[Senate Report 118-97]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 205
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-97
_______________________________________________________________________
WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER PAYCHECK PROTECTION ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 2272
TO AMEND TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, TO PROVIDE
FOR SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
September 11, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
39-010 WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
ALEX PADILLA, California RICK SCOTT, Florida
JON OSSOFF, Georgia JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
Devin M. Parsons, Professional Staff Member
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 205
118th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-97
======================================================================
WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER PAYCHECK PROTECTION ACT
_______
September 11, 2023.--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. 2272]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 2272), to amend
title 5, United States Code, to provide for special base rates
of pay for wildland firefighters, 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.............................................. 5
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported............. 6
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................. 8
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 9
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported........... 11
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 2272, the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act
of 2023, addresses an impending pay cliff for federal wildland
firefighters at the end of fiscal year 2023, when certain
enhanced pay provisions within the bipartisan Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) expire. This bill establishes a
new pay scale for wildland firefighters at all grade levels,
which would factor into their retirement calculations. In
addition, the bill requires the Department of Agriculture's
Forest Service (the Forest Service) and the Department of the
Interior (DOI) to distribute daily pay supplements to employees
working on long-duration wildfires, prescribed fires, and
severity incidents. The bill further establishes rest and
recuperation leave for employees engaged in fighting wildfires
and grants the Secretary of the Interior the authority to use
Forest Service funds as needed to ensure no federal wildland
firefighter loses the IIJA pay increase before the pay
provisions of this bill take effect at the beginning of fiscal
year 2024.
II. Background and Need for the Legislation
Wildland fires are a persistent threat across the United
States, growing in size, severity, and duration. Wildfires can
be human-caused or naturally occurring and burn in natural
areas such as forests, grasslands, or prairies.\1\ Fires have
engulfed millions of acres of wildlands over the past decade,
causing extensive and widespread damage.\2\
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\1\Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, Wildfires
(www.cisa.gov/topics/critical-infrastructure-security-and-resilience/
extreme-weather-and-climate-change/wildfires) (accessed Aug. 1, 2023).
\2\See, e.g., NASA Earthdata, Wildfires (earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/
toolkits/wildfires) (accessed Aug. 3, 2023); and National Interagency
Coordination Center, Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics Annual Report
2022 (www.nifc.gov/sites/default/files/NICC/2-Predictive%20Services/
Intelligence/Annual%20Reports/2022/annual_report.2.pdf).
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Since 2000, an average of over 70,000 wildfires each year
burn through a yearly average of 7 million acres across the
nation, more than double the rates in the 1990s.\3\ Between
2017 and 2021, wildfires annually destroyed over 12,000 homes,
businesses, and other structures on average, more than triple
the average annual number of structures destroyed in the
preceding five-year period.\4\ According to data from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wildfires
caused $81.6 billion of damage from 2017 to 2021, nearly 10
times the $8.6 billion of damage caused from 2012 to 2016.\5\
Increasingly, this destruction is not limited by geography. A
University of Boulder study on wildfire frequency, size, and
scope found that in the last 13 years, fire frequency doubled
on the West and East Coasts and quadrupled in the Great Plains
region.\6\ In 2023, smoke from Canadian wildfires has
repeatedly reduced air quality to unsafe levels for millions of
individuals in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions.\7\
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\3\National Interagency Fire Center, Wildfires and Acres
(www.nifc.gov/fire-information/statistics/wildfires) (accessed Aug. 2,
2023); Congressional Research Service, Wildfire Statistics (IF10244)
(Jun. 1, 2023).
\4\Headwaters Economics, Wildfires destroy thousands of structures
each year (Nov. 2020; Updated Aug. 2022) (headwaterseconomics.org/
natural-hazards/structures-destroyed-by-wildfire/).
\5\NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Billion-
Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/
billions) (accessed Aug. 3, 2023); Cybersecurity & Infrastructure
Security Agency, supra note
\6\Virginia Iglesias, Jennifer K. Balch, and William R. Travis,
U.S. Fires Became Larger, More Frequent, and More Widespread in the
2000s, Science Advances (Mar. 16, 2022) (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/
sciadv.abc0020); Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, supra
note 1.
\7\NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Assessing
the U.S. Climate in June 2023: Record-breaking heat waves hit portions
of the U.S. during June (Jul. 11, 2023) (www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/
national-climate-202306#::text=A%20heat%20wav%20brought%20rec
ord,parts%20of%20the %20southern%20Plains).
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To manage and combat the threat of wildfires, the Forest
Service and DOI employ the services of federal firefighters to
respond to wildfires that begin on federal lands and lands
protected by federal agencies under cooperative agreements with
states.\8\ In 2022, the federal wildland firefighting workforce
comprised nearly 19,000 individuals deployed nationwide,
including fire management and support staff. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) employs 70% of federal
wildland firefighters through the Forest Service, and DOI
employs the remaining 30%. The agencies classify wildland
firefighters into permanent full-time, permanent-seasonal, or
temporary-seasonal positions ranging from entry-level crewmen
to highly skilled hotshot crew members, among other
specializations.\9\ These wildland firefighters work from the
ground and air in dangerous and challenging conditions to
control and suppress wildfires.\10\
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\8\Congressional Research Service, Wildfire Statistics (IF10244)
(Jun. 1, 2023).
\9\Government Accountability Office, Wildland Fire: Barriers to
Recruitment and Retention of Federal Wildland Firefighters (GAO-23-
105517) (Nov. 17, 2022).
\10\U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, People Working
in Fire (www.fs.usda.gov/science-technology/fire/people) (accessed Aug.
2, 2023).
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The increasing danger, severity, and frequency of wildfires
are placing new challenges on the federal wildland firefighter
workforce. In June 2023, the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources held a hearing entitled ``Hearing to Examine
the Federal Response to Escalating Wildfires and to Evaluate
Reforms to Land Management and Wildland Firefighter Recruitment
and Retention.''\11\ In his written testimony, Jeffery Rupert,
Director of the Office of Wildland Fire at DOI, stated:
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\11\Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Hearing to
Examine the Federal Response to Escalating Wildfires and to Evaluate
Reforms to Land Management and Wildland Firefighter Recruitment and
Retention, 118th Cong. (June 8, 2023) (S. Hrg 118-XX).
The demands on the wildland fire workforce continue
to grow as the complexity and need for more active
management increases. Many wildland firefighters are
currently challenged to take time off for family events
and other life occurrences because the current
workforce lacks enough qualified individuals to fill
behind them.\12\
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\12\Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Testimony
Submitted for the Record of Jeffrey Rupert, Director of the Office of
Wildland Fire, United States Department of Interior, Hearing to Examine
the Federal Response to Escalating Wildfires and to Evaluate Reforms to
Land Management and Wildland Firefighter Recruitment and Retention,
118th Cong. (June 8, 2023) (S. Hrg. 118-XX).
Through her testimony, Jaelith Hall-Rivera, Deputy Chief of
State, Private, and Tribal Forestry at the Forest Service,
added, ``As the complexity of the firefighting environment
grows exponentially, our recruitment and retention of
firefighters has been further complicated by our inability to
offer a competitive wage for permanent and seasonal
employees.''\13\
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\13\Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Testimony
Submitted for the Record of Jaelith Hall-Rivera, Deputy Chief of State,
Private, and Tribal Forestry, United States Department of Agriculture
Forest Service, Hearing to Examine the Federal Response to Escalating
Wildfires and to Evaluate Reforms to Land Management and Wildland
Firefighter Recruitment and Retention, 118th Cong. (June 8, 2023) (S.
Hrg. 118-XX).
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An insufficient federal workforce to fight wildland fires
increases costs to agencies through the need to reimburse
states for the use of non-federal firefighting organizations to
respond to wildfires. In fiscal year 2022, the Forest Service
paid states nearly $470 million for wildfire suppression
activities that mostly occurred in the prior fiscal year. This
amount is 70% higher than the amount the Forest Service paid to
states in fiscal year 2021 for suppression activities. DOI paid
states $91 million in reimbursements for wildfire suppression
activities in fiscal year 2021.\14\
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\14\Production from the Department of the Interior, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, and Office of Management and Budget to Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Production, Joint Response
to RFIs from May 24, 2023 Briefing to HSGAC Staff (June 28, 2023) (copy
on file with Committee).
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In November 2022, the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) released findings after examining federal agencies'
efforts to hire and retain wildland firefighters. The report
highlighted several barriers to wildland firefighter
recruitment and retention, such as a lack of career advancement
opportunities, poor work-life balance, mental health
challenges, and expensive duty stations. Notably, GAO found
that the agencies most commonly cited ``low pay'' as a central
recruitment and retention obstacle. Current pay for federal
wildland firefighters starts at $15 per hour for entry-level
positions. Although there is the opportunity for overtime and
additional hazard pay, officials and stakeholders surveyed by
GAO described cases in which the same individuals can earn more
at non-federal firefighting entities or at entry-level
positions in less dangerous fields, such as food service.\15\
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\15\Government Accountability Office, supra note 9.
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Further, federal wildland firefighters face a significant
pay cliff at the end of Fiscal Year 2023 unless Congress passes
legislation to address it. In 2021, Congress passed provisions
within the bipartisan IIJA that appropriated $600 million for
the salaries and expenses of wildland firefighters. This
appropriation provided $480 million to the Forest Service and
$120 million to DOI starting in fiscal year 2022 through the
end of fiscal year 2026 or until the depletion of the
funds.\16\ The IIJA required the Forest Service and DOI to use
this funding to increase firefighter salaries by the lesser of
$20,000 or 50% of base salary in locations where it is
difficult to recruit or retain wildland firefighters.\17\ In
implementing the IIJA pay provisions, the Forest Service and
DOI, in coordination with the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM), determined that wildland firefighter recruitment and
retention challenges exist in every geographic area.\18\ The
$600 million appropriated by IIJA for the pay increase will run
out by the end of fiscal year 2023 unless Congress passes
further legislation.\19\
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\16\Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Pub. L. No.
117-58, Sec. 40803(c)(2).
\17\Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Pub. L. No.
117-58, Sec. 40803(d).
\18\U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, and
Office of Personnel Management, Frequently Asked Questions:
Implementation of Section 40803 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
(Public Law 117-58) (June 21, 2022) (www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/
interagency-faqs-implementation-of-bipartisan-infrastracture-law-
section-40803.pdf).
\19\The White House: Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration
Announces New Pay Raises & Supports for Wildland Firefighter Workforce
from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (June 21, 2022); The Biden Team
Announces Pay Raises of Up to $20,000 Annually for Federal
Firefighters, Government Executive (June 21, 2022) (www.govexec.com/
pay-benefits/2022/06/biden-team-
announces-pay-raises-20000-annually-federal-firefighters/368401/).
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Because of the expiring temporary pay provisions in the
IIJA, thousands of federal wildland firefighters may soon exit
their positions at a time when wildfires pose an increasing
threat to the nation. When asked about the impact of the
looming pay cuts at the June 2023 Senate hearing, Forest
Service Deputy Chief Hall-Rivera said that an estimated ``30%
to 50% of our firefighting workforce would leave the service
and go elsewhere'' and ``[w]e are starting to see some
resignations now.'' Hall-Rivera also noted that ``[w]e would
lose those folks who are leaders in the fire service, who have
the most institutional knowledge, and that would be incredibly
difficult for us to replace, because it takes years and years
of experience to get that kind of knowledge and
expertise.''\20\
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\20\Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, supra note
12.
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The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act would
address the impending wildland firefighter pay cliff and the
high rate of attrition expected as a result of the pay cliff by
establishing a permanent, updated pay scale for wildland
firefighters at all grade levels. This approach would improve
upon the pay bump created in the IIJA by providing wildland
firefighters with a reliable compensation level and factoring
the base pay increases toward retirement calculations,
incentivizing retention. Instead of a 50% or $20,000 pay raise
across the board, the pay scale in this bill increases base pay
by a percentage ranging from 1.5% at the GS-15 level to 42% at
the GS-1 level to better align with recruitment needs. Federal
wildland firefighters would also earn daily supplements while
deployed through the incident response premium pay established
by the bill. The combination of the base pay increase and
incident response premium pay would enable firefighters to
reach a total compensation level equivalent to the IIJA level
of a pay bump. In addition, the incident response premium pay
would provide a financial benefit to the broader range of
certified individuals employed by USDA or DOI who assist in
wildland fire responses. Furthermore, the rest and recuperation
leave provisions of the bill would help improve retention by
ensuring better support for wildland firefighter physical and
mental well-being following a deployment.
III. Legislative History
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) introduced S. 2272, the
Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act of 2023, on July
12, 2023, with original cosponsors Senators John Barrasso (R-
WY), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Alex Padilla (D-
CA), and Jon Tester (D-MT). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 2272 at a business meeting on
July 19, 2023. At the business meeting, Senator Sinema offered
a substitute amendment to the bill and a modification to the
substitute amendment. The substitute amendment made technical
clarifications to the text regarding a reference to locality
pay and the process for the relevant Secretaries to prescribe
uniform policies related to rest and recuperation leave. The
modification made further technical adjustments, such as to the
phrasing related to the description of wildland fires and
computing of incident response premium pay. The Committee
adopted the modification to the Sinema substitute amendment and
the Sinema substitute amendment, as modified, by unanimous
consent, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Padilla, Ossoff,
Blumenthal, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley present.
At the same business meeting, Senator Paul offered an
amendment to sunset the provisions of the Wildland Firefighter
Paycheck Protection Act two years after the bill's enactment.
The Committee did not adopt the Paul amendment, by a roll call
vote of 4 yeas to 11 nays, with Senators Paul and Scott voting
in the affirmative, and Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema,
Padilla, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Lankford, Romney, and Hawley
voting in the negative. Senators Johnson and Marshall voted yea
by proxy, and Senators Carper and Rosen voted nay by proxy.
The bill, as amended, was ordered reported favorably by
roll call vote of 10 yeas to 1 nay, with Senators Peters,
Hassan, Sinema, Padilla, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Lankford, Romney,
Scott, and Hawley voting in the affirmative and Senator Paul
voting in the negative. Senators Carper, Rosen, Johnson, and
Marshall voted yea by proxy, for the record only.
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 Paycheck Protection Act of 2023.''
Section 2. Special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters
Subsection (a) adds a new section 5332a to subchapter III
of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, to establish
special rates of pay for federal wildland firefighters.
Subsection (a) of section 5332a defines the terms
``firefighter,'' ``General Schedule base rate,'' ``special base
rate,'' and ``wildland firefighter'' for the purposes of this
section. ``Firefighter'' is defined in connection to positions
covered by federal retirement law under chapter 83 or chapter
84 of title 5, United States Code.
Subsection (b) of section 5332a establishes special base
rates of pay for wildland firefighters, computed by increasing
the General Schedule base rate for wildland firefighters by a
specified percentage at grades 1 through 15. The applicable
percentage decreases as the grade level increases, ranging from
42% at the GS-1 level to 1.5% at the GS-15 level. The
subsection clarifies that the special base rates of pay for
wildland firefighters are basic pay for all purposes, such as
for retirement calculations and computing locality-based pay.
Adjustments to the special base rates of pay would occur at the
same time as adjustments to the General Schedule.
Subsection (b) amends the table of sections for chapter 53
of title 5, United States Code, to include section 5332a, as
added by this bill.
Subsection (c) adds language to the end of section 5343 of
title 5, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of
Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior to increase the wage
rates of prevailing rate employees who are wildland
firefighters by an amount consistent with the special base
rates established under section 5332a.
Subsection (d) establishes that the provisions of this
section would take effect on the first day of the first
applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 2023.
Subsection (e) clarifies that the pay bump for wildland
firefighters included in the IIJA would no longer apply to
services performed on or after the effective date of the
special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters established
by this bill.
Section 3. Wildland fire incident response premium pay
Subsection (a) adds a new section 5545c to subchapter V of
chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, to establish
incident response premium pay for employees engaged in wildland
firefighting.
Subsection (a) of section 5545c defines the terms
``appropriate committees of Congress,'' ``covered employee,''
``incident response premium pay,'' ``prescribed fire
incident,'' ``qualifying incident,'' and ``severity incident''
for the purposes of this section. Covered employees are
wildland firefighters or other employees at USDA or DOI who are
certified to perform wildland fire incident-related duties
while deployed to respond to a qualifying incident. Qualifying
incidents take longer than 36 hours to contain and include
wildfire incidents, prescribed fire incidents, severity
incidents, or other incidents that the applicable Secretary
determines are similar in nature.
Subsection (b) of section 5545c establishes that covered
employees are eligible for incident response premium pay if
they are deployed outside of their official duty station to
respond to a qualifying incident or assigned to an incident-
adjacent fire camp or other designated field location within
their duty station.
Subsection (c) of section 5545c entitles eligible employees
to incident response premium pay for the duration of their
deployments to qualifying incidents. The daily rate of premium
pay is equal to 450% of the employee's hourly rate of basic
pay, capped at the maximum daily rate for the GS-10, step-10
level under such formula in the same locality. The amount of
incident response premium pay that an eligible employee can
receive in one calendar year is capped at $9,000.
In addition, subsection (c) of 5545c requires the Secretary
of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior to assess the
difference between the average total compensation for covered
employees in fiscal year 2024 compared to the average in fiscal
year 2023. This will result in a comparison between the pay
provisions established by this bill and the pay provisions
established by the IIJA. The Secretaries must publish a report
on this comparison within 180 days after the end of fiscal year
2024. Based on the findings of the report and in consultation
with the Director of OPM, the Secretaries may administratively
adjust the amount of incident response premium pay so that the
annual average of total compensation is more consistent with
the average in fiscal year 2023. The Secretaries must notify
Congress about any adjustment within three days.
Subsection (d) of section 5545c clarifies that the incident
response premium pay is not considered part of an employee's
basic pay for any purpose, including for retirement
calculations. The premium pay also may not factor into payments
or calculations related to accumulated and accrued leave,
workers compensation, paid leave, minimum wage, and overtime
pay.
Subsection (b) makes additional amendments to chapter 55 of
title 5, United States Code, to ensure prevailing rate
employees who are wildland firefighters or certified to perform
wildland fire incident-related duties are eligible for incident
response premium pay and to clarify that incident response
premium pay factors into limitations on total premium pay.
Subsection (c) amends the table of sections for chapter 55
of title 5, United States Code, to include section 5545c, as
added by this bill, and to adjust a section heading.
Subsection (d) establishes that the provisions of this
section would take effect on the first day of the first
applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 2023.
Section 4. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in
wildland firefighting
Subsection (a) adds a new section 6329e to subchapter II of
chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, to establish rest
and recuperation leave for employees after deployments to fight
wildfires.
Subsection (a) of section 6329e defines the terms
``applicable Secretary,'' ``covered employee,'' and
``qualifying incident.''
Subsection (b) of section 6329e establishes that covered
employees may receive paid rest and recuperation leave
following a deployment to a qualifying incident. The subsection
directs the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the
Interior to prescribe uniform policies regarding the maximum
lengths of deployments, maximum number of hours worked during a
deployment, and minimum periods of rest between deployments.
Subsection (c) specifies that rest and recuperation leave
would be paid in the same manner as annual leave. Covered
employees must use rest and recuperation leave immediately
after a qualifying incident.
Subsection (d) addresses how rest and recuperation leave
applies to covered employees with intermittent work schedules.
Subsection (b) amends the table of sections for chapter 63
of title 5, United States Code, to include section 6329e, as
added by this bill.
Section 5. Transfer authority
This section authorizes USDA to transfer up to $5 million
of unobligated funding appropriated in the IIJA to DOI as
needed to ensure no wildland firefighters lose the IIJA pay
bump before the pay provisions established by this bill take
effect at the beginning of fiscal year 2024.
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 private sector 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
The bill would:
Permanently increase the pay scale for
federal wildland firefighters
Establish premium pay for workers that
respond to wildfire incidents
Require the Forest Service and the
Department of the Interior to develop and implement
policies concerning rest and recuperation for federal
wildfire responders
Estimated budgetary effects would mainly stem from:
Increased pay for federal wildland
firefighters
Premium pay for wildfire incident response
Areas of significant uncertainty include:
Identifying the number and length of
wildland fire incidents that would result in premium
pay for responders
Bill summary: S. 2272 would permanently increase the pay
scale for federal wildland firefighters under the jurisdiction
of the Forest Service (within the Department of Agriculture) or
the Department of the Interior (DOI) and would authorize a
daily supplemental payment (referred to as premium pay) for
wildland federal firefighters and related employees who respond
to wildland fires in specific circumstances. The new pay scales
and supplemental payments would take effect on October 1, 2023.
Salaries for wildland firefighters were temporarily increased
during fiscal year 2023 under provisions of the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act.
S. 2272 also would require the Forest Service and DOI to
jointly develop and implement policies for maximum length of
deployment, maximum hours worked, and minimum periods of rest
between deployments.
In addition, following completion of the first year under
the increased pay scale, the bill would require the Secretaries
of Agriculture and the Interior to assess and report to the
Congress on the difference between the average total
compensation paid to wildland firefighters in fiscal years 2023
and 2024. After completing the assessment, the Secretaries
would be authorized to administratively adjust compensation to
be more consistent with total compensation paid to wildland
firefighters in 2023. If any such adjustments are made, the
Secretaries would be required to report those adjustments to
the Congress.
Estimated Federal cost: The estimated budgetary effect of
S. 2272 is shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall
within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 2272
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
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2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2023-2028
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Permanently Increased Pay Scale
Estimated Authorization........ 0 317 332 345 357 369 1,720
Estimated Outlays.............. 0 253 329 342 355 367 1,646
Premium Pay for Wildland Fire
Incident Response
Estimated Authorization........ 0 124 130 135 140 143 672
Estimated Outlays.............. 0 99 129 134 139 143 644
Total Changes
Estimated Authorization........ 0 441 462 480 497 512 2,392
Estimated Outlays.............. 0 352 458 476 494 510 2,290
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Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S.
2272 will be enacted near the end of fiscal year 2023 and that
implementation timelines generally follow the requirements
specified in the bill, which would take effect on October 1,
2023. Outlay estimates are based on historical spending
patterns for similar activities, and any spending would be
subject to appropriations.
Spending Subject to Appropriation: CBO estimates that the
bill would cost about $2.3 billion over the 2024-2028 period
(see Table 1).
Permanently Increased Pay Scale: S. 2272 would permanently
increase base pay for federal wildland firefighters under the
jurisdiction of the Forest Service and DOI. Increases to the
pay scale for workers under the General Schedule (GS) would be
set at specific percentages varying by grade (GS-1 would
receive the largest increase at 42 percent and GS-15 would
receive the smallest at 1.5 percent). Pay increases for
wildland firefighters outside the GS system would be calculated
by annualizing their current pay and applying an equivalent
increase for a similar GS grade. Those pay increases would be
capped at the annual rate for the Executive Schedule level IV,
currently $183,500.
Using information from the Forest Service and DOI, CBO
expects that almost 13,000 firefighters in the Forest Service
and about 4,500 DOI firefighters would receive a permanent
increase in their base rate of pay. CBO estimates that the
total cost of those increases (including pay increases and
associated increases in employee benefits) would be about $1.6
billion over the 2024-2028 period.
Premium Pay for Wildland Fire Incident Response: S. 2272
also would establish a daily pay premium of 4.5 times the
regular hourly rate for Forest Service and DOI wildland
firefighters and related employees responding to certain
wildfires. The premium pay would be allotted by those agencies
to responders deployed for long-duration wildfires, working on
prescribed fires, or deployed away from their duty station to
pre-position in an area at high risk of fire. Such payments
would be capped at about $160 per day, or $9,000 annually.
Using information from the agencies, CBO estimates that
about 20,000 firefighters in the Forest Service and more than
8,000 responders with DOI would receive the premium pay and
associated benefits in any year, at a total cost of $644
million over the 2024-2028 period.
Transfer Authority: S. 2272 also would authorize the
transfer of up to $5 million from amounts appropriated to the
Forest Service under title VI of division J of the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and make those funds
available to DOI for wildland fire management activities. (That
act designated those amounts as an emergency requirement.) CBO
expects that the transferred funds would be spent at the same
rate as they would be under current law; thus, CBO estimates
that the transfer would have no net effect on the federal
budget.
Reporting and Administrative Requirements: S. 2272 would
require the Forest Service and DOI to jointly develop and
implement policies related to firefighters' length of
deployment, hours worked, and periods of rest between
deployments. The bill also would require the agencies to report
to the Congress on their assessment of the difference between
the average total compensation paid to wildland firefighters in
fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
Using information on the costs of similar activities, CBO
estimates that the cost of meeting those requirements would be
less than $500,000 over the 2024-2028 period.
Uncertainty: The budgetary effects of the bill's premium
pay for wildfire incident response would depend on accurately
predicting the number and length of qualifying incidents that
would occur in any year. Costs of S. 2272 could be moderately
larger or smaller than this estimate if the number of
qualifying wildfire incidents is more or less, respectively, in
future years than CBO estimates.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: None.
Increase in long-term net direct spending and deficits:
None.
Mandates: None.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Lilia Ledezma,
Mandates: Andrew Laughlin.
Estimate reviewed by: Robert Reese, Principal Analyst,
Natural and Physical Resources Cost Estimates Unit; Kathleen
FitzGerald, Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit; Christina
Hawley Anthony, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
Estimate approved by: Phillip L. Swagel, Director,
Congressional Budget Office.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
TITLE 5--GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
* * * * * * *
PART III--EMPLOYEES
* * * * * * *
Subpart D--Pay and Allowances
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 53--PAY RATES AND SYSTEMS
Table of sections
Subchapter I--Pay Comparability System
Sec.
* * * * * * *
Subchapter III--General Schedule Pay Rates
5331. * * *
5332. The General Schedule.
5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters.
* * * * * * *
Subchapter III--General Schedule Pay Rates
* * * * * * *
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).
* * * * * * *
Subchapter IV--Prevailing Rate Systems
* * * * * * *
SEC. 5343. PREVAILING RATE DETERMINATIONS; WAGE SCHEDULES; NIGHT
DIFFERENTIALS
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(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.
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 55--PAY ADMINISTRATION
Table of sections
Subchapter I--General Provisions
Sec.
* * * * * * *
Subchapter V--Premium Pay
5541. * * *
5542. * * *
5543. * * *
5544. Wage-board overtime, [and]Sunday rates, and other premium pay[;
computation]
5545. * * *
5545a. * * *
5545b. * * *
5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees engaged in wildland
firefighting.
* * * * * * *
Subchapter V--Premium Pay
* * * * * * *
SEC. 5544. WAGE-BOARD OVERTIME, [AND]SUNDAY RATES, AND OTHER PREMIUM
PAY[; COMPUTATION]
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(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)).
* * * * * * *
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 in 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.).
* * * * * * *
SEC. 5547. LIMITATION ON PREMIUM PAY
(a) An employee may be paid premium pay under sections
5542, 5545(a), (b), and (c), 5545a, 5545c, 5546(a) and (b), and
5550 only to the extent that the payment does not cause the
aggregate of basic pay and such premium pay for any pay period
for such employee to exceed the greater of--
(1) the maximum rate of basic pay payable for GS-15
(including any applicable locality-based comparability
payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law
and any applicable special rate of pay under section
5305 or similar provision of law); or
(2) the rate payable for level V of the Executive
Schedule.
* * * * * * *
Subpart E--Attendance and Leave
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 63--LEAVE
Table of sections
Subchapter I--Annual and Sick Leave
Sec.
* * * * * * *
Subchapter II--Other Paid Leave
6321. * * *
* * * * * * *
6329d. Parental bereavement leave.
6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland
firefighting.
* * * * * * *
Subchapter II--Other Paid Leave
* * * * * * *
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 work 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 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).
* * * * * * *
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