[Senate Report 117-119]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 401
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-119
_______________________________________________________________________
WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER FAIR PAY ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 138
TO WAIVE CERTAIN PAY LIMITATIONS FOR DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE AND DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR EMPLOYEES
ENGAGED IN EMERGENCY WILDLAND FIRE SUPPRESSION
ACTIVITIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
June 9, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
29-010 WASHINGTON : 2022
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia RICK SCOTT, Florida
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Devin M. Parsons, Professional Staff Member
Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 401
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-119
======================================================================
WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER FAIR PAY ACT
_______
June 9, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 138]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 138) to waive
certain pay limitations for Department of Agriculture and
Department of the Interior employees engaged in emergency
wildland fire suppression activities, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment (in the nature of a substitute) and recommends that
the bill, as amended, do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
III. Legislative History.............................................. 3
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported............. 4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................. 4
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
S. 138, the Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act, establishes
a pay waiver for federal firefighters at the Departments of
Agriculture and the Interior which ensures that firefighters
receive pay for all the overtime hours they work through
calendar year 2022. The waiver also applies to incident
meteorologists in the National Weather Service who accompany
firefighters in responding to wildfire emergencies. The bill
requires each agency head to submit to Congress by March 30,
2022 a plan for hiring and training additional wildland
firefighters and incident meteorologists. The bill also
requires the plan to determine ways to modernize firefighter
compensation to eliminate the need for such waivers going
forward.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION
The size, spread, and danger posed by wildfires in the
United States is worsening and intensifying.\1\ Fires,
including some of the largest wildfires in the history of the
United States, have engulfed millions of acres of wildlands
over the past decade, causing extensive property damage and
loss of life.\2\ Over the past 60 years, the top three highest
amounts of acreage lost due to wild fires occurred in or after
2015. In 2020 alone, the country saw over 10.1 million acres
burned.\3\ In 2021, the United States set a record for the
longest span of days in which the country remained at the two
most severe Fire Preparedness Levels, Levels 4 and 5. The
nation reached Fire Preparedness Level 4 early, in June 2021,
and stayed at either Level 4 or 5 for 99 consecutive days.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\See, e.g., Wildfires are Intensifying. Here's Why, and What Can
be Done, New York Times (July 16, 2021) (www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/
climate/wildfires-smoke-safety-questions.html).
\2\See, e.g., NASA Earthdata, Wildfires (earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/
toolkits/wildfires) (accessed Dec. 16, 2021); National Interagency
Coordination Center, Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics Annual Report
2020, at 7-8 (2021); Congressional Research Service, Wildfire
Statistics (IF10244) (July 15, 2021).
\3\Congressional Research Service, Wildfire Statistics (IF10244)
(Oct. 4, 2021) (www.crs.gov/reports/pdf/IF10244).
\4\House Subcommittee on Natural Parks, Forests, and Public Lands,
Testimony Submitted for the Record of Jeffery Rupert, Director of
Office of Wildland Fire, U.S. Department of the Interior, Hearing on
Wildland Firefighter Workforce Reforms (Oct. 27, 2021) (H. Hrg. 117-
XX).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal firefighters play a critical role in responding to
wildfire emergencies. There are approximately 14,500 wildland
firefighters employed by the Department of Agriculture who
manage the wildfire response across a 193-acre National Forest
System.\5\ The 5,000 wildland firefighters employed by the
Department of the Interior carry out wildfire responses across
400 million acres of national parks, wildlife refuges and
preserves, other public lands, and Indian reservations.\6\ In
addition, approximately 80 incident meteorologists employed by
the National Weather Service accompany deployed wildland
firefighters to provide critical weather information that
influences the behavior and severity of wildfires, such as
temperature, humidity, and wind speed.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Agriculture Secretary
Tom Vilsack: Secretaries Haaland and Vilsack Announce Implementation of
New Pay Initiatives for Wildland Firefighters (Release No. 0181.21)
(Aug. 17, 2021) (www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/08/17/
secretaries-haaland-and-vilsack-announce-implementation-new-pay); and
Congressional Research Service, Federal Assistance for Wildfire
Response and Recovery (IF10732) (Aug. 6, 2021) (www.crs.gov/reports/
pdf/IF10732).
\6\Id.
\7\Production from National Weather Service Employees Organization
(copy on file with Committee).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As fire seasons have lengthened and intensified, wildland
firefighters have worked increasingly longer shifts and a
greater number of days.\8\ However, when federal wildland fire
professionals hit their annual pay limit, they must make the
unfair decision either to stop taking wildfire assignments or
to work without overtime pay for the rest of the year.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\Letter from Randy L. Erwin, National Federation of Federal
Employees, to Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Portman (Nov. 1,
2021).
\9\Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
Statement Submitted for the Record of Senator Dianne Feinstein,
Business Meeting (Nov. 3, 2021) (S. Hrg. 117-XX).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title 5 of United States Code sets the limit on the total
amount of combined basic pay and premium pay that federal fire
response personnel can receive.\10\ The pay is capped either at
the maximum rate of pay for a GS 15 position or at the rate
paid for a level V position of the Executive Schedule,
whichever is greater.\11\ In 2021, this equated to a cap of
$161,700.\12\ The Departments of Agriculture and the Interior
estimate that around 500 federal firefighters have been in the
position of hitting the pay limitation given recent wildfire
demands, projected to continue into 2022.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\5 U.S.C. Sec. 5547.
\11\Id.
\12\Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table No. 2021-EX
(www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-
tables/pdf/2021/EX.pdf) (accessed Dec. 16, 2021).
\13\Statement Submitted for the Record of Senator Dianne Feinstein,
supra note 9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In September 2021, Congress passed and the President signed
into law, the Extending Government Funding and Delivering
Emergency Assistance Act. This legislation contains provisions
to address the wildland firefighter pay cap issue for calendar
year 2021 by establishing a waiver to the title 5 pay
limitation.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency
Assistance Act, Pub. L. 117-43, Sec. 1701 (2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act will extend the pay
cap waiver through calendar year 2022, and applies the waiver
to federal incident meteorologists, who are dispatched to
wildfires. The bill also requires the relevant Departments to
submit a plan to Congress on how to address this issue long-
term. The plan must include a more comprehensive strategy for
hiring and training additional wildland firefighters and
incident meteorologists, as well as a compensation model that
guarantees sufficient firefighting resources each year without
the use of pay cap waivers.
III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced S. 138, the
Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act, on January 28, 2021. The
bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs on January 28, 2021. Senator Alex Padilla
(D-CA) joined as a cosponsor on March 16, 2021, and Senators
Steve Daines (R-MT) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined as cosponsors
on April 19, 2021.
The Committee considered S. 138 at a business meeting on
November 3, 2021. During the business meeting, Senator Padilla
offered a substitute amendment that made significant changes to
the underlying text, including setting an expiration date for
the pay cap waiver at the end of calendar year 2022 and
requiring the affected agencies to submit a plan to Congress
with recommendations for a longer term solution. Senators Rosen
and Padilla offered an amendment to include National Weather
Service incident meteorologists in the pay cap wavier. The
Padilla substitute amendment was adopted by unanimous consent
and the Rosen-Padilla amendment was adopted by voice vote, with
Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff,
Portman, Johnson, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley present.
The bill, as amended, was ordered reported favorably by voice
vote, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla,
Ossoff, Portman, Johnson, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley
present.
IV. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title of the bill as the
``Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act.''
Sec. 2. Waiver of premium pay limitations for Department of
Agriculture, Department of the Interior, and National Weather
Service employees engaged in emergency wildland fire
suppression activities
Subsection (a) defines the terms ``basic pay,'' ``covered
employee,'' ``covered services,'' ``premium pay,'' ``relevant
committees,'' and ``Secretary concerned'' in the context of
this section.
Subsection (b) establishes a waiver of the pay limitation
for covered wildland firefighting services in calendar year
2022. It includes a directive to disregard premium pay for
covered services when calculating the aggregate of basic pay
and premium pay for the purposes of the pay limitation under
section 5547 of title 5, United States Code, or any other
provision of current law. The bill sets a new, higher cap for
total premium pay under this subsection at level II of the
Executive Schedule. In 2021, this would equate to $199,300.
Subsection (c) requires a submission of a plan to the
relevant committees in Congress no later than March 30, 2022.
The plan must address the needs of the Department of
Agriculture, Department of the Interior, and the National
Weather Service to hire and train additional wildland
firefighters and incident meteorologists and modernize their
compensation so that pay cap waivers are not necessary going
forward.
V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or privatesector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, May 27, 2022.
Hon. Gary Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 138, the Wildland
Firefighter Fair Pay Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani
Shankaran.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 138 would exempt wildland firefighters, meteorologists,
and incident management teams working in the Forest Service,
the Department of the Interior, and the National Weather
Service from premium pay limitations for work related to
wildfire emergencies conducted in calendar year 2022. That is,
the bill would increase the pay those federal employees could
receive. S. 138 also would direct the affected agencies to
submit a plan to the Congress that addresses the hiring and
training of wildland firefighters.
For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be
enacted near the end of fiscal year 2022. As a result, any
additional pay under this bill would be disbursed in fiscal
year 2023.
Public Law 117-103, the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2022, increased the pay cap for firefighters within the Forest
Service and Department of the Interior for calendar year 2022.
Because of the small number of employees that would be
affected, CBO estimates that extending the waiver to eligible
National Weather Service employees and completing the required
plan would have insignificant costs; any spending would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani
Shankaran. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Because S. 138 would not repeal or amend any provision of
current law, it would make no changes in existing law within
the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12 of rule XXVI
of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
[all]