I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 977

To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to provide 

death and disability benefits for aerial firefighters who work on a contract 

basis for the Forest Service or an agency of the Department of the 

Interior and suffer death or disability in the line of duty, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2003

Mrs. CUBIN (for herself and Mr. ISSA) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture and the Judiciary, 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 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

of 1976 to provide death and disability benefits for aerial 

firefighters who work on a contract basis for the Forest 

Service or an agency of the Department of the Interior 

and suffer death or disability in the line of duty, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aerial Firefighter Re3 lief Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEATH AND DISABILITY BENEFITS FOR AERIAL 

5 FIREFIGHTERS OF THE FOREST SERVICE 

6 AND DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AGEN7 CIES. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Pilots and crew members of aircraft used to 

10 fight wildfires generally work on a contract basis 

11 with a State or Federal agency and, as a result, are 

12 not eligible for death or disability benefits should 

13 they be killed or injured in the line of duty. 

14 (2) Employer death benefits and life insurance 

15 for aerial firefighters are expensive, and the families 

16 of these unsung heroes have to cope not only with 

17 the loss of a loved one, but also the additional finan18 cial loss of a wage earner. 

19 (3) It is vital that Congress continue to encour20 age the recruitment and retention of skilled and ex21 perienced aerial firefighters. 

22 (b) ELIGIBILITY FOR DEATH AND DISABILITY BENE23 FITS.—Section 308 of the Federal Land Policy and Man24 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1738) is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following new subsection: 
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1 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF AERIAL FIREFIGHTERS FOR

2 DEATH AND DISABILITY BENEFITS.—

3 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—An individual who serves a 

4 public agency specified in paragraph (2), or a con5 tractor or subcontractor of such a public agency, in 

6 an official capacity, with or without compensation, 

7 as a pilot or a crew member of an aircraft carrying 

8 out a firefighting mission on behalf of such public 

9 agency and who is killed or disabled as a result of 

10 an injury that occurs while the aircraft is moving 

11 under its own power for the purpose of take off, 

12 flight, or landing shall be eligible for a death or dis13 ability benefit under section 1201 of Public Law 90–

14 351 (42 U.S.C. 3796). 

15 ‘‘(2) COVERED PUBLIC AGENCIES.—Subsection 

16 (a) applies with respect to the Forest Service and 

17 any agency of the Department of the Interior. 

18 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall 

19 apply with respect to death or injuries occurring on 

20 or after September 29, 1976.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY OF AERIAL FIREFIGHTERS FOR PUB22 LIC SAFETY OFFICER DEATH BENEFITS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (7) of section 1204 of 

24 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

25 (42 U.S.C. 3796b) is amended—
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1 (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(D) an individual serving a public agency, 

8 or a contractor or subcontractor at any tier of 

9 a public agency, in an official capacity, with or 

10 without compensation, as a pilot or a crew 

11 member of an aircraft carrying out a fire12 fighting mission on behalf of such public agen13 cy, so long as the injury occurs during the con14 tract period beginning with the moment in 

15 which the aircraft moves under its own power 

16 for the purpose of flight and ending with the 

17 moment in which the aircraft comes to rest 

18 after landing.’’. 

19 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub20 section (a) shall apply with respect to injuries occurring 

21 on or after September 29, 1976.

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