Wildfire Responder Protection Act
Sponsored By: Representative Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7]
Introduced
Summary
Expands federal workers' compensation coverage for wildfire responders. This bill would broaden which fire protection employees and which activities qualify for benefits under chapter 81 of title 5, U.S. Code.
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- Wildfire responders — Would add the job titles "fuels specialist", "burn boss", and "prescribed fire crew member" to the list of eligible positions so those roles are explicitly covered.
- Covered activities — Would insert "planned ignition" and add "fuels reduction" alongside "fire suppression" as qualifying activities for compensation.
- Eligibility window — Would expand who counts as employed by covering employees employed "for all or a substantial part of the year", widening seasonal or recurring-worker eligibility.
- Statutory cleanup — Would strike subparagraph (D) from the list of covered items, narrowing the enumerated list in the statute.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
More protections for federal wildfire workers
This bill would change which federal wildfire employees are listed as covered for workers' compensation. It would add fuels specialist, burn boss, and prescribed fire crew member to the listed jobs. It would add planned ignition and fuels reduction to the listed activities and require being employed "for all or a substantial part of the year" to count. It would also remove the current subparagraph (D) from that list.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7]
CO • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
NY • R
Sponsored 7/30/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov