Bill
HR 435
Direct Hire To Fight Fires (H.R. 435) SummaryPurpose:The purpose of H.R. 435 is to amend federal law to provide the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior with permanent direc
Purpose:
The purpose of H.R. 435 is to amend federal law to provide the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior with permanent direct hire authority (DHA) to quickly appoint qualified candidates to federal wildland firefighting and firefighting support positions in the U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior.
Key Provisions:
- Grants the Secretaries permanent DHA to hire for a list of 9 specific occupational series related to wildland firefighting, bypassing certain competitive hiring requirements.
- Directs the Secretaries, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management, to implement policies to:
- Reduce the time required to hire wildland firefighters and support personnel
- Address redundancies and streamline the federal hiring process
- Facilitate the transfer of wildland firefighters between agencies
- Requires the Secretaries to annually report to Congress on wildland firefighting hiring efforts, including staffing needs, hiring events, vacancies, hiring barriers, and implementation of streamlined policies.
Impact:
This bill is intended to help the Forest Service and Department of the Interior more quickly and effectively hire the thousands of wildland firefighters and support personnel needed each year to combat increasingly severe wildfires on federal lands. By providing DHA and requiring policy changes to streamline hiring, the bill aims to address longstanding challenges in recruiting and retaining this critical seasonal workforce.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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