premium pay that is subject to the limits established in 
those sections. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on the first day of the first 
pay period that has a payment date in January 2026. Sub-
section (b) shall be effective on the first day of the first 
applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 
2025. 
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is further 
amended by inserting after the item for section 5547 the 
following new item: 
‘‘5547a. Special limitations on premium pay for employees engaged in wildland 
firefighting.’’. 
SEC. 5. REST AND RECUPERATION LEAVE FOR EMPLOYEES 
ENGAGED IN WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 6329d the following: 
‘‘§ 6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees 
engaged in wildland firefighting 
‘‘(a) In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘applicable Secretary’ means the 
Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the In-
terior; 
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‘‘(2) the term ‘covered employee’ means an em-
ployee of the Forest Service or the Department of 
the Interior who— 
‘‘(A) qualifies as a ‘wildland firefighter’ 
based on the definitions of ‘firefighter’ and 
‘wildland firefighter’ in section 5332a(a) (apply-
ing 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 agency 
to perform wildland fire incident related duties 
during the period such employee is assigned to 
a qualifying incident; and 
‘‘(3) the term ‘qualifying incident’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 5545c(a)(5). 
‘‘(b) A covered employee may receive paid rest and 
recuperation leave following the completion of service 
under a qualifying incident, subject to policies established 
at the sole and exclusive discretion of the Secretary of the 
Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior, as applicable. 
Each Secretary shall prescribe such policies after con-
sulting with the other Secretary. 
‘‘(c) Rest and recuperation leave granted under this 
section shall be used during scheduled hours within the 
covered employee’s tour of duty established for leave- 
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charging purposes and shall be paid in the same manner 
as annual leave. Rest and recuperation leave must be used 
immediately after a qualifying incident and may not be 
set aside for later use. A covered employee may not receive 
any payment for unused rest and recuperation leave. 
‘‘(d) A covered employee with an intermittent work 
schedule shall be excused from duty during the same pe-
riod of time that other covered employees in the same cir-
cumstances are entitled to rest and recuperation leave and 
shall receive a payment as if the covered employee with 
an intermittent work schedule were entitled to rest and 
recuperation leave under subsections (b) and (c).’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall be effective on the first day of the 
first applicable pay period beginning on or after October 
1, 2025. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for subchapter II of chapter 63 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 6329d the following new item: 
‘‘6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland fire-
fighting.’’. 
SEC. 6. HEALTH PROVISIONS. 
(a) DATABASE; RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 
one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre-
taries shall— 
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(1) establish and maintain a publicly accessible, 
searchable database on a website, to be called the 
‘‘Federal Wildland Firefighter Cancer and Cardio-
vascular Disease Database’’, to track chronic disease 
caused by on-the-job environmental exposure over 
the lifetimes of current and former Federal wildland 
firefighters; 
(2) update such database not less than on a 
yearly basis; and 
(3) develop and adhere to recommendations on 
mitigation strategies to minimize exposure to envi-
ronmental hazards for Federal wildland firefighters. 
(b) MENTAL HEALTH.— 
(1) MENTAL
HEALTH
PROGRAM.—Not later 
than January 1, 2026, the Secretaries shall establish 
and carry out a program for Federal wildland fire-
fighters for mental health awareness and support. 
Such program shall include the following: 
(A) A mental health awareness campaign. 
(B) A mental health education and train-
ing program that includes an on-boarding cur-
riculum. 
(C) An extensive peer-to-peer mental 
health support network for Federal wildland 
firefighters and their immediate family. 
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(D) Expansion of the Critical Incident 
Stress Management Program, to develop and 
retain a larger pool of qualified mental health 
professionals who are familiar with the experi-
ences of the emergency response workforce. The 
Program shall monitor and track mental health 
in the profession to better understand the scope 
of the issue and provide ongoing assistance and 
professional long-term care to patients. 
(E) Establish and carry out a new and dis-
tinct mental health support service specific to 
Federal wildland firefighters and their imme-
diate family, with culturally relevant and trau-
ma informed mental health professionals who 
are readily available, and not subject to any 
limit on the number of sessions or service pro-
vided. 
(2) MENTAL
HEALTH
LEAVE.—Each Federal 
wildland firefighter shall be entitled to 7 consecutive 
days of leave, without loss or reduction in pay, dur-
ing any calendar year. Leave provided under this 
paragraph shall not— 
(A) accumulate for use in succeeding 
years; and 
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