Tim Sheehy (R-MT)
Wildland Firefighter Hazard Pay Correction Act
A Republican bill with 3 Democratic cosponsors · See all 5 cosponsors
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
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
The Wildland Firefighter Hazard Pay Correction Act seeks to amend section 5545 of title 5, United States Code. This bill would provide hazard pay for individuals performing duties related to the ignition, control, or suppression of prescribed burns. It also provides hazard pay for smokejumper firefighters performing parachute jumps from aircraft for operational, proficiency, or training purposes. The pay differential for these duties would be equal to the pay for fighting forest and range fires on the fireline. The Office of Personnel Management is required to issue regulations to implement these changes.
Yes· 3 of 8
- Scored +3
Does this better protect public land such as parks and forests?
Provides hazard pay for those implementing critical land management tools like prescribed burns.
- Scored +2
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?
Supports the personnel carrying out prescribed burns, which are essential for land management and fire preparedness.
- Scored +2
Would union members be better off under this?
Provides higher pay for workers in a highly unionized federal sector.
The opposite
- Scored -1
Does this reduce what the federal government owes?
Increased hazard pay expenditures slightly increase government spending.
- Scored -1
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?
The bill mandates additional pay for specific firefighter duties.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Fair Compensation for Prescribed Burn Workers: Firefighters performing duties involving the ignition, control, or suppression of prescribed burns would receive hazard pay because these tasks involve risks and smoke exposure comparable to wildfire suppression (Section 3(a)).
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Hazard Pay for Smokejumpers: Smokejumper firefighters would receive hazard pay for parachute jumps from flying aircraft for operational, proficiency, or training purposes (Section 3(a)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts for individuals or groups are explicitly mentioned in the provided text.
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.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this better protect public land such as parks and forests? — Provides hazard pay for those implementing critical land management tools like prescribed burns. Does this better protect air, water and wildlife? — Supports the personnel carrying out prescribed burns, which are essential for land management and fire preparedness. Does this improve help for people hit by a disaster? — Enhances the capacity and fairness for workers managing prescribed burns to prevent larger disasters. Does this invest in rural communities? — Positively impacts land management and wildfire preparedness in rural forested areas.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would people in rural areas be better off under this? — Improves fire preparedness and hazard pay for rural firefighting personnel. Would union members be better off under this? — Provides higher pay for workers in a highly unionized federal sector. Would farmers be better off under this? — Indirectly benefits those managing rural landscapes through improved funding for prescribed burn personnel. Would middle-income households be better off under this? — Increases income for some middle-class government employees in the firefighting sector.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this reduce what the federal government spends? — The bill mandates additional pay for specific firefighter duties. Does this reduce what the federal government owes? — Increased hazard pay expenditures slightly increase government spending.
- 7/20/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 6/18/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 4 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Michael BennetDemocrat · Colorado
John CurtisRepublican · Utah
John HickenlooperDemocrat · Colorado
Ashley MoodyRepublican · Florida
Alex PadillaDemocrat · California