This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being sent to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for review. It is actively moving through the system, but no further hearings or votes have been scheduled yet. There is no companion bill currently listed for this legislation.
Legislative Progress
Senate
House
President
Law
Could go either way
This bill has support from both parties and focuses on a clear problem for Western states. It still needs to move through the committee process before it can be voted on by the full Senate.
Key Points
This bill would give wildland firefighters extra money, called hazard pay, when they work on prescribed burns. These are fires set on purpose by experts to clear out brush and help prevent much larger, dangerous wildfires.
Right now, firefighters get extra pay for fighting unplanned wildfires but not always for these planned fires. The bill says that the risks from heat and smoke are the same in both cases, so the pay should be the same too.
The plan also covers smokejumpers, who are firefighters that jump out of planes to reach fires in remote areas. They would receive hazard pay for their parachute jumps during training and actual missions.
A group of senators from both parties introduced this bill because they want to make sure these workers are paid fairly for their dangerous jobs. They believe this will help keep experienced firefighters on the job.
If the bill passes, the government must create the new pay rules within 90 days. Firefighters would start seeing the extra money in their paychecks shortly after those rules are finished.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
2 milestones2 actions
Jun 18, 2026Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Jun 18, 2026
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Related Bills
No related bills have been identified yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Wildland Firefighter Hazard Pay Correction Act
Bill NumberS 4824
Congress119th Congress
ChamberSenate
Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
