An increase in federal wildland firefighter salary could expire at the end of the month if Congress doesn’t act.
The temporary boost in pay to a minimum of $15 per hour came from the bipartisan infrastructure law passed in 2021.
“Working it though the Appropriations Committee, the Interior Committee and I’m getting a lot of support certainly educated my entire caucus about it. We can’t let our firefighters down,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.
There is also bi-partisan effort underway in the house to permanently boost firefighter pay.
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