H.R. 9444

119 HR 9444 IH: Support our Firefighters Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-06-24
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 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 9444  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   June 24, 2026   Mr. Panetta  (for himself,  Mr. Bresnahan ,  Mr. Neguse ,  Mr. Harder of California ,  Mr. Bacon , and  Mr. Bergman ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Oversight and Government Reform , and in addition to the Committees on  Agriculture , and  Natural Resources , for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned   A BILL
To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Support our Firefighters Act  .
2.
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:
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;
(B)
a requirement to use 3 days of rest and recuperation leave after a 14-day period during which the covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident, excluding travel to and from assignments; or
(C)
a requirement to use 4 days of rest and recuperation leave after a 21-day period during which the covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident, including travel to and from assignments.
(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.
  .
3.
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) ), including premium pay authorized under section 1701 of the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act ( 5 U.S.C. 5547  note) (as amended by this Act), 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).
4.
Waiver of overtime caps for wildland firefighters
Section 1701 of the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act ( 5 U.S.C. 5547  note) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)(1)—
(A)
in the first sentence, by striking  or 2022 or 2023 or 2024  and inserting  or any calendar year thereafter ; and
(B)
in the second sentence—
(i)
by striking  Services  and inserting  services ; and
(ii)
by striking  subsection  and inserting  subsection. ;
(2)
in subsection (b), by striking  2021 or 2022 or 2023 or 2024  and inserting  the applicable calendar year ; and
(3)
in subsection (c), by striking  2021 or 2022 or 2023 or 2024  and inserting  the applicable calendar year .