Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens pay, overtime flexibility, and recovery time for federal wildland firefighters—improving safety and retention—while relying on limited existing balances, extending costs and reducing some oversight and operational flexibility, which could shift funds away from infrastructure projects and create future budgetary and staffing risks.
Wildland firefighters and federal wildfire personnel receive continued base-pay increases, authorized premium pay, and an extended overtime-cap waiver, boosting take-home pay and helping retention during multi-year fire seasons.
Federal wildland firefighters receive paid rest-and-recuperation days after long deployments, improving recovery, reducing burnout, and supporting safety on the job.
The bill directs pay/authorizations using existing unobligated balances rather than new appropriations, avoiding immediate new taxpayer outlays.
The bill shifts unobligated IIJA and other balances to pay firefighter increases, reducing funds available for originally planned infrastructure projects (especially in rural areas) and relying on limited balances that could create long-term funding gaps.
Keeping the overtime-cap waiver permanent risks higher ongoing federal overtime costs that increase pressures on federal budgets and taxpayers in future years.
Making the overtime waiver permanent reduces periodic Congressional sunset-driven review, lowering external oversight and accountability for overtime exceptions.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Adds paid R&R leave for qualifying federal wildland firefighters, permits a small transfer to sustain pay increases, and extends overtime-waiver availability beyond listed years.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Alejandro Padilla · Last progress March 26, 2026
Creates paid "rest and recuperation" leave for qualifying federal wildland firefighters and requires Agriculture and Interior to issue uniform policies on deployments and post-deployment rest. Authorizes a one-time transfer (up to $5 million of unobligated IIJA funds) to continue a previously enacted wildland firefighter base pay increase and permanently extends a previously time-limited overtime-cap waiver for wildland firefighters to apply in future calendar years. The measure sets how R&R leave is used and paid, prevents banking or payout of unused R&R, protects employees with intermittent schedules, and makes minor statutory text edits to broaden overtime-waiver availability beyond the originally enumerated years.