I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5631 
To reform and enhance the pay and benefits of Federal wildland firefighters, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 19, 2021 
Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Ms. CHENEY, Ms. PORTER, and Mr. CARBAJAL) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Over-
sight and Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Re-
sources, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To reform and enhance the pay and benefits of Federal 
wildland firefighters, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; DEFINITIONS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay 
Parity Act’’ or ‘‘Tim’s Act’’. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
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(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. 
(2) FEDERAL
WILDLAND
FIREFIGHTER.—The 
term ‘‘Federal wildland firefighter’’ means any tem-
porary, seasonal, or permanent position at the De-
partment of Agriculture or the Department of the 
Interior that maintains group, emergency incident 
management, or fire qualifications, as established 
annually by the Standards for Wildland Fire Posi-
tion Qualifications published by the National Wild-
fire Coordinating Group, and primarily engages in 
or supports wildland fire management activities, in-
cluding forestry and rangeland technicians and posi-
tions concerning aviation, engineering heavy equip-
ment operations, or fire and fuels management. 
(3) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 
means the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec-
retary of the Interior. 
SEC. 2. FEDERAL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER OCCUPATIONAL 
SERIES, PAY, RECRUITMENT, AND RETEN-
TION. 
(a) OCCUPATIONAL SERIES.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT; DETERMINATION.—Not 
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act— 
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(A) the Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management shall establish one or more classi-
fication series (if one series, to be designated as 
the ‘‘Wildland Firefighter Series’’) for Federal 
wildland firefighter positions; and 
(B) the Secretaries shall determine each 
position within the Department of Agriculture 
and the Department of the Interior that quali-
fies as a Federal wildland firefighter position. 
(2) ELECTION.—Any individual employed as a 
Federal wildland firefighter in a covered 6C position 
(or any successor position) on the date on which any 
classification series established under paragraph (1) 
takes effect may elect— 
(A) to remain in the occupational series in 
which the individual is classified on that date; 
or 
(B) to be transferred to any occupational 
series established under paragraph (1). 
(b) PAY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, there is estab-
lished a pay scale for Federal wildland firefighter 
positions within any classification series established 
under subsection (a). Under such scale, the min-
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imum rate of basic pay for any position shall be not 
less than the rate of pay for step 3 of GS–6 of the 
General Schedule, as adjusted by the pay locality 
designated as ‘‘Rest of U.S.’’ under section 5304 of 
title 5, United States Code. 
(2) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, beginning in the first pay 
period beginning on or after the date that the pay 
scale is established under paragraph (1) and annu-
ally thereafter, the basic rate of pay for each Fed-
eral wildland firefighter occupying a position within 
such pay scale shall be increased by not less than 
the percentage equal to the percent change in the 
Consumer Price Index (all items—United States city 
average), published monthly by the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, for December of the preceding year over 
such Consumer Price Index for the December of the 
year prior to the preceding year, adjusted to the 
nearest one-tenth of 1 percent. 
(3) COMPENSATION COMPARABLE TO NON-FED-
ERAL FIREFIGHTERS.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date the pay scale is established under para-
graph (1), the Secretaries shall submit a report to 
Congress on whether pay, benefits, and bonuses pro-
vided to Federal wildland firefighters are comparable 
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to the pay, benefits, and bonuses provided for non- 
Federal firefighters in the State or locality where 
Federal wildland firefighters are based. 
(4) HAZARDOUS
DUTY
PAY.—Each Federal 
wildland firefighter in any classification series estab-
lished under subsection (a) carrying out work com-
pleted during prescribed fire, parachuting, tree 
climbing over 20 feet, hazard tree removal, and 
other hazardous work as identified by the Secre-
taries, shall be entitled to be paid the appropriate 
differential under section 5545(d) of title 5, United 
States Code, as if such employee was covered by 
such subsection. The Director may prescribe regula-
tions to carry out this paragraph. 
(c) WORK SCHEDULES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the require-
ments of this subsection, the Director shall establish 
guidelines for work schedules for positions within 
any classification series established under subsection 
(a) to better account for regular and overtime per 
workday, work performed when deployed on any re-
source order, on-call duties, stand-by, travel to and 
from assignment, and regular days off. 
(2) RESOURCE ORDER.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—When deployed on a re-
source order under the Incident Resource Order 
Capability System (or any successor system), a 
Federal wildland firefighter shall be paid for 
the period beginning on the receipt of such 
order and ending when the employee returns 
from such deployment. 
(B) WAGES.—A Federal wildland fire-
fighter shall receive compensation for each hour 
of each 24-hour period of such deployment, to 
include hours paid at such firefighter’s hourly 
rate of basic pay and hours of such period paid 
at a rate equal to one and one-half times such 
hourly rate of which all is premium pay. 
(d) OTHER MATTERS.— 
(1) UNPAID LEAVE TO CARE FOR FAMILY MEM-
BER.—A Federal wildland firefighter not covered by 
the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or sub-
chapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, United States 
Code, shall be allowed a period of unpaid leave, dur-
ing each calendar year, not to exceed 180 days in 
order to care for the spouse, or a son, daughter, or 
parent, of the employee, if such spouse, son, daugh-
ter, or parent has a serious health condition. Leave 
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provided under this paragraph shall not accumulate 
for use in subsequent years. 
(2) RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION BONUS.— 
In order to promote the recruitment and retention of 
Federal wildland firefighters, the Director, in coordi-
nation with the Secretaries, shall establish a pro-
gram under which a recruitment or retention bonus 
of not less than $1,000 may be paid to a Federal 
wildland firefighter in an amount as determined ap-
propriate by the Director and the Secretaries. The 
minimum amount of such bonus in the previous sen-
tence shall be increased each year by the Consumer 
Price Index in the manner prescribed under sub-
section (b)(2). Any bonus under this subsection— 
(A) shall be paid to any primary or sec-
ondary Federal wildland firefighter upon the 
date that such firefighter successfully completes 
a work capacity test; and 
(B) may not be paid to any such fire-
fighter more than once per calendar year. 
(3) HOUSING
ALLOWANCE.—The Secretaries 
shall provide a housing allowance to any Federal 
wildland firefighter deployed to a location more than 
50 miles from their primary residence. Such allow-
ance shall be in an amount determined appropriate 
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by the Secretaries and adjusted based on the cost of 
housing in the area of deployment. 
(4) CAREER TRANSITION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retaries, shall establish, maintain, coordinate, 
and operate a voluntary tuition assistance pro-
gram for Federal wildland firefighters occu-
pying a permanent position that encompass a 
broad range of educational experiences (either 
in-person or through distance-learning), includ-
ing academic skills development, vocational pro-
grams, career and technical programs, and pro-
grams leading to the award of undergraduate 
and graduate degrees. 
(B) AMOUNT.—The program under sub-
paragraph (A) shall provide, not more than 
once during each calendar year, a payment of 
not less than $4,000 to each Federal wildland 
firefighter who elects to participate in the pro-
gram. 
(C) REVIEW.—The Secretaries shall con-
duct an annual review of whether the amount 
provided under subparagraph (B) is adequate, 
in consideration of inflation and other effects. 
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SEC. 3. HEALTH PROVISIONS. 
(a) DATABASE; RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 
one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre-
taries shall— 
(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, 2023, the Secretaries shall establish 
and carry out a program for Federal wildland fire-
fighters for mental health awareness and support. 
Such program shall include— 
(A) a mental health awareness campaign; 
(B) a mental health education and training 
program that includes an on-boarding cur-
riculum; 
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(C) an extensive peer-to-peer mental health 
support network for Federal wildland fire-
fighters and their immediate family; 
(D) expanding the Critical Incident Stress 
Management Program, developing and retaining 
a larger pool of qualified mental health profes-
sionals who are familiar with the experiences of 
the wildland firefighting workforce, and moni-
toring and tracking mental health in the profes-
sion to better understand the scope of the issue 
and develop strategies to assist; and 
(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— 
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