Newhouse Fights for Increased Base Pay for Firefighters

This week, Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) introduced H.R. 4831, the Fair Pay for Federal Firefighters Act. This legislation acts as a short-term solution to prevent the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) from enacting pay cuts to our federal firefighters due to lack of funds.

“Our firefighters work tirelessly to keep our communities safe from wildfires, and we owe it to them to advocate for their best interests,” said Rep. Newhouse. “Raising their pay and providing them with increased deployment bonuses will not only attract more talent, but it will also keep our current force motivated while they are in the middle of wildfire season. The Fair Pay for Federal Firefighters Act will prevent the USDA’s drastic cuts and ensure federal firefighters get the pay they deserve.”

“Wildland firefighters have some of the toughest jobs out there – their pay needs to reflect the hazardous nature of their work,” said Rep. LaMalfa. “We are in the middle of another fire season and firefighters’ current bonus pay is about to run short from Biden’s Jobs Act three years early. It’s critical that Congress moves swiftly to ensure that federal wildland firefighters don’t leave the workforce due to fear that they’ll take a substantial pay cut unexpectedly in only two months. My bill ensures that federal firefighters get adequate pay, while repurposing existing funds to be fiscally responsible.”

The Fair Pay for Federal Firefighters Act will:

• Establish a new base pay rate scale, with the largest increases going to firefighters at the lowest end of the pay scale.

• Boost the pay rates so they are in line with pay rates for state and private firefighters.

• Increase deployment bonuses for firefighters responding to wildfires.

• Prop up Federal wildland firefighter pay for two years while Congress works on a more permanent solution.

• Include common-sense forest management provisions.

Background:

In November 2021, Congress passed the partisan $1.2 trillion “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” which contained a section which provided $600 million, split into $480 million for USDA and $120 million for Interior. This money was supposed to last from October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2026 (Fiscal Year 2022 – Fiscal Year 2026) to increase the base pay for wildland firefighters by $20,000 or 50% (whichever is less).

Due to lack of foresight and poor management by the Biden Administration, USDA has told Congress that this funding will run out at the end of September 2023, three years early. As a result, there will be immediate cuts in federal wildland firefighter pay in the middle of this year’s fire season. This legislation prevents those cuts.

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