``(B) an appointment pursuant to section 306(b)(1) of the 
     Robert T. Stafford Disaster

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     Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)); 
     and
       ``(C) an appointment pursuant to subtitle E of title I of 
     the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     12611 et seq.).''.
       (b) Competitive Service; Time-Limited Appointments.--
     Section 9602 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) as 
     subsections (d) through (g), respectively;
       (2) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
     (1)--
       (A) by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting 
     ``Appointments to Land Management Agencies.--
     Notwithstanding''; and
       (B) by inserting ``described in section 9601(2)(A)'' after 
     ``time-limited appointment'';
       (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
       ``(b) Appointments Under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
     Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.--Notwithstanding chapter 
     33 or any other provision of law relating to the examination, 
     certification, and appointment of individuals in the 
     competitive service--
       ``(1) an employee appointed under the authority described 
     in section 9601(2)(B) and serving under a full-time, time-
     limited appointment is eligible to compete for a permanent 
     appointment in the competitive service at the Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency or any other agency (as defined 
     in section 101 of title 31) under the internal merit 
     promotion procedures of the applicable agency if--
       ``(A) the employee has served under 1 or more time-limited 
     appointments for at least 2 years without a break in service; 
     and
       ``(B) the performance of the employee has been at an 
     acceptable level of performance throughout the 1 or more 
     time-limited appointment periods referred to in subparagraph 
     (A); and
       ``(2) an employee appointed under the authority described 
     in section 9601(2)(B) and serving under an intermittent, 
     time-limited appointment is eligible for a permanent 
     appointment in the competitive service at the Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency or any other agency (as defined 
     in section 101 of title 31) under the internal merit 
     promotion procedures of the applicable agency if--
       ``(A) the employee has served under 1 or more time-limited 
     appointments;
       ``(B) the employee has been deployed at least 522 days;
       ``(C) the employee has not declined any deployments while 
     in an `available' status; and
       ``(D) the performance of the employee has been at an 
     acceptable level of performance throughout the 1 or more 
     time-limited appointments referred to in subparagraph (A).
       ``(c) Appointments Under the National and Community Service 
     Act of 1990.--
       ``(1) Definition of employee.--Notwithstanding section 
     160(a) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 
     U.S.C. 12620(a)), in this subsection, the term `employee' 
     includes individuals appointed under subtitle E of title I of 
     that Act (42 U.S.C. 16211 et seq.).
       ``(2) Competition for permanent appointment.--
     Notwithstanding chapter 33 or any other provision of law 
     relating to the examination, certification, and appointment 
     of individuals in the competitive service, a member of the 
     National Civilian Community Corps appointed under subtitle E 
     of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 
     (42 U.S.C. 12611 et seq.) who serves 2 consecutive terms is 
     eligible to compete for a permanent appointment in the 
     competitive service at the Federal Emergency Management 
     Agency or any other agency (as defined in section 101 of 
     title 31) under the internal merit promotion procedures 
     during the 2-year period beginning on the date of the 
     expiration of the appointment under section 160(a) of the 
     National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     12620(a)), if the performance of the employee has been at an 
     acceptable level of performance throughout the period.'';
       (4) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)), 
     by striking ``In determining'' and inserting ``Waiver of Age 
     Requirements.--In determining'';
       (5) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)), 
     by striking ``An individual'' and inserting ``Tenure and 
     Status.--An individual'';
       (6) in subsection (f) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)), 
     in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking ``A former'' and inserting ``Former 
     Employees.--A former''; and
       (B) by inserting ``or the Federal Emergency Management 
     Agency'' after ``management agency''; and
       (7) in subsection (g) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)), 
     by striking ``The Office'' and inserting ``Regulations.--The 
     Office''.

     SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF SERVICE LIMITS FOR SEASONAL HIRES.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section--
       (1) the term ``covered Secretary'' means--
       (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and
       (B) the Secretary of Agriculture;
       (2) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office 
     of Personnel Management; and
       (3) the term ``pilot program'' means the pilot program 
     established under subsection (b).
       (b) Pilot Program.--The Director shall establish a pilot 
     program for seasonal or temporary Federal employees, the 
     duties of which primarily involve being a firefighter.
       (c) Expansion of Service Year Limitations.--Under the pilot 
     program, each covered Secretary may expand a service year 
     limitation to enable a seasonal firefighter to be employed 
     for a period that exceeds 1,040 hours in a given year if the 
     covered Secretary determines the expansion to be necessary to 
     stage fire crews earlier or later in a year to accommodate 
     longer fire seasons.
       (d) Standards.--The Director, in cooperation with each 
     covered Secretary, shall establish standards and guidelines 
     for the pilot program.
       (e) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which 
     the pilot program is established, the Director shall submit a 
     report that describes the use and impact of the pilot program 
     to--
       (1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the 
     Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
     the Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on 
     Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (f) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the 
     date that is 5 years after the date on which the pilot 
     program is established.

     SEC. 5. CIVIL SERVICE RETENTION RIGHTS.

       Section 8151 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
       ``(b) Regulations.--
       ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
       ``(A) the term `covered employee' means an employee who--
       ``(i) served in a position in the Forest Service or the 
     Department of the Interior as a wildland firefighter; and
       ``(ii) sustained an injury while in the performance of 
     duty, as determined by the Director of the Office of 
     Personnel Management, that prevents the employee from 
     performing the physical duties of a firefighter;
       ``(B) the term `equivalent position' includes a position 
     for a covered employee that--
       ``(i) allows the covered employee to receive the same 
     retirement benefits under subchapter III of chapter 83 or 
     chapter 84 that the covered employee would have received in 
     the former position had the covered employee not been injured 
     or disabled; and
       ``(ii) does not require the covered employee to complete 
     any more years of service than the covered employee would 
     have been required to complete to receive the benefits 
     described in clause (i) had the covered employee not been 
     injured or disabled; and
       ``(C) the term `firefighter' has the meaning given the term 
     in section 8331.
       ``(2) Regulations.--Under regulations issued by the Office 
     of Personnel Management--
       ``(A) the department or agency that was the last employer 
     shall immediately and unconditionally accord the employee, if 
     the injury or disability has been overcome within 1 year 
     after the date of commencement of compensation or from the 
     time compensable disability recurs if the recurrence begins 
     after the injured employee resumes regular full-time 
     employment with the United States, the right to resume the 
     former position of the employee or an equivalent position, as 
     well as all other attendant rights that the employee would 
     have had, or acquired, in the former position of the employee 
     had the employee not been injured or disabled, including the 
     rights to tenure, promotion, and safeguards in reductions-in-
     force procedures;
       ``(B) the department or agency that was the last employer 
     shall, if the injury or disability is overcome within a 
     period of more than 1 year after the date of commencement of 
     compensation, make all reasonable efforts to place, and 
     accord priority to placing, the employee in the former 
     position of the employee or an equivalent position within the 
     department or agency, or within any other department or 
     agency; and
       ``(C) a covered employee who was injured during the 20-year 
     period ending on the date of enactment of the Wildland 
     Firefighter Fairness Act may not receive the same retirement 
     benefits described in paragraph (1)(B)(ii) unless the covered 
     employee first makes a payment to the Forest Service or the 
     Department of the Interior, as applicable, equal to the 
     amount that would have been deducted from pay under section 
     8334 or 8442, as applicable, had the covered employee not 
     been injured or disabled.''.

     SEC. 6. COMPUTATION OF PAY.

       (a) In General.--Section 8114 of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(e) Overtime.--
       ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `covered 
     overtime pay' means pay received by an employee who serves in 
     a position in the Forest Service or the Department of the 
     Interior as a wildland firefighter while engaged in wildland 
     fire suppression activity.
       ``(2) Overtime.--The value of subsistence and quarters, and 
     of any other form of remuneration in kind for services if its 
     value can be estimated in money, and covered overtime pay and 
     premium pay under section 5545(c)(1) of this title are 
     included as part of the pay, but account is not taken of--
       ``(A) overtime pay;
       ``(B) additional pay or allowance authorized outside the 
     United States because of differential in cost of living or 
     other special circumstances; or
       ``(C) bonus or premium pay for extraordinary service 
     including bonus or pay for particularly hazardous service in 
     time of war.''.

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       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on October 1, 2019.

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