H.R. 435

In plain English

Direct Hire To Fight Fires This bill provides permanent direct-hire authority to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior to fill wildland firefighter and firefighting support positions in the Forest Service and Interior agencies. The bill also requires USDA and Interior to implement policies to recruit and retain wildland firefighters and related personnel, such as by streamlining the hiring process and reducing barriers for firefighters transferring between agencies. Further, the bill requires USDA and Interior to annually report related data to Congress, including the number of firefighters needed for the coming year, the number of firefighting vacancies in each state, and existing barriers to filling such vacancies. The report must also be made available on a public website.

Congressional Research Service summary from Congress.gov (not yet simplified).

Sponsor and status

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How South Carolina voted

No recorded roll-call vote on this bill yet. Most bills never get one.

Who lobbied

Lobbying reports name the bills a client worked on. They don't say which side anyone took.

No lobbying reported on this bill in the reports we have loaded (January 2025 through September 2026). Lobbyists report each quarter, about 20 days after it ends, so any lobbying since October 2026 will be added once those reports are filed.