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Wildfire Today

Tag: legislation

Bill introduced to convert temporary firefighters to permanent seasonals

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

A bill has been introduced in Congress that would provide authorities for the appropriate conversion of temporary seasonal wildland firefighters and other temporary seasonal employees in Federal land management agencies to permanent seasonal positions. This would apply to employees who perform regularly recurring seasonal work.

The bill, H.R. 533, has been introduced by Representative Gerald Connolly (D-VA) and has been referred to a committee. In the last Congress, only 11% of House bills made it past committee and 2% were enacted.

We are working on obtaining a copy of the bill and when we receive it we’ll post it here. But it appears to be similar to “H.R. 6306 — Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act” which was introduced in the last Congress by Rep. Connolly on August 2, 2012. Below is an excerpt from that bill which died in committee:

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`(a) Notwithstanding chapter 33 or any other provision of law relating to the examination, certification, and appointment of individuals in the competitive service, an employee of a land management agency serving under a time-limited appointment in the competitive service is eligible to compete for a permanent appointment in the competitive service under that agency’s merit promotion procedures if–

`(1) such individual was appointed initially under open, competitive examination under subchapter I of chapter 33 to the time-limited appointment;
`(2) the employee has served under 1 or more time-limited appointments by such agency for a period or periods totaling not less than 24 months without an intervening break of 2 or more years; and
`(3) the employee’s performance under such time-limited appointment or appointments has been at an acceptable level of performance during those 24 months of service.

`(b)(1) For purposes of this subsection, the term `successor permanent position’ means, with respect to a time-limited position, a permanent position in the competitive service with the same or substantially similar major duties and qualification requirements in the same major subdivision of the same agency as the time-limited position.

`(2) Notwithstanding chapter 33 or any other provision of law relating to the examination, certification, and appointment of individuals in the competitive service, an employee of a land management agency serving under a time-limited appointment in the competitive service shall be offered any successor permanent position that the agency decides to fill and, upon his or her concurrence, be appointed to such position if–

`(A) such individual was appointed initially under open, competitive examination under subchapter I of chapter 33 to the time-limited appointment;
`(B)(i) the job announcement for the time-limited position stated that there was potential for the position to become permanent; or
`(ii) the employee’s first time-limited appointment by such agency occurred before the date of enactment of this chapter;
`(C) the employee has served under a time-limited appointment or appointments in a position or positions in such agency with the same or substantially similar major duties and qualification requirements as the successor permanent position for a period or periods totaling not less than 24 months without an intervening break of 2 or more years; and
`(D) the employee’s performance under such time-limited appointment or appointments has been at an acceptable level of performance during those 24 months of service.

 

With possible fiscal cliff looming, USDA warns of possible employee furloughs

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 9 Comments on With possible fiscal cliff looming, USDA warns of possible employee furloughs

USDASince Congress still has not dealt with their self-imposed “fiscal cliff” or budget sequestration required by the Budget Control Act of 2011, severe budget cuts could affect the federal land management agencies and their wildland firefighters after March 1. That is the latest deadline after Congress has consistently kicked the can further down the road rather than actually doing their jobs and passing a federal budget.

An all-employees letter from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today warned that the agency could be forced to lay off, or furlough, some employees if the self-imposed crisis is not averted. Here is an excerpt:

…As a result, we are closely examining contracts, grants, and other forms of expenditures across the Department to determine where we can reduce costs. In many cases, this could mean making cuts to vital programs or curtailing spending on contracts. We will also take steps, wherever possible, to cut operational or administrative costs in areas such as travel, training, facilities, and supplies.

We may also have to consider placing employees on temporary furlough, or taking other personnel actions, should sequestration occur. With respect to furloughs, should we have to pursue this unfortunate course of action, let me assure you that all affected employees will be provided at least 30 days’ notice prior to executing a furlough.

If the Budget Control Act of 2011 or “fiscal cliff” is allowed to go into effect on March 1, 2013 the federal wildland fire programs will be cut by $218 million.

In addition, the FLAME wildfire suppression reserve fund will be cut by 8.2 percent, meaning it would not be funded at the 10-year average, greatly increasing the risk of funding shortfalls, as occurred in fiscal year 2012 which ended September 30. Such a shortfall would impact more than just the fire programs. With no carryover funds and a cut in the FLAME reserve fund, the wildland fire agencies in the Departments of Interior and Agriculture would need to take funds from other accounts to make up the firefighting shortfall.

Under the Budget Control Act, the sequestration would result in a 9.4 percent reduction in non-exempt defense discretionary funding and an 8.2 percent reduction in non-exempt nondefense discretionary funding. The sequestration would also impose cuts of 2.0 percent to Medicare, 7.6 percent to other non-exempt nondefense mandatory programs, and 10.0 percent to non-exempt defense mandatory programs.

Most of the federal wildland fire appropriations will be subject to an 8.2 percent reduction since they are considered “discretionary”.

A report, prepared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), revealed the following cuts to wildland fire budgets that could go into effect; the numbers do not include the FLAME fire suppression accounts:

  • U.S. Forest Service Wildland Fire Management: $172 million
  • Department of Interior Wildland Fire Management: $46 million

 

Wyoming: have wildfires early, because the state may run out of money

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 2 Comments on Wyoming: have wildfires early, because the state may run out of money

“I don’t want to tell the counties to have fires early because we’re going to run out of money,”
Wyoming Governor Matt Mead, referring to his budget request for wildland fire suppression being cut in half.

The Wyoming  state Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee cut Governor Matt Mead’s $60 million request for wildland fire suppression this year in half. In 2012 the state spent $45 million to fight fires and the governor expects this year to be at least as bad if not worse than last year. The  committee told him that he can make up for the $30 million difference by taking money from other state agencies.

 

Senate defeats bill to fund wildland fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 18 Comments on Senate defeats bill to fund wildland fire

On Friday the US Senate failed to pass an amendment that would have fully funded U.S. Forest Service wildland fire management for 2013. Introduced by Senators Jon Tester (Montana) and Mark Udall (Colorado), the amendment to the Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Assistance would have restored $653 million to the Forest Service’s Wildland Fire Management Account, which funds wildland fire preparedness, suppression, hazardous fuels reduction, fire research and development, and state fire assistance. The amendment would have increased the budget request for the Wildland Fire Management fund to the projected median cost of the 2013 wildfire season, $1.584 billion.

The amendment was defeated when Senator Jeff Sessions (Alabama) raised a point of order against the proposal, and the Senate failed to waive it in a 51-44 vote.

 

Will lawmakers allow the fiscal cliff to cut wildland fire programs by 8 percent?

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 2 Comments on Will lawmakers allow the fiscal cliff to cut wildland fire programs by 8 percent?

Dollar SignAs we first wrote on October 13, the Budget Control Act of 2001, called the “fiscal cliff”, will require federal wildland fire programs to be cut by at least $218 million, or 8.2 percent. Negotiations are underway to prevent the law from taking effect on January 2, 2013 as planned, but if lawmakers fail to come up with an alternative, there will be some very significant changes in the federal land management agencies.

The Center For American Progress has an article about some of the effects. Here are some excerpts:

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…Sequestration will have a big—and negative—impact on land and ocean management agencies. Here’s how it’ll affect all Americans:

  • Less accurate weather forecasts
  • Slower energy development
  • Fewer wildland firefighters
  • Closures of national parks
  • Fewer places to hunt
  • Less fish on your table
  • Diminished maritime safety and security

[…]

But the U.S. Forest Service faces tremendous cuts to its firefighting capabilities under sequestration. Its “Wildland Fire Management” account, which funds preparedness, fire suppression, hazardous-fuels removal, restoration, and state fire assistance, among other things, is slated to be cut by $172 million in fiscal year 2013 if the sequester moves forward. Additionally, the Department of the Interior’s “Wildland Fire Management” account faces a $46 million cut next year. The department also funds the “FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund,” which will be cut by $7 million under sequestration. In total, funding for wildland fire prevention and assistance at the land management agencies will be cut by $225 million.

Without such funding, not only will Americans’ property and lives be more at risk, but special places such as national forests and national parks will be less resilient in the face of future fires.

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Thanks go out to Dick

Senators want more timber sales to protect urban areas

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 6 Comments on Senators want more timber sales to protect urban areas
Stage Hill Fire
Stage Hill Fire near Cascade, SD, June 16, 2012. Photo by Bill Gabbert

The six US Senators in Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota have signed a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recommending an increase in the number of timber sales on national forests in areas prone to wildfires. In the letter dated November 8 the senators said overgrown forests, drought, vast stretches of trees killed by beetles, and more people living in fire zones have left the West at a critical juncture. They urged the US Forest Service to conduct more forest thinning near critical infrastructure and in areas where urban areas are up against forests.

The letter was signed by Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet of Colorado; Mike Enzi and John Barrasso of Wyoming; and Tim Johnson and John Thune of South Dakota.