DeGette Introduces Wildland Firefighters Health Protection Act

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-1) introduced the Wildland Firefighter Health Protection Act, H.R. 6092, a bill that extends health insurance coverage benefits to seasonal firefighters and their families. Colorado and other Western states have been devastated by some of the worst wildfires in history, and thousands of firefighters have been brought in from around the country to fight these unprecedented fires. Yet despite the massive personal risk of their jobs, neither the firefighters nor their families are covered for health insurance.

"It's unconscionable that thousands of brave firefighters working countless hours to save our homes and communities do not have health insurance for themselves or their families," said DeGette. "Anyone brave enough to lay their life on the line to protect our homes and our beloved state, should have the peace of mind that their health and the health of their families is secured. That is why today I am so proud to introduce this bill on their behalf. When my Congressional colleagues see these brave men and women saving our communities, and then hear about the discrepancy in their health insurance versus that of the local firefighters they stand alongside, I am certain they will recognize the urgent need to act."

Firefighters fighting wildfires in Colorado and across the United States are classified as "temporary workers" since their work is seasonal, and therefore are not eligible to receive health benefits like full-time workers. Yet many of these firefighters must work overtime each season – sometimes as much as 850 hours – to ensure they contain these devastating fires. These hours are not counted towards their eligibility for benefits, leaving them and their families without the same benefits as their colleagues with whom they fight alongside, such as the National Guard or local fire companies.

Between 1999 and 2009, 222 firefighters died on the line. Wildland firefighters work up to 18-hour days in unimaginably dangerous conditions, while enduring the risks of smoke inhalation and other ailments. The smoky and dusty environment they work in has been linked with chronic pulmonary diseases, including chronic bronchitis and abnormal lung function. However, current policy ignores the health risks these brave men and women take and leaves their families and children's health needs unaddressed as well.

Specifically the Wildland Firefighters Health Protection Act would:
• Extend health insurance coverage to all wildland firefighters.

• Develop a pilot project to test reforms for how Federal wildland firefighters are compensated.
o Currently, the Forest Service spends large sums on non-Federal fire suppression while not offering fair pay for Federal firefighters working overtime.
o The pilot project would lay the groundwork to recruit and retain a better workforce and spend less on outsourcing by implementing "portal-to-portal" reforms (paying Federal firefighters for time away from their official duty station, which is how state and local firefighters are paid).
o This pilot program is paid for by incremental reductions in non-Federal fire suppression spending.

• Develop a new occupational series (similar to the GS scale for Federal government compensation) specifically tailored to wildland firefighting. In doing so, firefighters would be recognized by the Federal government for the life-saving work they perform daily.

• Extend life insurance coverage to all wildland firefighters, and makes it simpler for these brave men and women to save for their retirement.

"It is our honor and our duty to risk our lives for other people's families and communities, but we don't want to have to stay up nights worrying about what we'll do if our child gets an ear infection, or if we develop breathing problems because of our job," said John Lauer, a member of a Colorado-based "Hotshot" crew fighting fires in the West, and a leading advocate for health care for firefighters. "We're not looking for a handout, we just want to have access to the health care our colleagues do. We're so proud to do what we do to protect people's homes and their lives; we just want to be protected ourselves."

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