119-s135

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 135 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 135

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for special base rates 
 of pay for wildland firefighters, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 January 16, 2025

 Mr. Padilla (for himself, Mr. Daines, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Schiff, Mr. 
Sheehy, and Mr. Heinrich) introduced the following bill; which was read 
 twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
 Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for special base rates 
 of pay for wildland firefighters, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Wildland Firefighter Paycheck 
Protection Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after 

section 5332 the following:
``

Sec. 5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters
 ``

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section--
 ``

    (1) the term `firefighter' means an employee who--
 ``
        (A) is a firefighter within the meaning of 
 

section 8331

    (21) or 

section 8401

    (14) ;
 ``
        (B) in the case of an employee who holds a 
 supervisory or administrative position and is subject 
 to subchapter III of chapter 83, but who does not 
 qualify to be considered a firefighter within the 
 meaning of 

section 8331

    (21) , would otherwise qualify if 
 the employee had transferred directly to that position 
 after serving as a firefighter within the meaning of 
 that section;
 ``
            (C) in the case of an employee who holds a 
 supervisory or administrative position and is subject 
 to chapter 84, but who does not qualify to be 
 considered a firefighter within the meaning of 

section 8401

    (14) , would otherwise qualify if the employee had 
 transferred directly to that position after performing 
 duties described in 

section 8401

    (14)
        (A) for at least 3 
 years; or
 ``
            (D) in the case of an employee who is not subject 
 to subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84, holds a 
 position that the Office of Personnel Management 
 determines would satisfy subparagraph
        (A) ,
        (B) , or
            (C) if the employee were subject to subchapter III of 
 chapter 83 or chapter 84;
 ``

    (2) the term `General Schedule base rate' means an annual 
 rate of basic pay established under 

section 5332 before any 
 additions, such as a locality-based comparability payment under 
 

section 5304 or 5304a or a special rate supplement under 
 

section 5305;
 ``

    (3) the term `special base rate' means an annual rate of 
 basic pay payable to a wildland firefighter, before any 
 additions or reductions, that replaces the General Schedule 
 base rate otherwise applicable to the wildland firefighter and 
 that is administered in the same manner as a General Schedule 
 base rate; and
 ``

    (4) the term `wildland firefighter' means a firefighter--
 ``
        (A) who is employed by the Forest Service or the 
 Department of the Interior; and
 ``
        (B) the duties of the position of whom relate 
 primarily to wildland fires, as opposed to structure 
 fires.
 ``

    (b) Special Base Rates of Pay.--
 ``

    (1) Entitlement to special rate.--Notwithstanding 

section 5332, a wildland firefighter is entitled to a special base rate 
 at grades 1 through 15, which shall--
 ``
        (A) replace the otherwise applicable General 
 Schedule base rate for the wildland firefighter;
 ``
        (B) be basic pay for all purposes, including the 
 purpose of computing a locality-based comparability 
 payment under 

section 5304 or 5304a; and
 ``
            (C) be computed as described in paragraph

    (2) and 
 adjusted at the time of adjustments in the General 
 Schedule.
 ``

    (2) Computation.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--The special base rate for a 
 wildland firefighter shall be derived by increasing the 
 otherwise applicable General Schedule base rate for the 
 wildland firefighter by the following applicable 
 percentage for the grade of the wildland firefighter 
 and rounding the result to the nearest whole dollar:
 ``
            (i) For GS-1, 42 percent.
 ``
            (ii) For GS-2, 39 percent.
 ``
            (iii) For GS-3, 36 percent.
 ``
            (iv) For GS-4, 33 percent.
 ``
            (v) For GS-5, 30 percent.
 ``
            (vi) For GS-6, 27 percent.
 ``
            (vii) For GS-7, 24 percent.
 ``
            (viii) For GS-8, 21 percent.
 ``
            (ix) For GS-9, 18 percent.
 ``
            (x) For GS-10, 15 percent.
 ``
            (xi) For GS-11, 12 percent.
 ``
            (xii) For GS-12, 9 percent.
 ``
            (xiii) For GS-13, 6 percent.
 ``
            (xiv) For GS-14, 3 percent.
 ``
            (xv) For GS-15, 1.5 percent.
 ``
        (B) Hourly, daily, weekly, or biweekly rates.--
 When the special base rate with respect to a wildland 
 firefighter is expressed as an hourly, daily, weekly, 
 or biweekly rate, the special base rate shall be 
 computed from the appropriate annual rate of basic pay 
 derived under subparagraph
        (A) in accordance with the 
 rules under 

section 5504

    (b) .''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter III 
of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to 

section 5332 the following:

``5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters.''.
            (c) Prevailing Rate Employees.--

Section 5343 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (g)

    (1) For a prevailing rate employee described in 

section 5342

    (a)

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

section 5332a

    (a) , the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior 
(as applicable) shall increase the wage rates of that employee by an 
amount (determined at the sole and exclusive discretion of the 
applicable Secretary after consultation with the other Secretary) that 
is generally consistent with the percentage increases given to wildland 
firefighters in the General Schedule under 

section 5332a.
 ``

    (2) An increased wage rate under paragraph

    (1) shall be basic pay 
for the same purposes as the wage rate otherwise established under this 
section.
 ``

    (3) An increase under this subsection may not cause the wage rate 
of an employee to increase to a rate that would produce an annualized 
rate in excess of the annual rate for level IV of the Executive 
Schedule.''.
            (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning 
after the last day of the last pay period for which Federal wildland 
firefighter temporary salary increases were in effect, as originally 
authorized under 

section 40803
            (d) (4)
        (B) of the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592
            (d) (4)
        (B) ) and as extended under 
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118-42; 138 Stat. 
25), the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025 (division A of Public Law 
118-83; 138 Stat. 1524), and the Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 
2025 (division A of Public Law 118-158).

SEC. 3. WILDLAND FIRE INCIDENT RESPONSE PREMIUM PAY.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter V of chapter 55 of title 5, United 
Sates Code, is amended by inserting after 

section 5545b the following:
``

Sec. 5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees engaged in 
 wildland firefighting
 ``

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section--
 ``

    (1) the term `appropriate committees of Congress' means--
 ``
        (A) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
 Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
 ``
        (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
 of the Senate;
 ``
            (C) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
 Forestry of the Senate;
 ``
            (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
 Senate;
 ``
        (E) the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
 of the House of Representatives;
 ``
        (F) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
 Representatives;
 ``
        (G) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
 House of Representatives; and
 ``
        (H) the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
 of Representatives;
 ``

    (2) the term `covered employee' means an employee of the 
 Forest Service or the Department of the Interior who is--
 ``
        (A) a wildland firefighter, as defined in 

section 5332a

    (a) ; or
 ``
        (B) certified by the applicable agency to perform 
 wildland fire incident-related duties during the period 
 that employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying 
 incident;
 ``

    (3) the term `incident response premium pay' means pay to 
 which a covered employee is entitled under subsection
            (c) ;
 ``

    (4) the term `prescribed fire incident' means a wildland 
 fire originating from a planned ignition in accordance with 
 applicable laws, policies, and regulations to meet specific 
 objectives;
 ``

    (5) the term `qualifying incident'--
 ``
        (A) means--
 ``
            (i) a wildfire incident, a prescribed 
 fire incident, or a severity incident; or
 ``
            (ii) an incident that the Secretary of 
 Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior 
 determines is similar in nature to an incident 
 described in clause
            (i) ; and
 ``
        (B) does not include an initial response 
 (including an initial attack fire) in which a wildfire 
 is contained within 36 hours; and
 ``

    (6) the term `severity incident' means an incident in 
 which a covered employee is pre-positioned in an area in which 
 conditions indicate there is a high risk of wildfires.
 ``

    (b) Eligibility.--A covered employee is eligible for incident 
response premium pay under this section if--
 ``

    (1) the covered employee is deployed to respond to a 
 qualifying incident; and
 ``

    (2) the deployment described in paragraph

    (1) is--
 ``
        (A) outside of the official duty station of the 
 covered employee; or
 ``
        (B) within the official duty station of the 
 covered employee and the covered employee is assigned 
 to an incident-adjacent fire camp or other designated 
 field location.
 ``
            (c) Entitlement to Incident Response Premium Pay.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--A covered employee who satisfies the 
 conditions under subsection

    (b) is entitled to premium pay for 
 the period in which the covered employee is deployed to respond 
 to the applicable qualifying incident.
 ``

    (2) Computation.--
 ``
        (A) Formula.--Subject to subparagraphs
        (B) and
            (C) , premium pay under paragraph

    (1) shall be paid to a 
 covered employee at a daily rate of 450 percent of the 
 hourly rate of basic pay of the covered employee for 
 each day that the covered employee satisfies the 
 requirements under subsection

    (b) , rounded to the 
 nearest whole cent.
 ``
        (B) Limitation.--Premium pay under this 
 subsection--
 ``
            (i) with respect to a covered employee 
 for whom the annual rate of basic pay is 
 greater than that for step 10 of GS-10, shall 
 be paid at the daily rate established under 
 subparagraph
        (A) for the applicable rate for 
 step 10 of GS-10 (where the applicable rate is 
 the rate in effect in the same locality that is 
 the basis for a locality-based comparability 
 payment payable to the covered employee under 
 

section 5304); and
 ``
            (ii) may not be paid to a covered 
 employee in a total amount that exceeds $9,000 
 in any calendar year.
 ``
            (C) Adjustments.--
 ``
            (i) Assessment.--The Secretary of 
 Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior 
 shall assess the difference between the average 
 total amount of compensation that was paid to 
 covered employees, by grade, in fiscal years 
 2023 and 2024.
 ``
            (ii) Report.--Not later than 180 days 
 after the date that is 1 year after the 
 effective date of this section, the Secretary 
 of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
 Interior shall jointly publish a report on the 
 results of the assessment conducted under 
 clause
            (i) .
 ``
            (iii) Administrative actions.--After 
 publishing the report required under clause
            (ii) , the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
 Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with 
 the Director of the Office of Personnel 
 Management, may, in the sole and exclusive 
 discretion of the Secretaries acting jointly, 
 administratively adjust the amount of premium 
 pay paid under this subsection (or take other 
 administrative action) to ensure that the 
 average annual amount of total compensation 
 paid to covered employees, by grade, is more 
 consistent with such amount that was paid to 
 those employees in fiscal year 2023.
 ``
            (iv) Congressional notification.--Not 
 later than 3 days after an adjustment made, or 
 other administrative action taken, under clause
            (iii) becomes final, the Secretary of 
 Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior 
 shall jointly submit to the appropriate 
 committees of Congress a notification regarding 
 that adjustment or other administrative action, 
 as applicable.
 ``
            (d) Treatment of Incident Response Premium Pay.--Incident 
response premium pay under this section--
 ``

    (1) is not considered part of the basic pay of a covered 
 employee for any purpose;
 ``

    (2) may not be considered in determining the lump-sum 
 payment of a covered employee for accumulated and accrued 
 annual leave under 

section 5551 or 

section 5552;
 ``

    (3) may not be used in determining pay under 

section 8114;
 ``

    (4) may not be considered in determining pay for hours of 
 paid leave or other paid time off during which the premium pay 
 is not payable; and
 ``

    (5) shall be disregarded in determining the minimum wage 
 and overtime pay to which a covered employee is entitled under 
 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et 
 seq.).''.

    (b) Additional Premium Pay Amendments.--Subchapter V of chapter 55 
of title 5, United States Code, is amended--

    (1) in 

section 5544--
        (A) by amending the section heading to read as 
 follows: ``wage-board overtime, sunday rates, and other 
 premium pay''; and
        (B) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (d) A prevailing rate employee described in 

section 5342

    (a)

    (2)
        (A) shall receive incident response premium pay under the same terms and 
conditions that apply to a covered employee under 

section 5545c if that 
employee--
 ``

    (1) is employed by the Forest Service or the Department 
 of the Interior; and
 ``

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

section 5332a

    (a) ; or
 ``
        (B) is certified by the applicable agency to perform 
 wildland fire incident-related duties during the period the 
 employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident (as 
 defined in 

section 5545c

    (a) ).''; and

    (2) in 

section 5547

    (a) , in the matter preceding paragraph

    (1) , by inserting ``5545c,'' after ``5545a,''.
            (c) Clerical Amendments.--The table of sections for subchapter V of 
chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--

    (1) by amending the item relating to 

section 5544 to read 
 as follows:

``5544. Wage-board overtime, Sunday rates, and other premium pay.'';
and

    (2) by inserting after the item relating to 

section 5545b 
 the following:

``5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees engaged in 
 wildland firefighting.''.
            (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning 
after the last day of the last pay period for which Federal wildland 
firefighter temporary salary increases were in effect, as originally 
authorized under 

section 40803
            (d) (4)
        (B) of the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592
            (d) (4)
        (B) ) and as extended under 
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118-42; 138 Stat. 
25), the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025 (division A of Public Law 
118-83; 138 Stat. 1524), and the Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 
2025 (division A of Public Law 118-158).

SEC. 4. REST AND RECUPERATION LEAVE FOR EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN WILDLAND 
 FIREFIGHTING.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 63 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``

Sec. 6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in 
 wildland firefighting
 ``

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section--
 ``

    (1) the term `applicable Secretary' means the Secretary 
 of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior, as applicable 
 to a covered employee;
 ``

    (2) the term `covered employee' means an employee of the 
 Forest Service or the Department of the Interior who--
 ``
        (A) qualifies as a wildland firefighter based on 
 the definitions of the terms `firefighter' and 
 `wildland firefighter' in 

section 5332a

    (a) (applying 
 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 Secretary to 
 perform wildland fire incident-related duties during 
 the period the employee is deployed to respond to a 
 qualifying incident; and
 ``

    (3) the term `qualifying incident' has the meaning given 
 the term in 

section 5545c

    (a) .
 ``

    (b) Rest and Recuperation Leave.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--A covered employee may receive paid rest 
 and recuperation leave following the completion of service in 
 which the covered employee is deployed to respond to a 
 qualifying incident, subject to the policies prescribed under 
 this subsection.
 ``

    (2) Prescription of policies.--The Secretary of 
 Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall, in the 
 sole and exclusive discretion of the Secretaries acting 
 jointly, prescribe uniform policies described in paragraph

    (1) after consulting with the other applicable Secretary.
 ``

    (3) Content of policies.--The policies prescribed under 
 paragraph

    (2) may include--
 ``
        (A) a maximum period of days in which a covered 
 employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying 
 incident, which shall--
 ``
            (i) begin on the date on which the 
 covered employee departs from the official duty 
 station of the covered employee and end on the 
 date on which the covered employee returns to 
 the official duty station of the covered 
 employee; and
 ``
            (ii) be followed by a minimum number of 
 days of rest and recuperation for the covered 
 employee; or
 ``
        (B) a requirement that prohibits a covered 
 employee from working more than 16 hours per day on 
 average over a 14-day period during which the covered 
 employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying 
 incident.
 ``
            (c) Use of Leave.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Rest and recuperation leave granted 
 under this section--
 ``
        (A) shall be used during scheduled hours within 
 the tour of duty of the applicable covered employee 
 established for leave-charging purposes;
 ``
        (B) shall be paid in the same manner as annual 
 leave;
 ``
            (C) shall be used immediately after a qualifying 
 incident; and
 ``
            (D) may not be set aside for later use.
 ``

    (2) No payment.--A covered employee may not receive any 
 payment for unused rest and recuperation leave granted under 
 this section.
 ``
            (d) Intermittent Work Schedule.--A covered employee with an 
intermittent work schedule--
 ``

    (1) shall be excused from duty during the same period of 
 time that other covered employees in the same circumstances are 
 entitled to rest and recuperation leave; and
 ``

    (2) shall receive a payment as if the covered employee 
 were entitled to rest and recuperation leave under subsection

    (b) .''.

    (b) Technical and Conforming 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:

``6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland 
 firefighting.''.

SEC. 5. TRANSFER AUTHORITY.

 Notwithstanding 

section 40803
            (c) (2) of the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592
            (c) (2) ), not more than 
$5,000,000 of the unobligated balances of amounts made available under 
the heading ``wildland fire management'' under the heading ``Forest 
Service'' under the heading ``DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE'' in title VI 
of division J of that Act (Public Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 1410) pursuant 
to 

section 40803
            (c) (2)
        (B) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 6592
            (c) (2)
        (B) ) may, as 
necessary to continue uninterrupted the Federal wildland firefighter 
base salary increase described in 

section 40803
            (d) (4)
        (B) of that Act 
(16 U.S.C. 6592
            (d) (4)
        (B) ), be transferred to and merged with the 
amounts made available under the heading ``wildland fire management'' 
under the heading ``Department-wide Programs'' under the heading 
``DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR'' in title VI of division J of that Act 
(Public Law 117-58; 135 Stat. 1393).
 <all>