H.R. 435 Reported by committee Government Operations and Politics

Direct Hire To Fight Fires

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide direct hire authority to appoint individuals to Federal wildland firefighting and firefighting support positions in the Forest Service or the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes.

  1. Introduced
  2. Committee
  3. Passed House
  4. Passed Senate
  5. To President
  6. Became law
Sponsor Rep. Issa, Darrell [R-CA-48] Introduced January 15, 2025 Cosponsors 2 (1 I, 1 R) Latest action January 8, 2026

Summary

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.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Congress.gov

Actions

  1. Jan 8, 2026 Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-432, Part I.
  2. Jul 15, 2025 Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent.
  3. Jul 15, 2025 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
  4. Apr 4, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry and Horticulture.
  5. 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.
  6. Jan 15, 2025 Introduced in House

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