Congressman Issa Introduces Bill to Streamline Hiring of Federal Firefighters
Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) introduced the Direct Hire to Fight Fire legislation to assist Southern California in addressing the region’s annual wildfire danger. Issa stated:
“The threat of annual and devastating wildfires is a deadly challenge that can only be faced with all available tools. Because California contains hundreds of thousands of acres of federally managed land – including the 50th Congressional District’s Cleveland National Forest – our federal agencies need more than equipment. We need to bring on new personnel to properly prepare for and fight the fires we know are coming.
The Direct Hire to Fight Fire bill is a straightforward solution that will streamline the federal hiring process used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior for key fire and fire support positions operating on federal lands. This highly targeted hiring tool will also allow skilled candidates to be quickly and efficiently recruited and hired so that positions that we need are not left unfilled.”
Currently, the federal government uses Direct Hire authority for severe shortages and emergency hiring for other roles, including the existing authority to hire Scientific, Technical, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) positions. The 2018 Farm Bill also created Direct Hire Authority for intern positions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of Personnel Management often grants short-term direct hire authority for critical needs.
Northern California Congressman Doug LaMalfa joined as an original cosponsor.
Read the full bill text here.
###