Congressman Doug La Malfa, District 1 representative, is raising the alarm about protecting wildland firefighter pay, as funds are expected to run dry three years short of the project timeframe due to poor fiscal mismanagement.
Congress had approved a temporary pay increase as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, supposed to give those on the front line of fires a well-deserved pay increase for five years while Congress debated and worked out a more permanent solution.
Yet LaMalfa says, “due to agency mismanagement and the failure of the Biden Administration to budget responsibly, the funds for this pay increase will out… at the end of September.
To provide a temporary resolution, LaMalfa hopes to have a bill land on the President’s desk and pass before this happens.
The Fair Pay For Federal Firefighters Act aims to ensure firefighters get adequate pay by repurposing funds from elsewhere to maintain fiscal responsibility. He adds that “This bill establishes a new base pay rate scale, with the largest increases in pay going to firefighters at the lowest end of the scale,” and “also increases deployment bonuses to incentivize firefighters to deploy to a fire camp to respond to fire outbreaks in remote areas.” This Act would extend pay for an additional two years.
Without relief, federal firefighters may face pay cuts.
A bipartisan group of senators has also introduced legislation to increase pay through the “Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act of 2023” in early July. This Act proposes to provide special base rates and premium pay for wildland firefighters.
The US Forest Service is addressing the growing concerns, and as Congress heads back into session from its August recess, the forest service says they are beginning to schedule town halls by region to provide information on recent proposals and to answer outstanding questions.
