A Democratic bill with 4 Republican cosponsors · See all 16 cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill, known as "Tim's Act," aims to reform and enhance the pay and benefits for Federal wildland firefighters. It establishes special base rates of pay that replace the standard General Schedule rates for various grades. The legislation also introduces incident response premium pay and provides for rest and recuperation leave. Additionally, it includes new health provisions such as a cancer and cardiovascular disease database and mental health support programs. The bill also addresses retirement benefits, pay parity for structural firefighters, and creates a casualty assistance program.
Yes
- Scored +7
Does this make mental health care easier to get?
The bill mandates a mental health awareness and support program specifically for wildland firefighters and their families.
- Scored +5
Does this make health care easier to get in general?
The bill establishes a cancer and cardiovascular disease database to track occupational exposures.
- Scored +5
Does this better protect public land such as parks and forests?
The bill supports personnel responsible for managing public lands through wildland fire management.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Increased Base Pay: Wildland firefighters would receive a special base rate of pay that is higher than the standard General Schedule base rate, with increases ranging from 1.5% for GS-15 up to 42% for GS-1 (Sec. 2).
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Incident Response Premium Pay: Employees deployed to qualifying incidents, such as wildfires or severity incidents, are eligible for premium pay at a daily rate of 450 percent of their hourly basic pay (Sec. 3).
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Rest and Recuperation Leave: Covered employees may receive paid leave following a qualifying incident to recover (Sec. 5).
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Enhanced Health and Mental Health Support: The bill mandates the creation of a database to track chronic diseases caused by environmental exposure and establishes a mental health program including awareness, training, and a peer-to-peer support network (Sec. 6).
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Mental Health Leave: Firefighters are entitled to 7 consecutive days of leave per calendar year for mental health purposes without loss of pay (Sec. 6).
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Retirement Benefits Improvements: The bill allows for the crediting of past service as a firefighter for retirement purposes under certain conditions and expands disability annuity considerations for those with job-related diseases (Sec. 7).
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Recruitment and Retention Bonuses: A program will be established to provide recruitment or retention bonuses of not less than $1,000 (Sec. 9).
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Housing Allowance: Firefighters deployed more than 50 miles from their primary residence will receive a housing allowance (Sec. 9).
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Tuition Assistance: A voluntary program will provide payments of not less than $4,000 for educational experiences and career development (Sec. 9).
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Casualty Assistance: A new program will be developed to provide assistance, including travel reimbursement, to the next-of-kin of firefighters who are killed or critically injured in the line of duty (Sec. 10).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Premium Pay Caps: Incident response premium pay is subject to a total cap of $9,000 in any calendar year (Sec. 3).
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Pay Limitations: There are special limitations on premium pay to ensure that an employee's aggregate pay does not exceed the rate of basic pay for a position at level II of the Executive Schedule (Sec. 4).
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Leave Restrictions: Rest and recuperation leave must be used immediately after a qualifying incident and cannot be set aside for future use (Sec. 5).
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Unused Leave: Employees may not receive any payment for unused rest and recuperation leave (Sec. 5).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Healthcare
- Does this make mental health care easier to get? — The bill mandates a mental health awareness and support program specifically for wildland firefighters and their families. Does this make health care easier to get in general? — The bill establishes a cancer and cardiovascular disease database to track occupational exposures.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this better protect public land such as parks and forests? — The bill supports personnel responsible for managing public lands through wildland fire management.
- 8/31/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 6/30/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 1/8/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 4/24/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 3/11/2025
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 3/7/2025
- Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.
- 2/13/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 1/28/2025
- Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, and Agriculture, 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.
- 9 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in House
2 bills Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Suzanne BonamiciDemocrat · Oregon
Julia BrownleyDemocrat · California
Don BaconRepublican · Nebraska
Robert BresnahanRepublican · Pennsylvania
Brian FitzpatrickRepublican · Pennsylvania
Marie PerezDemocrat · Washington
Josh HarderDemocrat · California
Val HoyleDemocrat · Oregon
Zoe LofgrenDemocrat · California
Mike LevinDemocrat · California
Michael LawlerRepublican · New York
Brittany PettersenDemocrat · Colorado
Kim SchrierDemocrat · Washington
Melanie StansburyDemocrat · New Mexico
Mike ThompsonDemocrat · California
George WhitesidesDemocrat · California