Lawmakers and Biden administration officials agreed Tuesday that federal wildfire crews deserve a permanent raise that’s so far failed to materialize.
At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, officials and key senators said they support making the temporary pay bump that’s appeared in recent appropriations a long term feature of federal spending, echoing a recommendation last fall from a wildland fire commission.
“It clearly needs to be permanent,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), addressing administration officials, as well as members of the commission called to testify. “We need to send a clear signal to these firefighters.”
The prospect of a permanent raise has floated in Congress since the administration temporarily gave firefighters an increase of $20,000 or 50 percent, depending on their location, in 2021.
