H.R. 2499 - Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022

Bill Text

    Rules Committee Print 117-41 PDF XML

    Showing the text of H.R. 2499, as ordered reported by the Committee on Education and Labor.

    Text of H.R. 2499 PDF XML

    (as reported)

    H. Rept. 117–306 PDF

    Report from the Committee on Education and Labor to accompany H.R. 2499

Rule Information

COMMITTEE ACTION:
REPORTED BY A RECORD VOTE of 8-2 on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.

FLOOR ACTION ON H. RES. 1097: 
Agreed to by record vote of 217-202, after agreeing to the previous question by record vote of 218-203, on May 10, 2022.

MANAGERS: Raskin/Fischbach

1. Structured rule for H.R. 903
2. Provides one hour of general debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security and or their designees.
3. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
4. Provides that an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-40, modified by the amendment printed in part A of the Rules Committee report, shall be considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
5. Waives all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended.
6. Provides that following debate, each further amendment printed in part B of the Rules Committee report not earlier considered as part of amendments en bloc pursuant to section 3 shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, may be withdrawn by the proponent at any time before the question is put thereon, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
7. Section 3 provides that at any time after debate the chair of the Committee on Homeland Security or his designee may offer amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed in part B of the Rules Committee report not earlier disposed of. Amendments en bloc shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security or their designees, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
8. Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in part B of the report and amendments en bloc described in section 3 of the resolution.
9. Provides one motion to recommit.
10. Structured rule for H.R. 2499.
11. Provides one hour of general debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor or their designees.
12. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
13. Provides that an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-41, modified by the amendment printed in part C of the Rules Committee report, shall be considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
14. Waives all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended.
15. Provides that following debate, each further amendment printed in part D of the Rules Committee report not earlier considered as part of amendments en bloc pursuant to section 7 shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, may be withdrawn by the proponent at any time before the question is put thereon, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
16. Section 7 provides that at any time after debate the chair of the Committee on Education and Labor or his designee may offer amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed in part D of the Rules Committee report not earlier disposed of. Amendments en bloc shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor or their designees, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
17. Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in part D of the report and amendments en bloc described in section 7 of the resolution.
18. Provides one motion to recommit.

19. Structured rule for H.R. 5129.
20. Provides one hour of general debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor or their designees.
21. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
22. Provides that an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-42, modified by the amendment printed in part E of the Rules Committee report, shall be considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
23. Waives all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended.
24. Provides that following debate, each further amendment printed in part F of the Rules Committee report not earlier considered as part of amendments en bloc pursuant to section 11 shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, may be withdrawn by the proponent at any time before the question is put thereon, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
25. Section 11 provides that at any time after debate the chair of the Committee on Education and Labor or his designee may offer amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed in part F of the Rules Committee report not earlier disposed of. Amendments en bloc shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor or their designees, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
26. Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in part F of the report and amendments en bloc described in section 11 of the resolution.
27. Provides one motion to recommit.
28. Provides that House Resolution 1096 is hereby adopted.
29. Provides that House Resolution 188, agreed to March 8, 2021 (as most recently amended by House Resolution 1065, agreed to April 28, 2022), is amended by striking “May 13, 2022” each place it appears and inserting (in each instance) “June 10, 2022”.
30. Provides that proceedings may be postponed through May 18, 2022, on measures that were the object of motions to suspend the rules on the legislative day of May 10 and 11, 2022, and on which the yeas and nays were ordered.
31. Closed rule for H.R. 7691.
32. Provides one hour of general debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their designees.
33. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
34. Provides that the amendment printed in part G of the Rules Committee Report shall be considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
35. Waives all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended.
36.  Provides one motion to recommit.

Amendments (click headers to sort)

#Version #Sponsor(s)PartySummaryStatus
1Version 1Graves, Garret (LA)RepublicanExempts firefighters from the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset.Submitted
2Version 3Scott, Bobby (VA)DemocratMANAGER’S AMENDMENT Revised Clarifies the subrogation interest of the United States related to the Federal Employees’ Compensation program.Considered as Adopted
3Version 3Houlahan (PA)DemocratRevised Includes a Review of Science of Gynecological Cancers to study the potential risk and connection between fire protection activities and likelihood of developing gynecological cancers.Made in Order
4Version 1Neguse (CO)DemocratWithdrawn Establishes that not later than one year after enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior, shall determine (according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications) which existing positions meet the definition of federal wildland firefighter, and establish one or more new classification series that reflects the skills, requirements, and duties of federal wildland firefighters.Withdrawn
5Version 1Neguse (CO)DemocratWithdrawn Includes the minimum pay, annual adjustments, compensation comparable to non-federal firefighters, and hazardous duty provisions from H.R.5631, the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act.Withdrawn
6Version 1Neguse (CO)DemocratWithdrawn Establishes a program under which a recruitment or retention bonus of not less than $1,000 shall be paid to each federal wildland firefighter. This bonus shall be guaranteed to a primary or secondary wildland firefighter upon completion of their work capacity test and the minimum amount of such bonus shall be increased each year according to the Consumer Price Index.Withdrawn
7Version 1Maloney, Sean (NY)DemocratExtends eligibility for the Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund for federal firefighters through 2022.Submitted
8Version 1Neguse (CO)DemocratWithdrawn Establish programs for federal wildland firefighters for mental health awareness and support including: a mental health awareness campaign, a mental health education and training program that includes onboarding curriculum, an extensive peer to peer mental health support network for wildland firefighters and immediate family, expanding the Critical Incident Stress Management Program through training and retaining a larger pool of qualified mental health professionals, and creation of a new and distinct mental health support service specific to wildland firefighters and immediate family. Establishes that federal wildland firefighters are entitled to 7 consecutive days of mental health leave without loss or reduction in pay.Withdrawn
9Version 1Neguse (CO)DemocratWithdrawn Directs OPM to ensure that any pay, benefits, and bonuses provided to structural firefighters (0081 series) are comparable with pay, benefits and bonuses provided for federal wildland firefighters.Withdrawn
10Version 1Joyce, David (OH), Carson (IN), Stauber (MN)Bi-PartisanAdds the Kenneth Meisel Public Servants’ Claimant Fairness Act, which amends the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) to establish that claimants who have been asked by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs to provide additional evidence to support their occupational illness, traumatic injury, or death claim have at least 60 days to provide such evidence.Made in Order
11Version 2Tlaib (MI)DemocratRevised Adds an annual reporting requirement on the total number of and demographics of employees with diseases and conditions covered by this Act desegregated by the specific condition or conditions, for the purposes of understanding the scope of the problem. The report may include recommendations for additional steps to be taken to minimize the risk of adverse health impacts for firefighters.Made in Order
12Version 2Jackson Lee (TX)DemocratRevised Adds a study regarding the health and safety impacts on firefighters from circumstances encountered as firefighters.Made in Order
13Version 3Torres, Norma (CA)DemocratRevised The Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health shall conduct a comprehensive study on long-term health effects that Federal wildland firefighters, who are eligible to receive workers’ compensation, experience after being exposed to fires, smoke, and toxic fumes when in service.Made in Order
14Version 1Torres, Norma (CA)DemocratDirects the Secretary of HHS to report to the respective Congressional Committees steps it has taken to conduct outreach to female firefighters and low-income communities of color regarding the National Firefighter Registry, to ensure its study’s results are most inclusive.Submitted
15Version 1Keller (PA)RepublicanSUBSTITUTE Late Strikes all of the bill text and inserts a provision establishing the Firefighter Special Claims Unit at the Department of Labor to process any claim relating to occupational disease filed by a federal firefighter. Directs GAO to submit a report describing any known barriers to the delivery of health care to federal firefighters, evaluating claims submitted by federal firefighters, and providing information on the standard the Department uses to determine causation with respect to claims.Made in Order
16Version 2Torres, Norma (CA)DemocratLate Revised Directs the Secretary, not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, to evaluate the best available scientific evidence of the risk to an employee in fire protection activities of developing rhabdomyolysis.Made in Order
17Version 1Stanton (AZ)DemocratLate Requires the Secretary to notify Congress when approving or denying petitions to add diseases to the list.Made in Order
18Version 1Spanberger (VA)DemocratLate Establishes a presumption of service-connection for specified diseases becoming manifest in veterans that have served as military firefighters to a degree of disability of 10% or more within 15 years of the veteran's separation from active military, naval, or air service. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific diseases or disabilities diagnosed in these veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. Veterans addressed by this amendment are those who (1) are trained in fire suppression, and (2) served on active duty in a military occupational specialty or career field with a primary responsibility of firefighting or damage control for at least five years in the aggregate.Submitted