,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dbga ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #bf1 #bjbf,mr4 ,padilla 7for himself and ,mr4 ,sheehy7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 to provide rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,support our ,firefighters ,act4 #b4 ,rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting 7a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #fc of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #fcbi;e4 ,rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term applicable ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture or the ,secretary of the ,interior1 as applicable to a covered employee2 7#b7 the term covered employee means an employee of the ,forest ,service or the ,department of the ,interior who-- 7,a7 qualifies as a wildland firefighter based on the definitions of the terms firefighter and wildland firefighter in section #eccb;a7a7 7applying the definition of employee in section #fcja7b7 in lieu of the definition of employee in section #ecca7;a772 or 7,b7 is certified by the applicable ,secretary to perform wildland fire incident-related duties during the period the employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident2 and 7#c7 the term qualifying incident has the meaning given the term in section #eede;c7a74 7b7 ,rest and recuperation leave 7#a7 ,in general ,a covered employee may receive paid rest and recuperation leave following the completion of service in which the covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident1 subject to the policies prescribed under this subsection4 7#b7 ,prescription of policies ,the ,secretary of ,agriculture and the ,secretary of the ,interior shall1 in the sole and exclusive discretion of the ,secretaries acting jointly1 prescribe uniform policies described in paragraph 7#a7 after consulting with the other applicable ,secretary4 7#c7 ,content of policies ,the policies prescribed under paragraph 7#b7 may include-- 7,a7 a maximum period of days in which a covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident1 which shall-- 7i7 begin on the date on which the covered employee departs from the official duty station of the covered employee and end on the date on which the covered employee returns to the official duty station of the covered employee2 and 7ii7 be followed by a minimum number of days of rest and recuperation for the covered employee2 7,b7 a requirement to use #c days of rest and recuperation leave after a #ad-;day period during which the covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident1 excluding travel to and from assignments2 or 7,c7 a requirement to use #d days of rest and recuperation leave after a #ba-;day period during which the covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident1 including travel to and from assignments4 7c7 ,use of leave 7#a7 ,in general ,rest and recuperation leave granted under this section-- 7,a7 shall be used during scheduled hours within the tour of duty of the applicable covered employee established for leave-charging purposes2 7,b7 shall be paid in the same manner as annual leave2 7,c7 shall be used immediately after a qualifying incident2 and 7,d7 may not be set aside for later use4 7#b7 ,no payment ,a covered employee may not receive any payment for unused rest and recuperation leave granted under this section4 7d7 ,intermittent work schedule ,a covered employee with an intermittent work schedule-- 7#a7 shall be excused from duty during the same period of time that other covered employees in the same circumstances are entitled to rest and recuperation leave2 and 7#b7 shall receive a payment as if the covered employee were entitled to rest and recuperation leave under subsection 7b74 4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendment ,the table of sections for subchapter ,,ii of chapter #fc of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #fcbi;d the following3 #fcbi;e4 ,rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting4 4 #c4 ,transfer authority ,notwithstanding section #djhjc7;c77#b7 of the ,infrastructure ,investment and ,jobs ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feib7;c77#b771 not more than #e1jjj1jjj of the unobligated balances of amounts made available under the heading ,wildland ,fire ,management under the heading ,forest ,service under the heading ,department of ,agriculture in title ,,vi of division ,j of that ,act 7,public ,law #aag-eh2 #ace ,stat4 #adaj7 pursuant to section #djhjc7;c77#b77;,b7 of that ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feib7;c77#b77;,b77 may1 as necessary to continue uninterrupted the ,federal wildland firefighter base salary increase described in section #djhjc7;d77#d77;,b7 of that ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feib7;d77#d77;,b771 including premium pay authorized under section #agja of the ,extending ,government ,funding and ,delivering ,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 #eedg note7 7as amended by this ,act71 be transferred to and merged with the amounts made available under the heading ,wildland ,fire ,management under the heading ,department-wide programs under the heading ,department of the ,interior in title ,,vi of division ,j of that ,act 7,public ,law #aag-eh2 #ace ,stat4 #acic74 #d4 ,waiver of overtime caps for wildland firefighters ,section #agja of the ,extending ,government ,funding and ,delivering ,emergency ,assistance ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 #eedg note7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a77#a7-- 7,a7 in the first sentence1 by striking or #bjbb or #bjbc or #bjbd and inserting or any calendar year thereafter2 and 7,b7 in the second sentence-- 7i7 by striking ,services and inserting services2 and 7ii7 by striking subsection and inserting subsection42 7#b7 in subsection 7b71 by striking #bjba or #bjbb or #bjbc or #bjbd and inserting the applicable calendar year2 and 7#c7 in subsection 7c71 by striking #bjba or #bjbb or #bjbc or #bjbd and inserting the applicable calendar year4