# 119-s-279: Tim’s Act

119-s-279, Tim’s Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-279
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-279
- Congress: 119
- Title: Tim’s Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-28
- Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## 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. - 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.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Annual tuition help for firefighters: benefit, high. 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. I…
- Better retirement and disability rules: benefit, high. 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…
- Higher pay and parity for firefighters: benefit, high. 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…
- Cancer tracking and casualty assistance: benefit, medium. 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 Manag…
- Mental health supports and paid leave: benefit, medium. 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…
- Housing allowance for long deployments: benefit, medium. 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.
- Higher incident pay, bonuses, and cap: mixed, high. 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 t…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act

## Sources
- [119-s-279 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/279)

## Related
- [119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2120)
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-279 (as of 2026-04-21).