Direct Hire To Fight Fires
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Would give the Forest Service and Interior Department permanent authority to directly hire wildland firefighters and firefighting-support staff, bypassing the standard federal competitive hiring process for specified job series.
It would also require both agencies to streamline firefighter hiring and report annually to Congress on staffing needs, vacancies by state, and hiring barriers, aiming to address chronic firefighter shortages ahead of wildfire seasons.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend title 5 of the U.S. Code to let the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior directly appoint qualified candidates to wildland firefighting and firefighting-support positions in the Forest Service and Interior agencies, bypassing standard competitive hiring procedures. The direct-hire authority would apply to specific occupational series, including forestry technicians, aircraft operations, dispatching, and equipment specialists, plus any new series created specifically for wildland firefighting.
The bill would also require the two agencies, within one year of enactment, to adopt policies that speed up hiring, cut redundant steps, ease rehiring of former firefighters, and reduce barriers to transferring between agencies. Starting one year after enactment and annually thereafter, the agencies would have to report to Congress on anticipated staffing needs, vacancies by state, hiring barriers, and progress under the new hiring authority, and publish each report on a public website.
Key provisions
- 1Would let the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior directly hire qualified candidates for wildland firefighting and support positions, bypassing standard competitive hiring rules.
- 2Specifies the occupational series eligible for direct hire, including forestry technicians, aircraft operations, dispatching, and equipment specialists.
- 3Would require the agencies to implement, within one year, streamlined hiring policies that reduce hiring time, cut redundancies, ease rehiring, and lower interagency transfer barriers.
- 4Would require annual reports to Congress on firefighter staffing needs, vacancies by state, hiring barriers, and progress implementing the new hiring authorities.
- 5Would require the annual reports to be published on a publicly available website.
Who would be affected
The Forest Service and Department of the Interior, their wildland firefighting workforce and applicants for firefighting and firefighting-support jobs, the Office of Personnel Management, and members of Congress who would receive the annual hiring and vacancy reports. Communities relying on adequately staffed wildfire response are affected indirectly.
Why it matters
Faster, more flexible hiring could help the agencies fill chronic wildland firefighter vacancies before fire seasons, potentially improving wildfire response capacity. The annual public reporting would give Congress and the public visibility into staffing shortfalls and hiring bottlenecks that have long affected federal firefighting agencies.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Creates Title 5, United States Code (Chapter 96) (Sec. 2)
Adds a new section 9603 giving direct hire authority for wildland firefighting and support positions, exempting them from standard hiring procedures.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for agencies to implement streamlined firefighter hiring policies
- Start of annual reporting to Congress on firefighter staffing
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 435 would have no effect on the federal deficit, with discretionary spending of less than $500,000 over the 2026–2031 period, subject to appropriations.
CBO estimates that H.R. 435 would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the deficit over the 2026–2036 scoring window. Because the bill would permanently authorize a direct-hire practice that the Office of Personnel Management has already been granting to the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior for several years, CBO expects no new budgetary impact from that provision. The only estimated cost — less than $500,000 over the 2026–2031 period — stems from the bill's requirements to streamline hiring policies and report annually to Congress, spending that would be subject to the availability of appropriated (discretionary) funds. CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
The Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior would gain standing authority to hire directly into specified firefighting job series without competitive procedures. Within one year, working with the Office of Personnel Management, they must adopt policies to speed hiring, cut redundant steps, and ease interagency transfers. Beginning one year after enactment and each February 1 thereafter, each Secretary must submit a report to designated House and Senate committees covering anticipated staffing needs, hiring events, current staffing, state-by-state vacancies, barriers, and implementation progress, and post each report publicly online.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-432, Part I.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
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.
Legislative subjects
Congressional oversight; Department of Agriculture; Department of the Interior; Employee hiring; Federal officials; Fires; First responders and emergency personnel; Forests, forestry, trees; Government Operations and Politics; Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management; Government information and archives
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-432