report shall address the effect of the program 
with respect to— 
(i) 
recruitment 
and 
retention 
of 
wildland firefighters; and 
(ii) any cost savings. 
(F) EXEMPTION.—Employees compensated 
under the pilot program shall, for the period of 
such program, be exempt from any limitation 
on premium pay under section 5547 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(b) HAZARDOUS
DUTY
DIFFERENTIAL
TO
BE 
TREATED
AS PART
OF
A WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER’S 
BASE PAY FOR RETIREMENT PURPOSES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8331(3) of title 5, 
United States Code is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (G), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (H), by inserting 
‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(C) by adding after subparagraph (H) the 
following: 
‘‘(I) with respect to a wildland firefighter 
(as defined by section 2 of the Wildland Fire-
fighters Protection Act), any pay differential re-
ceived under section 5545(d);’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:10 Aug 01, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2858.IH
H2858
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Such section 
8331(3) is further amended, in the matter following 
subparagraph (I) (as added by paragraph (1)(C)), 
by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (B) through (H) of this 
paragraph’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (B) 
through (I),’’. 
(c) HAZARDOUS DUTY DIFFERENTIAL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In the administration of sec-
tion 5545(d) of title 5, United States Code, the Of-
fice of Personnel Management shall take such meas-
ures as may be necessary to ensure that, under the 
schedule or schedules of pay differentials for duty 
involving unusual physical hardship or hazard, a pay 
differential of 25 percent shall be payable to an indi-
vidual while serving as a member of a wildland fire-
fighting crew. 
(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘‘wildland firefighting crew’’ in-
cludes ground (hand crew, hotshot, engine, and 
other fire apparatus personnel) and airborne (smoke 
jumper or helitack) firefighting personnel on the fire 
line of any wildfire or prescribed fuel treatment burn 
or fire, as further defined in regulations of the Of-
fice of Personnel Management. 
(d) BUY BACK OF CIVILIAN TIME AFTER 1989.— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:10 Aug 01, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2858.IH
H2858
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual who is sub-
ject to the Federal Employees’ Retirement System 
as a firefighter (within the meaning of section 8401 
of title 5, United States Code) on the date of the en-
actment of this Act shall be entitled to have any 
qualifying firefighter service treated as creditable 
service under section 8411 of such title. 
(2) QUALIFYING FIREFIGHTER SERVICE.—For 
purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘qualifying 
firefighter service’’ means, in connection with an in-
dividual, any service— 
(A) which was performed by such indi-
vidual, as a wildland firefighter, after 1989 and 
before the date of the enactment of this Act; 
and 
(B) for which such individual was not al-
lowed to receive retirement credit by reason of 
section 8347(g) or 8402(c) of such title 5. 
(3) DEPOSIT REQUIREMENT.—Credit for a pe-
riod of service may not be given under this sub-
section unless the individual involved makes a de-
posit, in such manner as the Office of Personnel 
Management may by regulation require, equal to the 
employee contributions that would have been re-
quired (in the case of a firefighter) for such period 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:10 Aug 01, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2858.IH
H2858
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
under section 8334(c) or 8422(a) of such title 5, 
with interest. 
(4) CERTIFICATION.—The Office of Personnel 
Management shall accept the certification of the 
Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri-
culture, as the case may be, concerning whether an 
individual performed qualifying firefighter service 
and the length of the period of such service the indi-
vidual performed. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:10 Aug 01, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2858.IH
H2858
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS