[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 23848]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 23848]]

  NATIONAL FOREST AND PUBLIC LANDS OF NEVADA ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 1988 
                               AMENDMENTS

  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 439) to amend the National Forest and Public Lands of 
Nevada Enhancement Act of 1988 to adjust the boundary of the Toiyabe 
National Forest, Nevada, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                 S. 439

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

     SECTION 1. ADJUSTMENT OF BOUNDARY OF THE TOIYABE NATIONAL 
                   FOREST, NEVADA.

       Section 4(a) of the National Forest and Public Lands of 
     Nevada Enhancement Act of 1988 (102 Stat. 2750) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Effective'' and inserting ``(1) 
     Effective''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2) Effective on the date of enactment of this paragraph, 
     the portion of the land transferred to the Secretary of 
     Agriculture under paragraph (1) situated between the lines 
     marked `Old Forest Boundary' and `Revised National Forest 
     Boundary' on the map entitled `Nevada Interchange ``A'', 
     Change 1', and dated September 16, 1998, is transferred to 
     the Secretary of the Interior.''.

     SEC. 2. OVERTIME PAY FOR CERTAIN FIREFIGHTERS.

       (a) In General.--Section 5542(a) of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), for an 
     employee of the Department of the Interior or the United 
     States Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture 
     engaged in emergency wildland fire suppression activities, 
     the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal to one and 
     one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay of the employee, 
     and all that amount is premium pay.''.
       (b) 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 the end of the 30-day period 
     beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall 
     apply only to funds appropriated after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) and the gentleman from California (Mr. George 
Miller) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Senate 439 would amend the National Forest and Public 
Lands of Nevada Enhancement Act to adjust a boundary of the Toiyabe 
National Forest in Nevada, thereby transferring the jurisdiction of the 
land from the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the 
Interior. This legislation has local support, as well as support from 
the administration. Senate 439 was favorably reported by the full 
committee on June 7, 2000, by voice vote.
  Senate 439, as amended, also includes the Wildland Fire Firefighters 
Pay Equity Act of 1999, introduced by the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Pombo). One of the problems faced during the catastrophic fire 
season of 2000 was a shortage of properly trained fire fighting crews. 
This language will go far to address this particular problem by 
allowing fire fighters to earn the standard time-and-a-half overtime 
rate for time spent fighting fires, regardless of their pay base.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask all Members to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill, S. 439, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill, as amended, was 
passed.
  The title of the Senate bill was amended so as to read:
  ``A bill to amend the National Forest and Public Lands of Nevada 
Enhancement Act of 1988 to adjust the boundary of the Toiyabe National 
Forest, Nevada, and to amend chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, 
to authorize equal overtime pay provisions for all Federal employees 
engaged in wildland fire suppression operations.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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