I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5169 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for special base rates 

of pay for wildland firefighters, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 8, 2023 

Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. PORTER, 

Mrs. CHAVEZ-DEREMER, Mr. HARDER of California, and Mr. C. SCOTT

FRANKLIN of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the 

Committees on Natural Resources, and Agriculture, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for special 

base rates of pay for wildland firefighters, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildland Firefighter 

5 Paycheck Protection Act of 2023’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 5169 IH

1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY FOR WILDLAND FIRE2 FIGHTERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 53 of 

4 title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

5 section 5332 the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland fire7 fighters 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘firefighter’ means an employee 

10 who— 

11 ‘‘(A) is a firefighter within the meaning of 

12 section 8331(21) or section 8401(14); 

13 ‘‘(B) in the case of an employee who holds 

14 a supervisory or administrative position and is 

15 subject to subchapter III of chapter 83, but 

16 who does not qualify to be considered a fire17 fighter within the meaning of section 8331(21), 

18 would otherwise qualify if the employee had 

19 transferred directly to that position after serv20 ing as a firefighter within the meaning of that 

21 section; 

22 ‘‘(C) in the case of an employee who holds 

23 a supervisory or administrative position and is 

24 subject to chapter 84, but who does not qualify 

25 to be considered a firefighter within the mean26 ing of section 8401(14), would otherwise qualify 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 5169 IH

1 if the employee had transferred directly to that 

2 position after performing duties described in 

3 section 8401(14)(A) for at least 3 years; or 

4 ‘‘(D) in the case of an employee who is not 

5 subject to subchapter III of chapter 83 or chap6 ter 84, holds a position that the Office of Per7 sonnel Management determines would satisfy 

8 subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) if the employee 

9 were subject to subchapter III of chapter 83 or 

10 chapter 84; 

11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘General Schedule base rate’ 

12 means an annual rate of basic pay established under 

13 section 5332 before any additions, such as a locality14 based comparability payment under section 5304 or 

15 5304a or a special rate supplement under section 

16 5305; 

17 ‘‘(3) the term ‘special base rate’ means an an18 nual rate of basic pay payable to a wildland fire19 fighter, before any additions or reductions, that re20 places the General Schedule base rate otherwise ap21 plicable to the wildland firefighter and that is ad22 ministered in the same manner as a General Sched23 ule base rate; and 

24 ‘‘(4) the term ‘wildland firefighter’ means a 

25 firefighter— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 5169 IH

1 ‘‘(A) who is employed by the Forest Serv2 ice or the Department of the Interior; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the duties of the position of whom 

4 primarily relate to fires occurring in forests, 

5 range lands, or other wildlands, as opposed to 

6 structural fires. 

7 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ENTITLEMENT TO SPECIAL RATE.—Not9 withstanding section 5332, a wildland firefighter is 

10 entitled to a special base rate at grades 1 through 

11 15, which shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) replace the otherwise applicable Gen13 eral Schedule base rate for the wildland fire14 fighter; 

15 ‘‘(B) be basic pay for all purposes, includ16 ing the purpose of computing a locality-based 

17 comparability payment under section 5304 or 

18 5304a; and 

19 ‘‘(C) be computed as described in para20 graph (2) and adjusted at the time of adjust21 ments in the General Schedule. 

22 ‘‘(2) COMPUTATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The special base rate 

24 for a wildland firefighter shall be derived by in25 creasing the otherwise applicable General 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 5169 IH

1 Schedule base rate for the wildland firefighter 

2 by the following applicable percentage for the 

3 grade of the wildland firefighter and rounding 

4 the result to the nearest whole dollar: 

5 ‘‘(i) For GS–1, 42 percent. 

6 ‘‘(ii) For GS–2, 39 percent. 

7 ‘‘(iii) For GS–3, 36 percent. 

8 ‘‘(iv) For GS–4, 33 percent. 

9 ‘‘(v) For GS–5, 30 percent. 

10 ‘‘(vi) For GS–6, 27 percent. 

11 ‘‘(vii) For GS–7, 24 percent. 

12 ‘‘(viii) For GS–8, 21 percent. 

13 ‘‘(ix) For GS–9, 18 percent. 

14 ‘‘(x) For GS–10, 15 percent. 

15 ‘‘(xi) For GS–11, 12 percent. 

16 ‘‘(xii) For GS–12, 9 percent. 

17 ‘‘(xiii) For GS–13, 6 percent. 

18 ‘‘(xiv) For GS–14, 3 percent. 

19 ‘‘(xv) For GS–15, 1.5 percent. 

20 ‘‘(B) HOURLY, DAILY, WEEKLY, OR BI21 WEEKLY RATES.—When the special base rate 

22 with respect to a wildland firefighter is ex23 pressed as an hourly, daily, weekly, or biweekly 

24 rate, the special base rate shall be computed 

25 from the appropriate annual rate of basic pay 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 5169 IH

1 derived under subparagraph (A) in accordance 

2 with the rules under section 5504(b).’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 for subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States 

5 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

6 section 5332 the following: 

‘‘5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters.’’. 

7 (c) PREVAILING RATE EMPLOYEES.—Section 5343 

8 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

9 the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(g)(1) For a prevailing rate employee described in 

11 section 5342(a)(2)(A) who is a wildland firefighter, as de12 fined in section 5332a(a), the Secretary of Agriculture or 

13 the Secretary of the Interior (as applicable) shall increase 

14 the wage rates of that employee by an amount (determined 

15 at the sole and exclusive discretion of the applicable Sec16 retary after consultation with the other Secretary) that is 

17 generally consistent with the percentage increases given 

18 to wildland firefighters in the General Schedule under sec19 tion 5332a. 

20 ‘‘(2) An increased wage rate under paragraph (1) 

21 shall be basic pay for the same purposes as the wage rate 

22 otherwise established under this section. 

23 ‘‘(3) An increase under this subsection may not cause 

24 the wage rate of an employee to increase to a rate that 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 5169 IH

1 would produce an annualized rate in excess of the annual 

2 rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule.’’. 

3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect on the first day of the first 

5 applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 

6 2023. 

7 (e) APPLICABILITY.—Notwithstanding section 

8 40803(d)(4)(B) of the Infrastructure Investment and 

9 Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(d)(4)(B)), the salary increase 

10 in such section 40803(d)(4)(B) shall not apply to the posi11 tions described in such section 40803(d)(4)(B) for service 

12 performed on or after the effective date described in sub13 section (d) of this section. 

14 SEC. 3. WILDLAND FIRE INCIDENT RESPONSE PREMIUM 

15 PAY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter V of chapter 55 of 

17 title 5, United Sates Code, is amended by inserting after 

18 section 5545b the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 5545c. Incident response premium pay for employ20 ees engaged in wildland firefighting 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) the term ‘appropriate committees of Con23 gress’ means— 

24 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

25 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 5169 IH

1 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Energy and Nat2 ural Resources of the Senate; 

3 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri4 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

5 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

6 the Senate; 

7 ‘‘(E) the Committee on Oversight and Ac8 countability of the House of Representatives; 

9 ‘‘(F) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

10 House of Representatives; 

11 ‘‘(G) the Committee on Natural Resources 

12 of the House of Representatives; and 

13 ‘‘(H) the Committee on Appropriations of 

14 the House of Representatives; 

15 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered employee’ means an em16 ployee of the Forest Service or the Department of 

17 the Interior who is— 

18 ‘‘(A) a wildland firefighter, as defined in 

19 section 5332a(a); or 

20 ‘‘(B) certified by the applicable agency to 

21 perform wildland fire incident-related duties 

22 during the period that employee is deployed to 

23 respond to a qualifying incident; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 5169 IH

1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘incident response premium pay’ 

2 means pay to which a covered employee is entitled 

3 under subsection (c); 

4 ‘‘(4) the term ‘prescribed fire incident’ means a 

5 wildland fire originating from a planned ignition in 

6 accordance with applicable laws, policies, and regula7 tions to meet specific objectives; 

8 ‘‘(5) the term ‘qualifying incident’— 

9 ‘‘(A) means— 

10 ‘‘(i) a wildfire incident, a prescribed 

11 fire incident, or a severity incident; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) an incident that the Secretary of 

13 Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior 

14 determines is similar in nature to an inci15 dent described in clause (i); and 

16 ‘‘(B) does not include an initial response 

17 incident that is contained within 36 hours; and 

18 ‘‘(6) the term ‘severity incident’ means an inci19 dent in which a covered employee is pre-positioned 

20 in an area in which conditions indicate there is a 

21 high risk of wildfires. 

22 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A covered employee is eligible for 

23 incident response premium pay under this section if— 

24 ‘‘(1) the covered employee is deployed to re25 spond to a qualifying incident; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 5169 IH

1 ‘‘(2) the deployment described in paragraph (1) 

2 is— 

3 ‘‘(A) outside of the official duty station of 

4 the covered employee; or 

5 ‘‘(B) within the official duty station of the 

6 covered employee and the covered employee is 

7 assigned to an incident-adjacent fire camp or 

8 other designated field location. 

9 ‘‘(c) ENTITLEMENT TO INCIDENT RESPONSE PRE10 MIUM PAY.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee who 

12 satisfies the conditions under subsection (b) is enti13 tled to premium pay for the period in which the cov14 ered employee is deployed to respond to the applica15 ble qualifying incident. 

16 ‘‘(2) COMPUTATION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) FORMULA.—Subject to subpara18 graphs (B) and (C), premium pay under para19 graph (1) shall be paid to a covered employee 

20 at a daily rate of 450 percent of the hourly rate 

21 of basic pay of the covered employee for each 

22 day that the covered employee satisfies the re23 quirements under subsection (b), rounded to 

24 the nearest whole cent. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•HR 5169 IH

1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Premium pay under 

2 this subsection may not be paid— 

3 ‘‘(i) with respect to a covered em4 ployee for whom the annual rate of basic 

5 pay is greater than that for step 10 of GS– 

6 10, at a daily rate that exceeds the daily 

7 rate established under subparagraph (A) 

8 for step 10 of GS–10; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) to a covered employee in a total 

10 amount that exceeds $9,000 in any cal11 endar year. 

12 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of 

14 Agriculture and the Secretary of the Inte15 rior shall assess the difference between the 

16 average total amount of compensation that 

17 was paid to covered employees, by grade, 

18 in fiscal years 2023 and 2024. 

19 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—Not later than 180 

20 days after the date that is 1 year after the 

21 effective date of this section, the Secretary 

22 of Agriculture and the Secretary of the In23 terior shall jointly publish a report on the 

24 results of the assessment conducted under 

25 clause (i). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•HR 5169 IH

1 ‘‘(iii) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS.— 

2 After publishing the report required under 

3 clause (ii), the Secretary of Agriculture 

4 and the Secretary of the Interior, in con5 sultation with the Director of the Office of 

6 Personnel Management, may, in the sole 

7 and exclusive discretion of the Secretaries 

8 acting jointly, administratively adjust the 

9 amount of premium pay paid under this 

10 subsection (or take other administrative 

11 action) to ensure that the average annual 

12 amount of total compensation paid to cov13 ered employees, by grade, is more con14 sistent with such amount that was paid to 

15 those employees in fiscal year 2023. 

16 ‘‘(iv) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICA17 TION.—Not later than 3 days after an ad18 justment made, or other administrative ac19 tion taken, under clause (iii) becomes final, 

20 the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec21 retary of the Interior shall jointly submit 

22 to the appropriate committees of Congress 

23 a notification regarding that adjustment or 

24 other administrative action, as applicable. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•HR 5169 IH

1 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF INCIDENT RESPONSE PREMIUM

2 PAY.—Incident response premium pay under this sec3 tion— 

4 ‘‘(1) is not considered part of the basic pay of 

5 a covered employee for any purpose; 

6 ‘‘(2) may not be considered in determining a 

7 covered employee’s lump-sum payment for accumu8 lated and accrued annual leave under section 5551 

9 or section 5552; 

10 ‘‘(3) may not be used in determining pay under 

11 section 8114 (relating to compensation for work in12 juries); 

13 ‘‘(4) may not be considered in determining pay 

14 for hours of paid leave or other paid time off during 

15 which the premium pay is not payable; and 

16 ‘‘(5) shall be disregarded in determining the 

17 minimum wage and overtime pay to which a covered 

18 employee is entitled under the Fair Labor Standards 

19 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).’’. 

20 (b) ADDITIONAL PREMIUM PAY AMENDMENTS.— 

21 Subchapter V of chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) in section 5544— 

24 (A) by amending the section heading to 

25 read as follows: ‘‘WAGE-BOARD OVERTIME, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•HR 5169 IH

1 SUNDAY RATES, AND OTHER PREMIUM

2 PAY’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(d) A prevailing rate employee described in section 

5 5342(a)(2)(A) shall receive incident response premium 

6 pay under the same terms and conditions that apply to 

7 a covered employee under section 5545c if that em8 ployee— 

9 ‘‘(1) is employed by the Forest Service or the 

10 Department of the Interior; and 

11 ‘‘(2)(A) is a wildland firefighter, as defined in 

12 section 5332a(a); or 

13 ‘‘(B) is certified by the applicable agency to 

14 perform wildland fire incident-related duties during 

15 the period the employee is deployed to respond to a 

16 qualifying incident (as defined in section 

17 5545c(a)).’’; and 

18 (2) in section 5547(a), in the matter preceding 

19 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘5545c,’’ after 

20 ‘‘5545a,’’. 

21 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections 

22 for subchapter V of chapter 55 of title 5, United States 

23 Code, is amended— 

24 (1) by amending the item relating to section 

25 5544 to read as follows: 

‘‘5544. Wage-board overtime, Sunday rates, and other premium pay.’’; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•HR 5169 IH

1 and 

2 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec3 tion 5545b the following: 

‘‘5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees engaged in wildland firefighting.’’. 

4 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

5 this section shall take effect on the first day of the first 

6 applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 

7 2023. 

8 SEC. 4. REST AND RECUPERATION LEAVE FOR EMPLOYEES 

9 ENGAGED IN WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 63 of 

11 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

12 end the following: 

13 ‘‘§ 6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees 

14 engaged in wildland firefighting 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

16 ‘‘(1) the term ‘applicable Secretary’ means the 

17 Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the In18 terior, as applicable to a covered employee; 

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered employee’ means an em20 ployee of the Forest Service or the Department of 

21 the Interior who— 

22 ‘‘(A) qualifies as a wildland firefighter 

23 based on the definitions of the terms ‘fire24 fighter’ and ‘wildland firefighter’ in section 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•HR 5169 IH

1 5332a(a) (applying the definition of ‘employee’ 

2 in section 6301(2) in lieu of the definition of 

3 ‘employee’ in section 5331(a)); or 

4 ‘‘(B) is certified by the applicable Sec5 retary to perform wildland fire incident-related 

6 duties during the period the employee is de7 ployed to respond to a qualifying incident; and 

8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘qualifying incident’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 5545c(a). 

10 ‘‘(b) REST AND RECUPERATION LEAVE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee may 

12 receive paid rest and recuperation leave following the 

13 completion of service in which the covered employee 

14 is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident, sub15 ject to the policies prescribed under this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(2) PRESCRIPTION OF POLICIES.—The Sec17 retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Inte18 rior shall prescribe uniform policies described in 

19 paragraph (1) after consulting with the other appli20 cable Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(3) CONTENT OF POLICIES.—The policies pre22 scribed under paragraph (2) may include— 

23 ‘‘(A) a maximum period of days in which 

24 a covered employee is deployed to respond to a 

25 qualifying incident, which shall— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•HR 5169 IH

1 ‘‘(i) begin on the date on which the 

2 covered employee departs from the official 

3 duty station of the covered employee and 

4 end on the date on which the covered em5 ployee returns to the official duty station 

6 of the covered employee; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) be followed by a minimum num8 ber of days of rest and recuperation for the 

9 covered employee; or 

10 ‘‘(B) a requirement that prohibits a cov11 ered employee from working more than 16 

12 hours per day on average over a 14-day period 

13 during which the covered employee is deployed 

14 to respond to a qualifying incident. 

15 ‘‘(c) USE OF LEAVE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Rest and recuperation 

17 leave granted under this section— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall be used during scheduled hours 

19 within the tour of duty of the applicable covered 

20 employee established for leave-charging pur21 poses; 

22 ‘‘(B) shall be paid in the same manner as 

23 annual leave; 

24 ‘‘(C) shall be used immediately after a 

25 qualifying incident; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•HR 5169 IH

1 ‘‘(D) may not be set aside for later use. 

2 ‘‘(2) NO PAYMENT.—A covered employee may 

3 not receive any payment for unused rest and recu4 peration leave granted under this section. 

5 ‘‘(d) INTERMITTENT WORK SCHEDULE.—A covered 

6 employee with an intermittent work schedule— 

7 ‘‘(1) shall be excused from duty during the 

8 same period of time that other covered employees in 

9 the same circumstances are entitled to rest and re10 cuperation leave; and 

11 ‘‘(2) shall receive a payment as if the covered 

12 employee were entitled to rest and recuperation leave 

13 under subsection (b).’’. 

14 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

15 The table of sections for subchapter II of chapter 63 of 

16 title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

17 the item relating to section 6329d the following: 

‘‘6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. TRANSFER AUTHORITY. 

19 Notwithstanding section 40803(c)(2) of the Infra20 structure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 

21 6592(c)(2)), not more than $5,000,000 of the unobligated 

22 balances of amounts made available under the heading 

23 ‘‘WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT’’ under the heading 

24 ‘‘FOREST SERVICE’’ under the heading ‘‘DEPARTMENT 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•HR 5169 IH

1 OF AGRICULTURE’’ in title VI of division J of that Act 

2 (Public Law 117–58; 135 Stat. 1410) pursuant to section 

3 40803(c)(2)(B) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(2)(B)) 

4 may, as necessary to continue uninterrupted the Federal 

5 wildland firefighter base salary increase described in sec6 tion 40803(d)(4)(B) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 

7 6592(d)(4)(B)), be transferred to and merged with the 

8 amounts made available under the heading ‘‘WILDLAND

9 FIRE MANAGEMENT’’ under the heading ‘‘DEPARTMENT10 WIDE PROGRAMS’’ under the heading ‘‘DEPARTMENT 

11 OF THE INTERIOR’’ in title VI of division J of that 

12 Act (Public Law 117–58; 135 Stat. 1393). 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB