Bill · S. 279· Senate(119-S-279)
Tim’s Act
- Introduced
- 1/28/2025
- Last activity
- 1/28/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Sponsored by
- Michael Bennet
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill, known as the "Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act," aims to reform and enhance the pay and benefits for Federal wildland firefighters. It establishes special base rates of pay that increase based on General Schedule grades and introduces incident response premium pay for qualifying deployments. The legislation also addresses health issues through a cancer and cardiovascular disease database, mental health support programs, and rest and recuperation leave. Additionally, it provides for retirement service credits, casualty assistance, and a housing allowance. The bill seeks to ensure pay parity and better support for those engaged in wildland fire management.
Yes· 3 of 12
Does this make mental health care easier to get?+8
The bill establishes a specialized mental health support service and a peer-spport network for firefighters.
Does this make college cost less?+6
The bill provides a voluntary tuition assistance program worth up to $4,000 for firefighters.
Would people in their twenties and thirties be better off under this?+5
The increased pay and tuition assistance benefit younger professionals entering the field.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Increased Base Pay: Wildland firefighters at grades 1 through 15 will receive a special base rate that replaces the standard General Schedule base rate, with increases ranging from 1.5% for GS-15 up to 42% for GS-1 (Section 2).
-
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 (Section 3).
-
Rest and Recuperation: Following the completion of a qualifying incident, covered employees may receive paid rest and recuperation leave (Section 5).
-
Health and Mental Health Support: The bill mandates the creation of a database to track chronic diseases related to environmental exposure and establishes a mental health awareness and support program, including a peer-to-peer network and specialized mental health professionals (Section 6).
-
Mental Health Leave: Each Federal wildland firefighter is entitled to 7 consecutive days of mental health leave per calendar year without loss of pay (Section 6).
-
Retirement and Service Credit: The bill allows for the continuing accrual of service for firefighters and provides for disability annuities for those suffering from certain diseases due to job-related environmental exposure (Section 7).
-
Financial Assistance and Bonuses: Firefighters may access a recruitment or retention bonus of at least $1,000, a housing allowance when deployed far from home, and a voluntary tuition assistance program worth up to $4,000 (Section 9).
-
Casualty Assistance: The establishment of a program provides assistance to affected firefighters and their next-of-kin regarding injury, illness, or death (Section 10).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
-
Premium Pay Limitations: Incident response premium pay is capped at a total of $9,000 in any calendar year (Section 3).
-
Pay Caps: There are limitations on premium pay to ensure that the aggregate of basic pay, premium pay, and hazard pay does not exceed the rate of basic pay for a position at level II of the Executive Schedule (Section s4).
-
Leave Restrictions: Rest and recuperation leave cannot be set aside for later use and there is no payment provided for any unused leave (Section 5).
-
Mental Health Leave Limits: Mental health leave is limited to 7 consecutive days per calendar year and cannot be accumulated for use in succeeding years (Section 6).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Low Income Households+5Good For Middle Class Households+5Good For People With Disabilities+5Good For Retirees+5Good For Young Adults+5Good For Seniors+4Good For Veterans+1
- Healthcare
- Improves Mental Health Access+8
- Economy And Finance
- Increases Minimum Wage+5Improves Economic Growth+1
- Education And Technology
- Improves College Affordability+6
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Social Security+4
- 1/28/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 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.