Federal Wildland Firefighter Compensation (Tim’s Act)
Current understanding
Tim’s Act is introduced legislation proposing a comprehensive overhaul of pay, benefits, and support systems for federal wildland firefighters employed by USDA (Forest Service), the Department of the Interior, or tribal governments. Provisions include base pay increases, premium pay, expanded housing and tuition benefits, mental health support, and improved workers’ compensation. Status: introduced; effects on rural workforce retention and federal fire response capacity are pending analysis.
Evidence log
- 2026-06-24 — Support our Firefighters Act: cross-connection with support-our-firefighters-act: Both address federal wildland firefighter workforce support, though HR9444’s specific provisions are not yet available. (novelty: 2)
- 2025-03-06 — Fix Our Forests Act: cross-connection with fix-our-forests-act: Wildland firefighter assistance provisions in the Act intersect with ongoing pay and workforce reforms under Tim’s Act. (novelty: 3)
- 2025-03-07 — Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025: cross-connection with aerial-firefighting-dod-aircraft-transfer: Complementary wildfire policy levers: expanding aerial suppression fleet capacity alongside ground firefighter workforce compensation. (novelty: 2)
- 2025-01-21 — Community Protection and Wildfire Resilience Act: cross-connection with wildfire-resilience-community-grants: Both address federal wildfire policy: HR582 targets pre-fire community mitigation grants, while Tim’s Act addresses the workforce that responds to fires — complementary halves of the federal wildfire posture. (novelty: 2)