A permanent pay raise for federal wildland firefighters has taken another significant step forward. But an often dysfunctional Congress still has work to do for the raises to go through.
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a funding measure that includes significant increases in firefighter base pay, among other reforms. The full U.S. House has already approved its own bill, meaning only a few steps remain before final passage.
Max Alonzo, secretary treasurer for the National Federation of Federal Employees, which represents thousands of firefighters and has been a key proponent, said uncertainty remains.
“What we need is a functioning Congress that's actually going to pass a real budget,” he said.
Given substantial bipartisan support, he’s hopeful that the measure will eventually pass, but perhaps not in time to meet a looming Sept. 30 deadline. That’s when the most recent extension of substantial but temporary raises expires.
Alonzo sees light at the end of the tunnel, but he understands if folks out on the fireline struggle to feel the same way.
“Folks out in the field that have already put in 1,000 hours of overtime or more, they're not seeing the light,” he said. “They're feeling the burnout, and they haven't seen their families, and they haven't seen the paychecks that have a permanent pay increase on them.”
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
