PRIA Logo™
119-s-279119th CongressWALLET

Tim’s Act

Sponsored By: Senator Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]

Introduced

Summary

This bill would deliver _pay parity and higher pay for federal firefighters_. It would create special base pay for wildland firefighters and require structural firefighters to get comparable pay and benefits, while adding deployment premium pay, leave, mental‑health supports, and retirement fixes.

Show full summary
  • Federal wildland firefighters: would get a new special base rate that replaces the General Schedule and raises pay by grade (for example, GS‑1 +42% down to GS‑15 +1.5%). The bill also creates deployment premium pay, paid rest and recuperation after qualifying incidents, annual CPI adjustments, recruitment bonuses, a housing allowance for long deployments, and tuition assistance.
  • Federal structural firefighters: would receive pay, benefits, and bonuses equal to wildland firefighters starting one year after enactment, with a follow‑up report on competitiveness.
  • Families and survivors plus firefighter health: would get a Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program with centralized case management, travel reimbursement, and benefit navigation. The bill would also create a public cancer and cardiovascular disease database, expand mental‑health programs and peer support, and authorize 7 days of mental‑health leave per firefighter each year.

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

7 provisions identified: 6 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

Annual tuition help for firefighters

If enacted, the Secretaries would create a voluntary tuition assistance program within one year for permanent Federal wildland firefighters. If enacted, each participating permanent firefighter would receive not less than $4,000 once per calendar year for academic, vocational, or degree programs. If enacted, the Secretaries must review annually whether $4,000 remains adequate for inflation.

Better retirement and disability rules

If enacted, the bill would let eligible firefighters treat certain past service as firefighter service for retirement if they elect and pay required deposits plus interest. If enacted, overtime pay received on or after enactment would count as basic pay for retirement calculations. If enacted, the waiting period for disability annuity qualification for certain job-related diseases would be shortened from 18 months to 12 months.

Higher pay and parity for firefighters

If enacted, the bill would create a special base pay rate for Federal wildland firefighters that replaces the usual GS base rate. The new rate adds a GS-grade percentage (for example, GS-1 +42%, GS-5 +30%, GS-15 +1.5%) and is rounded to the nearest dollar. Those special base rates would get annual increases tied to the December-to-December Consumer Price Index. If enacted, the bill would also require that pay, benefits, and bonuses for Federal structural firefighters be comparable with wildland firefighters starting one year after enactment, and the Director must report to Congress on comparability.

Higher incident pay, bonuses, and cap

If enacted, covered wildland firefighters would get a new incident response premium paid daily at 450% of their hourly basic pay, rounded to the nearest cent, with a $9,000 calendar-year cap. The bill would also require a recruitment/retention bonus program with a minimum bonus of $1,000 (indexed to the CPI) payable after passing a work capacity test, and it expands entitlement to hazardous duty differentials for listed dangerous tasks. At the same time, if enacted the bill would cap total annual basic, premium, and hazard pay at the Level II Executive Schedule rate unless a Secretary waives that cap under set procedures.

Cancer tracking and casualty assistance

If enacted, the Secretaries would create a public, searchable Federal Wildland Firefighter Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Database within one year to track chronic disease from job exposures and to update it at least annually. If enacted, the Interior Secretary would set up a Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program within 180 days to help affected firefighters and next-of-kin with notifications, travel reimbursements, casualty assistance officers, case management, and a free web portal with personalized benefits information.

Mental health supports and paid leave

If enacted, the Secretaries would set up a mental health awareness and support program by January 1, 2026 with training, peer-to-peer networks, expanded critical-incident services, and a distinct unlimited counseling service for firefighters and immediate family members. If enacted, covered Federal wildland firefighters would get seven consecutive days of paid mental health leave each calendar year without pay loss; that leave would not carry over. If enacted, the Department of Labor would recognize PTSD and related firefighting stress injuries for long-term workers' compensation coverage and expand staffing to speed claims.

Housing allowance for long deployments

If enacted, the Secretaries would provide a housing allowance to any Federal wildland firefighter deployed more than 50 miles from their primary residence. If enacted, the Secretaries would set allowance amounts and adjust them based on local housing costs.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]

CO • D

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation