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HR 435 119th Congress House Government Operations and Politics Congressional oversight Department of Agriculture Department of the Interior Employee hiring Federal officials Fires First responders and emergency personnel Forests, forestry, trees Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management Government information and archives

Direct Hire To Fight Fires

Introduced: January 15, 2025 Introduced by: Issa, Darrell Republican · California See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 6 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 8, 2026
Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-432, Part I.
Jul 15, 2025
Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent.
Jul 15, 2025
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Apr 4, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.
Jan 15, 2025
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jan 15, 2025
Introduced in House
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Direct Hire To Fight Fires

This bill provides permanent direct-hire authority to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior to fill wildland firefighter and firefighting support positions in the Forest Service and Interior agencies.

The bill also requires USDA and Interior to implement policies to recruit and retain wildland firefighters and related personnel, such as by streamlining the hiring process and reducing barriers for firefighters transferring between agencies.

Further, the bill requires USDA and Interior to annually report related data to Congress, including the number of firefighters needed for the coming year, the number of firefighting vacancies in each state, and existing barriers to filling such vacancies. The report must also be made available on a public website.

What's happening now January 8, 2026

Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-432, Part I.

 Committees of jurisdiction 4
 Cosponsors 2
All 2 Republican 1 Independent 1