Providing for Consideration of H.R. Fix Our Forests Act, and Providing for Consideration of S. Laken Riley Act
Floor Speech
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, Republicans are bringing up a rule for two bills that will be debated on the floor this week. I look forward to that debate.
I feel compelled to focus on this majority's screwed-up priorities which now include handing a get-out-of-free card to KKK members, Proud Boys, and other criminals who violently beat cops within an inch of their lives on January 6, 2021.
I thought this election was about lowering costs. What the hell happened? I thought it was about securing the border. I thought it was about making sure that our communities are safe, not whatever the hell these pardons are. These pardons are sick. They are offensive. They are un-American.
I don't ever want to hear about law and order from the Republican side again, Mr. Speaker, when Republicans are letting criminals back on the streets, criminals who beat cops and tried to overthrow our government.
There were 1,500 criminals, including over 600, who were charged with violently assaulting police officers. I am here to talk about that on the floor because I think it is disgusting. I think it is a disgrace.
The people Trump let out broke through windows, beat up cops, and desecrated this beautiful symbol of our country, a building, by the way, that terrorists tried to destroy on September 11, 2001. They couldn't get here because they were stopped by the courageous people onboard flight 93.
The crowd that Donald Trump sent here breached the building, and they attacked it in a way that had never been done. It was a horrible, awful thing that happened that day.
I was in this Chamber. I was in this room. I was in your chair, Mr. Speaker. I took over for Speaker Pelosi when she was evacuated. I was one of the last people off the floor. I exited through those doors.
I saw the faces of the rioters smashing windows to try to get at us. They wanted to kill people, kill police, kill us. I saw the walls they covered with feces. I saw them use flagpoles to beat police officers.
I saw the fear in the eyes of my Republican colleagues as they cowered that day. I saw the bravery of law enforcement that protected us.
Mr. Speaker, how the hell do the Republicans walk into this place every day? How does the majority look the police officers in the eye? How does the other side do it, knowing the people who tried to kill them will walk free, thanks to Donald Trump?
These were brave officers who tried to hold the line against a violent mob. They were outnumbered, and they were overwhelmed because Donald Trump refused to lift a finger to help. The people he sent were not peaceful protestors. They were criminals, violent, angry, vicious people. They beat cops into the ground, leaving them bruised and battered.
Donald Trump let them out of jail, and now he calls them heroes. He wants to invite them to the White House. We even had colleagues who went to a D.C. jail to celebrate their release and complained they weren't being let out fast enough.
This is unbelievable. This is an insult to every police officer in this country. It is an insult to the families of the people who died because of what happened and an insult to the millions of Americans who believe in law and order, democracy, and decency.
Trump is abandoning the blue. He could have chosen to let out only the nonviolent offenders, but he let out people who beat the cops. That tells you all that you need to know.
I think my Republican colleagues owe it to us during this debate, the first time we are debating on the floor since the pardons, to come down and explain themselves. They owe America an explanation because the people I am talking to think those pardons are shameful, disgusting, and wrong. Mr. Speaker, I will wait for an answer, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman knows, we are here to discuss H.R. 471 and S. 5.
I yield 3 minutes to my colleague from Texas (Mr. Roy).
Mr. Speaker, I think it takes a lot of nerve to come down here and talk to us about law and order when the gentleman who just spoke was at the D.C. jail celebrating the release of people who attacked and beat cops here in this Capitol, who almost killed them. Some died as a result of their injuries.
I know my Republican friends don't want to defend these pardons because what the President did was indefensible. He couldn't release these people who attacked our police officers quick enough. He couldn't release them quick enough.
The Speaker of this House was asked about January 6, about January 6 defendants like Daniel Rodriguez, who pled guilty to viciously injuring a police officer with a weapon. The Speaker said: ``It is not my place. It is the President's sole decision, and he made a decision, so I stand with him on it.''
It is not your place? It is not your place? Mr. Speaker, it literally is your place. It is your place.
Mr. Speaker, you preside over this House. You hire the Sergeant at Arms. You oversee the captain of the Capitol Police force. If it isn't your place, then who the hell's place is it?
I have a radical idea. How about you stand with the officers who were beaten and bloodied protecting you rather than stand with a reality TV wannabe dictator?
If your response to the question about the pardons of people who attacked and injured the officers that you oversee and are responsible for is ``it is not my place,'' my question to you is this: Who do you work for? Do you think you work for President Trump?
I would suggest you do some soul searching, and while you are at it, maybe reread the United States Constitution because you don't work for Donald Trump. You are the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and it damn sure is your place to have an opinion on the people who beat the officers who protect you and this institution having no consequences for beating men and women who protect this country.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, will anybody on that side come down and defend these pardons, which are indefensible?
In any event, Mr. Speaker, I am going to urge that we defeat the previous question, and I will offer an amendment to the rule to make in order amendment No. 1 to provide a permanent pay fix for Federal wildland firefighters. We tried to get this made in order in the Rules Committee, but the Republicans said no to better benefits and a pay raise for the people who are fighting these fires.
The gentleman from Georgia just changed topics so quickly back to Biden that I have whiplash. I think I need a neck brace to be able to follow his logic here.
Spare me your comparisons of Biden pardoning his family and Trump pardoning violent criminals who attacked police officers on January 6.
Do you know what? You can be against both of those actions, but they are not the same and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same conversation.
Let me tell you about the people whom you continue to want to defend and who have been pardoned.
Here are some of the convicted felons that Trump set free on Monday:
Steve Cappuccio, convicted of six felonies, including assaulting a police officer. He ripped off Metro Police Officer Daniel Hodges' gas mask. At one point during the assault he said: How do you like me now, mother f'er?
He was pardoned by Donald Trump.
David Dempsey, sentenced to 20 years. He stomped on police officers' heads, struck an officer in the head with a metal crutch, and attacked police with pepper spray and broken pieces of furniture. He also attacked a fellow rioter who was trying to disarm him, and he has a demonstrated history of political violence.
He was pardoned by Donald Trump.
Enrique Tarrio, sentenced to 22 years. He is a former national leader of the Proud Boys, a domestic terrorist far-right militia. He was found guilty of seditious conspiracy. He helped plan the January 6 attack and made sure it was violent.
He was pardoned by Donald Trump.
Guy Reffitt, sentenced to 7 years and 3 months. He brought a gun, zip ties, body armor, and a helmet to the Capitol, presumably to try to take hostages in an attempt to keep Trump in office after he lost.
He was pardoned by Donald Trump.
Daniel Joseph ``DJ'' Rodriguez, sentenced to over 12 years. He repeatedly tased Officer Mike Fanone, shocking him in the neck multiple times and causing him to lose consciousness and have a heart attack.
He was pardoned by Donald Trump.
Patrick McCaughey III, sentenced to 90 months. He assaulted police, beat their faces and bodies with riot shields and batons that he stole from them.
He was pardoned by Donald Trump.
Peter Francis Stager, sentenced to 4 years and 4 months. He pled guilty to assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon. He is on video declaring: ``Every single one of those Capitol law enforcement officers, death is the remedy.'' Those were his words: That is the only remedy they get.
He was pardoned by Donald Trump.
Julian Khater, sentenced to 6 years, attacked Officer Brian Sicknick with pepper spray. Officer Sicknick died the next day after suffering two strokes.
Edward ``Jake'' Lang was on trial for 11 charges, including swinging a baseball bat at officers. In addition to his January 6 charges, he began organizing a nationwide network of armed militias in all 50 States.
He was pardoned by Donald Trump.
Mr. Speaker, the criminals pardoned were not tourists. They were not peaceful. They were violent criminals.
Here is just one example: Daniel Ball's case was dismissed today, and he was released from jail.
Why was he in jail?
He was being held in pretrial detention because of what a judge described as ``some of the most violent and serious offenses of any of the charges being brought against participants in the January 6 events.'' That includes hurling an explosive device into the lower west terrace tunnel of the Capitol, the scene of some of the most egregious violence against police that day.
Some officers suffered from hearing loss for months.
Get this, Mr. Speaker: Mr. Ball has already been arrested again on Federal gun charges, and he was already a two-time convicted felon for domestic violence battery by strangulation and resisting law enforcement with violence.
Yes, he was already arrested again. This is whom the President pardoned. This is why my Republican friends are silent. It is because this is indefensible.
DOJ had him arrested again on a gun charge.''
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Mr. McGOVERN. All these people were pardoned, and not a word from the other side.
Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia.
Mr. Speaker, I don't have a whole number, the total number, but how many murderers had their sentences commuted by then-President Joe Biden?
Do you know? How many was it?
Let's see, Biden commuted the sentences for 2,500 drug offenders and clemency for 37 of the 40 people on death row, 1 of whom shot two FBI agents , if I am not mistaken.
So you are pretty quick to point the finger at the gentleman who was the 45th and now the 47th President of the United States. I would suggest to you that Donald Trump is the President of the United States today and sitting in the White House today because your policies are so bad because you put illegal immigrants and their rights above the rights of American citizens.
So, again, Biden commuted a lot of sentences for a lot of drug offenders and a lot of people who committed murder. So I don't think you should be pointing the finger at what the 47th President of the United States did when the 46th President of the United States is the one who let people who shot FBI agents out.
Mr. Speaker, the best we get from the gentleman is whataboutism. He can criticize President Biden, but he can't bring himself to criticize President Trump. He is afraid, and that is the problem.
All my Republican friends are in fear that if they question anything that this guy does that somehow they themselves will be punished.
However, he didn't even get his facts right on the Peltier issue. The former U.S. Attorney who prosecuted Mr. Peltier wrote in a letter to President Biden: ``The prosecution and continued incarceration of Mr. Peltier was and is unjust.''
He also said: ``I believe that a grant of executive clemency would serve the best interest of justice and the best interest of our country.''
Again, this is coming from the man who prosecuted him.
He also said that we were not able to prove that Mr. Peltier personally committed any of the offenses that happened on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Contrast that, Mr. Speaker, with the Nation's seeing the criminals that Trump pardoned assault cops on live TV.
Please, I ask my friends across the aisle: Find me one prosecutor of one of the cop beaters whom Trump pardoned who regret their conviction.
Which one of Trump's pardoned criminals have already served nearly 50 years in prison?
By the way, Peltier is 80 years old, and he is dying. He was not pardoned, by the way. The gentleman is wrong on that. His sentence was commuted so he could die at home with an ankle bracelet on. This was done only after faith and human rights leaders like the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, and Pope Francis begged for release for years.
So to say that this is remotely the same is a joke.
Why can't my Republican friends just say that what Trump did by pardoning vicious, violent criminals was wrong?
Leger Fernandez), who is a member of the Rules Committee.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, we should absolutely hold immigrants accountable when they commit a crime, especially when it is against a law enforcement officer. However, there are already existing laws for the detention and deportation of immigrants who commit violent crimes.
What we are talking about today is that we must hold convicted felons accountable for attacking our very own Capitol Police. In this very building, January 6 insurrectionists brutally attacked our Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers. More than 140 cops suffered injuries and went to the hospital. Five police officers died. President Trump just pardoned the violent thugs who were convicted of those attacks. It is ``shameless,'' ``sin verguenza,'' as we say in Spanish. If Republicans were truly concerned about attacks on law enforcement, they would denounce those pardons.
We just heard about the violence that was inflicted and about the violent offenders who committed them. I am asking my Republican colleagues to also keep in mind the faces and the names of those who were brutally attacked.
When the majority walked into this building and they walked past those Capitol Police who are protecting them today, do they tell them: Good morning?
They should also tell them: I am sorry. I am sorry that my President pardoned the people who beat you. I am sorry, and I denounce those attacks because I honor you.
However, they do not seem to have the courage to say I am sorry to those police officers.
It is hypocrisy to say that they care about law enforcement if they don't denounce those pardons.
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Those violent criminals whom Trump described as peaceful and loving are being released into our communities. We have seen the videos of the attacks, the shouts, and the pounding of Officer Fanone, and so many others, and their cries for help. It was on video. Americans remember it.
I ask my colleagues to remember it and to see those videos. The convicted attackers were not peaceful.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to denounce the pardons and to vote against this rule.
Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, this rule is about the Laken Riley Act and the Fix Our Forests Act.
Mr. Speaker, not a word about what happened in this place on January 6. They just can't bring themselves to do it.
Mr. Speaker, I have a question, and that is: Why won't you install the plaque honoring the brave members of law enforcement who protected us on January 6?
A lot of my colleagues don't know this, but Congress actually passed a law, Public Law 117-103, on requiring the plaque to be installed on the west front of the Capitol before March 15, 2023.
So for 21 months now, almost 2 years, this Speaker has refused to honor the Capitol Police and other law enforcement by installing the plaque that we all voted for.
I know it exists, Mr. Speaker. I have actually seen photos of it, so I know it exists. I have seen photos.
Why the delay?
Why won't you put it up, Mr. Speaker?
I think I know why. It is because Republicans don't want to honor the police who were hurt and who died after that attack.
Maybe the gentleman from Georgia can explain why the plaque is yet to be installed. I won't hold my breath, but instead let me read the plaque, Mr. Speaker, so Speaker Johnson and others know what it says.
It says: ``On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021. Their heroism will never be forgotten.''
Because Republicans will not, I want to take a moment to thank all the agencies that are listed on this plaque who are being disrespected by this leadership by refusing to honor them.
I want to say thank you to: the United States Capitol Police. I also want to thank the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia; Arlington County Police Department in Virginia; Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia; Maryland Department of State Police; Metro Transit Police Department; Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Montgomery County Department of Police in Maryland; New Jersey State Police; Prince George's County Police Department in Maryland; Prince William County Police Department in Virginia; Virginia State Police; Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives; Department of Health and Human Services; Department of Homeland Security; Federal Bureau of Investigation; National Guard Bureau; Pentagon Force Protection Agency; United States Marshals Service; United States Park Police; and United States Secret Service.
I say thank you to all of the officers from all of those agencies who were here that day to protect our country and to protect all of us. I appreciate you, and you should know that a lot of Americans have your back, even if this President and the Republicans do not.
Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to thank all of the law enforcement and first responders who protect this country on a daily basis, and, Mr. Speaker, we know the polls show that a majority of them voted for Donald Trump.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I would just say to the gentleman that to say what he just said but not reference what happened that day and not acknowledge the pain that has caused so many families and so many people whom we work with every day to protect us, I have to say that is a little bit much.
Scanlon), who is a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
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Mr. McGOVERN. 6 Cop Beaters.''
The editorial reads: ``Law and order? Back the blue? What happened to that GOP?''
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman thanking, in general, our law enforcement officials, but it is troubling that he can't bring himself to address what happened that day. My Republican friends are afraid to debate and to discuss what happened on that day. It is so disappointing in so many ways.
Mr. Speaker, January 6 was not a tourist day. It was a horrific attack on the police who protect our country. I saw with my own eyes the officers with blood on their faces, battered and bruised from fighting off a violent mob. So many of them had to go to the hospital to get stitches and to get medical care. They were severely wounded.
I will never forget the smell of tear gas or the horror on people's faces as we were rushed out of this Chamber. I watched from the Speaker's chair as Republicans cowered and hid for their lives that day, letting the Capitol Police run to the front lines to protect them.
On Monday, Republicans let out the violent political extremists who did all of this. Republicans let them back out onto the streets.
Trump called them patriots. He called them hostages. There is nothing patriotic about beating police officers with flagpoles, Mr. Speaker.
The patriots were the law enforcement officers who protected this institution. There is nothing patriotic about the KKK, the Oath Keepers, or the Proud Boys. Trump pardoned them.
There is nothing patriotic about viciously assaulting police officers. There is nothing patriotic about bashing heads and breaking into the Capitol Building because of a deranged fantasy about overthrowing the government. There is nothing patriotic about any of that, but Donald Trump doesn't care. He pardoned them because he only cares about himself.
Mr. Speaker, where is your outrage over any of this? Where is your spine? To be silent after these pardons is terrible, and it speaks for itself.
As for me, I stand with the police officers who were here that day. I stand with the officers who were trying to maintain law and order. I stand with the people who are disgusted that Donald Trump is opening the doors and letting out the criminals who attacked them.
I don't hear a single Republican brave enough to come to this floor and condemn these pardons. I don't hear a single one. It is cowardice. It is hypocrisy. They are rewarding political violence and setting the stage for much, much worse things to come.
My colleagues heard Representative Scanlon. Some of them are bragging about how they are going out to buy more guns. What is that about? Violent, dangerous people who beat cops, who tried to kill Members of this body, and who tried to kill our staff were let back out onto the streets by Donald Trump.
It is a disgrace. The Speaker should be ashamed. The Speaker owns this now. The Speaker knows that, and the law enforcement officers of this country know it, too. They are watching, and they will remember.
There is a great conservative, Edmund Burke, who once said that all that it takes for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing, to be silent.
Well, I, for one, am not going to be silent. We are going to continue to talk about this until we get it right in this country and this Chamber.
I can't speak for my friends on the other side of the aisle, but if today is any indication, Republicans are just hoping and praying that it goes away and that everybody forgets. We will never forget what happened here on January 6. The American people won't ever forget.
The American people did not vote for this. They did not vote to let these violent criminals back onto the streets.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia.
Mr. Speaker, this vote is on the rule to advance H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests Act; and S. 5, the Laken Riley Act, regardless of what you have listened to if you have been watching this over the last hour.
This week, the House has the ability to advance significant legislation in the House of Representatives. That is our job.
The Fix Our Forests Act can mark a return to active forest management and return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested lands, and I would be willing to bet that that piece of legislation probably passes in a bipartisan manner.
The Laken Riley Act will ensure that criminals who illegally cross our borders and endanger our communities are detained and deported while also giving States the ability to bring civil action against any Federal official in the future should they refuse to enforce our country's immigration laws and put American citizens at risk by refusing to do so.
Again, I thank the law enforcement officers, the Capitol Police specifically, and all those who take care of us on a daily basis.
I send my condolences to Laken Riley's family.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to voting ``yes'' on this bill and sending it to President Trump's desk for his signature. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on the previous question, ``yes'' on the rule, and then I hope Members will vote ``yes'' on the legislation. The material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows:
An Amendment to H. Res. 53 Offered by Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts
At the end of the resolution, add the following:
Sec. 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this resolution, the amendment specified in section 4 shall be in order as though printed as the last amendment of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution if offered by Representative Lee of Nevada or a designee. That amendment shall be debatable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by the proponent and opponent.
Sec. 4. The amendment referred to in section 3 is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert: TITLE V--RATES OF PAY FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS SEC. 501. SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS.
(a) In general.--Subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5332 the following: ``Sec. 5332A. SPECIAL BASE RATES OF PAY FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS
``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `firefighter' means an employee who--
``(A) is a firefighter within the meaning of section 8331 (21) or section 8401(14);
``(B) in the case of an employee who holds a supervisory or administrative position and is subject to subchapter III of chapter 83, but who does not qualify to be considered a firefighter within the meaning of section 8331 (21), would otherwise qualify if the employee had transferred directly to that position after serving as a firefighter within the meaning of that section;
``(C) in the case of an employee who holds a supervisory or administrative position and is subject to chapter 84, but who does not qualify to be considered a firefighter within the meaning of section 8401(14), would otherwise qualify if the employee had transferred directly to that position after performing duties described in section 8401(14)(A) for at least 3 years; or
``(D) in the case of an employee who is not subject to subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84, holds a position that the Office of Personnel Management determines would satisfy subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) if the employee were subject to subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84;
``(2) the term `General Schedule base rate' means an annual rate of basic pay established under section 5332 before any additions, such as a locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or 5304a or a special rate supplement under section 5305;
``(3) the term `special base rate' means an annual rate of basic pay payable to a wildland firefighter, before any additions or reductions, that replaces the General Schedule base rate otherwise applicable to the wildland firefighter and that is administered in the same manner as a General Schedule base rate; and
``(4) the term `wildland firefighter' means a firefighter--
``(A) who is employed by the Forest Service or the Department of the Interior; and
``(B) the duties of the position of whom primarily relate to fires occurring in forests, range lands, or other wildlands, as opposed to structural fires.
``(b) Special base rates of pay.--
``(1) Entitlement to Special Rate.--Notwithstanding section 5332, a wildland firefighter is entitled to a special base rate at grades 1 through 15, which shall--
``(A) replace the otherwise applicable General Schedule base rate for the wildland firefighter;
``(B) be basic pay for all purposes, including the purpose of computing a locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or 5304a; and
``(C) be computed as described in paragraph (2) and adjusted at the time of adjustments in the General Schedule.
``(2) Computation.--
``(A) In general.--The special base rate for a wildland firefighter shall be derived by increasing the otherwise applicable General Schedule base rate for the wildland firefighter by the following applicable percentage for the grade of the wildland firefighter and rounding the result to the nearest whole dollar:
``(i) For GS-1, 42 percent.
``(ii) For GS-2, 39 percent.
``(iii) For GS-3, 36 percent.
``(iv) For GS-4, 33 percent.
``(v) For GS-5, 30 percent.
``(vi) For GS-6, 27 percent.
``(vii) For GS-7, 24 percent.
``(viii) For GS-8, 21 percent.
``(ix) For GS-9, 18 percent.
``(x) For GS-10, 15 percent.
``(xi) For GS-11, 12 percent.
``(xii) For GS-12, 9 percent.
``(xiii) For GS-13, 6 percent.
``(xiv) For GS-14, 3 percent.
``(xv) For GS-15, 1.5 percent.
``(B) Hourly, Daily, Weekly, or Biweekly Rates.--When the special base rate with respect to a wildland firefighter is expressed as an hourly, daily, weekly, or biweekly rate, the special base rate shall be computed from the appropriate annual rate of basic pay derived under subparagraph (A) in accordance with the rules under section 5504(b).''.
``(b) Amendment to Prevailing Rate Determinations.--Section 5343 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) (1) For a prevailing rate employee described in section 5342(a)(2)(A) who is a wildland firefighter, as defined in section 5332a(a), the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior (as applicable) shall increase the wage rates of that employee by an amount (determined at the sole and exclusive discretion of the applicable Secretary after consultation with the other Secretary) that is generally consistent with the percentage increases given to wildland firefighters in the General Schedule under section 5332a.
``(2) An increased wage rate under paragraph (1) shall be basic pay for the same purposes as the wage rate otherwise established under this section.
``(3) An increase under this subsection may not cause the wage rate of an employee to increase to a rate that would produce an annualized rate in excess of the annual rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule.''.
``(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 5332 the following:
``5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 2025, or the date of enactment of this Act, whichever is later.
(e) Applicability of Certain Provisions of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.--Notwithstanding section 40803(d)(4)(B) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(d)(4)(B)) and authority provided under the headings ``WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT--FOREST SERVICE'' and ``WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT--DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR'' in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the salary increase in such section and under such headings shall not apply to the positions described in such section 40803(d)(4)(B) for service performed on or after the effective date described in subsection (d) of this section. SEC. 502. WILDLAND FIRE INCIDENT RESPONSE PREMIUM PAY.
(a) In general.--Subchapter V of chapter 55 of title 5, United Sates Code, is amended by inserting after section 5545b the following: ``Sec. 5545C. INCIDENT RESPONSE PREMIUM PAY FOR EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING
``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `appropriate committees of Congress' means--
``(A) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives;
``(B) the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives;
``(C) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives;
``(D) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives;
``(E) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
``(F) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
``(G) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and
``(H) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;
``(2) the term `covered employee' means an employee of the Forest Service or the Department of the Interior who is--
``(A) a wildland firefighter, as defined in section 5332a(a); or
``(B) certified by the applicable agency to perform wildland fire incident-related duties during the period that employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident;
``(3) the term `incident response premium pay' means pay to which a covered employee is entitled under subsection (c);
``(4) the term `prescribed fire incident' means a wildland fire originating from a planned ignition in accordance with applicable laws, policies, and regulations to meet specific objectives;
``(5) the term `qualifying incident'--
``(A) means--
``(i) a wildfire incident, a prescribed fire incident, or a severity incident; or
``(ii) an incident that the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior determines is similar in nature to an incident described in clause (i); and
``B) does not include an initial response incident that is contained within 36 hours; and
``(6) the term `severity incident' means an incident in which a covered employee is prepositioned in an area in which conditions indicate there is a high risk of wildfires.
``(b) ELIGIBILITY.--A covered employee is eligible for incident response premium pay under this section if--
``(1) the covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident; and
``(2) the deployment described in paragraph (1) is--
``(A) outside of the official duty station of the covered employee; or
``(B) within the official duty station of the covered employee and the covered employee is assigned to an incident- adjacent fire camp or other designated field location.
``(c) Entitlement to Incident Response Premium Pay.--
``(1) In general.--A covered employee who satisfies the conditions under subsection (b) is entitled to premium pay for the period in which the covered employee is deployed to respond to the applicable qualifying incident.
``(2) Computation.--
``(A) Formula.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), premium pay under paragraph (1) shall be paid to a covered employee at a daily rate of 450 percent of the hourly rate of basic pay of the covered employee for each day that the covered employee satisfies the requirements under subsection (b), rounded to the nearest whole cent
``(B) Limitation.--Premium pay under this subsection may not be paid.
``(i) with respect to a covered employee for whom the annual rate of basic pay is greater than that for step 10 of GS-10, at a daily rate that exceeds the daily rate established under subparagraph (A) for step 10 of GS-10; or
``(ii) to a covered employee in a total amount that exceeds $9,000 in any calendar year.
``(C) Adjustments.--
``(i) Assessment.--The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall assess the difference between the average total amount of compensation that was paid to covered employees, by grade, in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
``(ii) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date that is 1 year after the effective date of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall jointly publish a report on the results of the assessment conducted under clause (i).
``(iii) Administrative Actions.--After publishing the report required under clause (ii), the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, may, in the sole and exclusive discretion of the Secretaries acting jointly, administratively adjust the amount of premium pay paid under this subsection (or take other administrative action) to ensure that the average annual amount of total compensation paid to covered employees, by grade, is more consistent with such amount that was paid to those employees in fiscal year 2023.
``(iv) Congressional Notification.--Not later than 3 days after an adjustment made, or other administrative action taken, under clause (iii) becomes final, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall jointly submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a notification regarding that adjustment or other administrative action, as applicable.
``(d) Treatment of incident response premium pay.--Incident response premium pay under this section--
``(1) is not considered part of the basic pay of a covered employee for any purpose;
``(2) may not be considered in determining a covered employee's lump-sum payment for accumulated and accrued annual leave under section 5551 or section 5552;
``(3) may not be used in determining pay under section 8114 (relating to compensation for work injuries);
``(4) may not be considered in determining pay for hours of paid leave or other paid time off during which the premium pay is not payable; and
``(5) shall be disregarded in determining the minimum wage and overtime pay to which a covered employee is entitled under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.).''.
``(b) Amendments to premium pay provisions.--Subchapter V of chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in section 5544--
``(A) by amending the section heading to read as follows: ``Wage-board overtime, Sunday rates, and other premium pay''; and
``(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) A prevailing rate employee described in section 5342(a)(2)(A) shall receive incident response premium pay under the same terms and conditions that apply to a covered employee under section 5545c if that employee--
``(1) is employed by the Forest Service or the Department of the Interior; and
``(2) (A) is a wildland firefighter, as defined in section 5332a(a); or
``(B) is certified by the applicable agency to perform wildland fire incident-related duties during the period the employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident (as defined in section 5545c(a)).''; and
``(2) in section 5547(a), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ``5545c,'' after ``5545a,''.
``(c) Clerical amendments.--The table of sections for subchapter V of chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
``(1) by amending the item relating to section 5544 to read as follows:
``5544. Wage-board overtime, Sunday rates, and other premium pay.'';
``and (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 5545b the following:
``5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees engaged in wildland firefighting.''.
``(d) Effective date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 2025, or the date of enactment of this Act, whichever is later.
Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT from Georgia.
The previous question was ordered.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
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