,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #heib  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,october #ac1        
#bjbj,ms4 ,wild 7for herself and ,mr4   
,keller7 introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,education and ,labor  ,a ,,bill  ,to   
require the ,secretary of ,labor to     
revise the ,standard ,occupational      
,classification ,system to accurately   
count the number of emergency medical   
services practitioners in the ,united   
,states4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act   
may be cited as the ,,ems ,counts ,act  
of #bjbj4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds
 the following3 7#a7 ,emergency ,medical
 ,services 7in this ,act referred to as 
,,ems7 personnel provide a critical role
 in emergency response4 ,,ems consists  
of a diverse group of health care       
practitioners1 such as paramedics1      
emergency medical technicians 7in this  
,act referred to as ,e,m,ts71 dual-role 
firefighter_/,e,m,ts1                   
firefighter_/paramedics1 and volunteer  

personnel serving in each of such roles4
  7#b7 ,,ems is an integral component of
 the response capacity of the ,united   
,states to disasters and public health  
crises1 such as outbreaks of infectious 
diseases1 bombings1 mass shootings1     
earthquakes1 tornadoes1 and hurricanes4 
,,ems personnel respond to more than    
#bb1jjj1jjj emergency calls each year   
including strokes1 heart attacks1       
cardiac arrest1 and trauma4  7#c7 ,the  
,bureau of ,labor ,statistics compiles  
information on the number of individuals
 working in roles across the entire     
,united ,states workforce4 ,the ,bureau 
of ,labor ,statistics completes this    
work by maintaining the ,standard       
,occupational ,classification system    
which classifies workers and jobs into  
occupational categories for the purpose 
of collecting1 calculating1 analyzing1  
or disseminating data4  7#d7 ,the ,,bls 
fails to accurately count ,,ems         
practitioners because of its failure to 
include dual-role firefighter_/,e,m,ts  

and firefighter_/paramedics in their    
count of ,,ems personnel4  7#e7         
,accurately counting the ,,ems workforce
 is critical for government agencies in 
determining the needs of ,,ems agencies 
and practitioners4 ,these data are also 
crucial for informing many aspects of   
policy including preparedness for       
natural disasters1 public health        
emergencies1 and acts of terrorism4  #c4
 ,recognition of dual-role firefighters 
as ,,ems practitioners ,not later than  
#abj days after the date of the         
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,labor shall revise the broad        
description under the occupational      
series #cc-bjaa ,firefighters of the    
#bjah ,standard ,occupational           
,classification ,system of the ,bureau  
of ,labor ,statistics to include the    
following detailed occupations3 7#a7    
,firefighters4  7#b7                    
,firefighter_/,e,m,ts4  7#c7            
,firefighter_/,paramedics4  7#d7        
,firefighters1 ,all ,other4  #d4        

,reports to ,congress ,not later than   
#bgj days after the enactment of this   
,act1 the ,secretary of ,labor shall    
submit to ,congress a report that       
details-- 7#a7 the actions taken in     
#bjae to expand the definition #bi-bjdj 
,emergency ,medical ,technicians and    
,paramedics to separately account for   
the numbers of ,e,m,ts and paramedics2  
and  7#b7 the implementation of the     
revisions under section #c4