Bill Summary
The "Veteran Wildland Firefighter Employment Act of 2025" is a legislative proposal aimed at creating a pilot program that employs veterans in various wildland firefighting roles. The program will be overseen by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in collaboration with the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior.
Key components of the legislation include:
1. **Program Establishment**: A pilot program will be set up to facilitate the employment of veterans in wildland firefighting activities within federal agencies.
2. **Duties and Responsibilities**: The Secretary of Veterans Affairs will administer the program, while the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior will identify suitable job vacancies and employ veterans in these roles.
3. **Employee Status**: Veterans participating in the program will be treated as federal employees under civil service laws.
4. **Best Practices**: Guidelines will be created to share best practices for employing transitioning veterans, incorporating lessons from existing training programs.
5. **Partnerships**: The legislation allows for partnerships with the Department of Defense to integrate the program with existing veteran transition initiatives.
6. **Reporting Requirements**: The program will include several reports to Congress detailing its implementation, participation rates, and overall effectiveness.
7. **Duration**: The pilot program will operate for two years, after which its impact will be assessed.
Overall, the act aims to reduce veteran unemployment while providing them with meaningful employment opportunities in the field of wildland firefighting.
Possible Impacts
Here are three examples of how the **Veteran Wildland Firefighter Employment Act of 2025** could affect people:
1. **Employment Opportunities for Veterans**: The legislation creates a pilot program aimed at employing veterans in wildland firefighting positions. This directly benefits veterans who may be struggling to find work after their military service, helping them transition into civilian employment. By providing specific job opportunities in a critical field, the program can reduce unemployment rates among veterans and offer them a chance to develop new skills.
2. **Enhanced Wildfire Management**: By employing veterans in wildland firefighting activities, the program can contribute to improved wildfire management and response efforts. Veterans often bring discipline, teamwork, and leadership skills from their military service, which can enhance the effectiveness of firefighting teams. This can lead to better preparedness and response to wildfires, ultimately benefiting communities at risk of wildfires and improving public safety.
3. **Collaboration Between Agencies**: The act mandates collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of the Interior. This interagency partnership can lead to more comprehensive approaches to addressing both veteran employment and environmental management. Such collaboration may foster innovative solutions and best practices for utilizing veteran talent in managing natural resources, which can have long-term benefits for environmental conservation efforts and community resilience against environmental challenges.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3560 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3560
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot
program to employ veterans in certain wildland firefighting activities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 21, 2025
Mr. Neguse (for himself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in
addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Armed
Services, 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot
program to employ veterans in certain wildland firefighting activities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Veteran Wildland Firefighter
Employment Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO EMPLOY VETERANS IN POSITIONS RELATING TO
FEDERAL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING ACTIVITIES.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in
coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the
Interior, shall jointly establish a pilot program to employ veterans in
wildland firefighting activities.
(b) Duties.--Under such pilot program--
(1) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall be responsible
for administering such pilot program; and
(2) the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the
Interior shall be responsible for--
(A) identifying vacant positions in the Department
of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior,
respectively, that are appropriate for veterans
selected for participation in such pilot program; and
(B) to the extent practicable, employing such
veterans in such positions.
(c) Application of Civil Service Laws.--A veteran employed under
the pilot program under subsection (a) shall be treated as an employee.
(d) Best Practices.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
establish guidelines that include best practices for departments and
agencies of the Federal Government that carry out programs to employ
veterans who are transitioning from service in the Armed Forces. Such
guidelines shall include--
(1) lessons learned under the Warrior Training Advancement
Course of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
(2) methods to realize cost savings based on such lessons.
(e) Partnership.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the
Secretaries concerned, and the Secretary of Defense may enter into a
partnership to include the pilot program under subsection (a) as part
of the Skillbridge program under section 1143 of title 10, United
States Code.
(f) Reports.--
(1) Initial report.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
and the Secretaries concerned shall jointly submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on the pilot
program under subsection (a), including--
(A) a description of how such pilot program will be
carried out in a manner to reduce the unemployment of
veterans; and
(B) any recommendations for legislative actions to
improve such pilot program.
(2) Implementation.--Not later than one year after the date
on which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs commences such pilot
program, such Secretary and the Secretaries concerned shall
jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report on the implementation of such pilot program.
(3) Final report.--Not later than 30 days after the date on
which such pilot program concludes, the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs and the Secretaries concerned shall jointly submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report that
includes--
(A) an identification of--
(i) the number of veterans who applied to
participate in such pilot program;
(ii) the number of such veterans employed
pursuant to such pilot program; and
(iii) the number of veterans described in
clause (ii) who transitioned to full-time
positions with the Federal Government after
participating in such pilot program; and
(B) any other information the Secretaries determine
appropriate with respect to measuring the effectiveness
of such pilot program.
(g) Termination Date.--The authority to carry out the pilot program
under subsection (a) shall terminate on the date that is two years
after the date on which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs commences
such pilot program.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means
the following:
(A) The Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives.
(B) The Committee on Natural Resources of the House
of Representatives.
(C) The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House
of Representatives.
(D) The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate.
(E) The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
of the Senate.
(F) The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the
Senate.
(2) The term ``employee'' has the meaning given such term
in section 2105 of title 5, United States Code.
(3) The term ``wildland firefighting activities'' means any
temporary, seasonal, or permanent position at the Department of
Agriculture or the Department of the Interior, and Tribal
Firefighters, that maintains group, emergency incident
management, or fire qualifications, as established annually by
the Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications
published by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, that
primarily engages in or supports wildland fire management,
including forestry and rangeland technicians and positions
concerning aviation, engineering heavy equipment operations,
dispatch, or fire and fuels management.
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