Congressman  Josh Harder, D-Tracy, Thursday teamed up with Florida Republican Scott Franklin to introduce bipartisan legislation designed fix dangerous wildland firefighter shortages made worse by unfair benefit rules.

Harder and Franklin unveiled two new bills to protect firefighters’ retirement benefits and casualty assistance for their families.

Harder’s bill to quickly reimburse local fire departments passed unanimously through committee on its way to becoming law.

Unfair rules are withholding key benefits and exacerbating California’s firefighter shortage:

• Wildland firefighters lose their retirement benefits if they leave service for more than three days, no matter why they need the leave.
• Department of Interior wildland firefighters and their families do not have a casualty assistance program to help in the event of injury, illness, or death, despite other agencies offering these resources.
• Right now, local departments often wait over a year to be paid back after responding to fires on federal lands.

 “This is about keeping our promise to the people who stand between us and disaster,” said  Harder. “Firefighters shouldn’t be punished for taking time off or responding to federal emergencies, and their families shouldn’t be abandoned during the hardest moments of their lives. These bills fix unfair rules that are making our firefighter shortage worse, and I won’t rest until we get these common sense solutions signed into law.”

 Valley priorities that Harder is advancing in Congress:

• Protecting retirement benefits by allowing wildland firefighters to take more time off without threatening their retirement.
• New Casualty Assistance Program in the Department of Interior.
• Quickly repay local departments by establishing better cost agreements with the federal government.

 “This bipartisan bill ensures wildland firefighters aren’t unfairly penalized for off-season time away from service,” said Franklin. “By extending the allowable break in service from just 3 days to up to 24 months, we’re recognizing the realities of seasonal work and protecting the retirement credit these brave men and women have earned. It’s a commonsense fix that honors their service and helps strengthen our wildland firefighting workforce.”