HR 4280
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4280
To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to
provide death and disability benefits for aerial firefighters who work
on a contract basis for the Forest Service or an agency of the Department
of the Interior and suffer death or disability in the line of duty, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 5, 2007
Mrs. CUBIN (for herself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, and Mrs. MCCARTHY
of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture
and the Judiciary, 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 amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to
provide death and disability benefits for aerial firefighters who work
on a contract basis for the Forest Service or an agency of the Department
of the Interior and suffer death or disability in the line of duty, and
for other purposes.
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 `Aerial Firefighter Relief Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. DEATH AND DISABILITY BENEFITS FOR AERIAL FIREFIGHTERS OF THE
FOREST SERVICE AND DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AGENCIES.
(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:
(1) Pilots and crew members of aircraft used to fight wildfires generally
work on a contract basis with a State or Federal agency and, as a result,
are not eligible for death or disability benefits should they be killed
or injured in the line of duty.
(2) Employer death benefits and life insurance for aerial firefighters
are expensive, and the families of these unsung heroes have to cope
not only with the loss of a loved one, but also the additional financial
loss of a wage earner.
(3) It is vital that Congress continue to encourage the recruitment
and retention of skilled and experienced aerial firefighters.
(b) Eligibility for Death and Disability Benefits- Section 308 of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1738) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(c) Eligibility of Aerial Firefighters for Death and Disability Benefits-
`(1) ELIGIBILITY- An individual who serves a public agency specified
in paragraph (2), or a contractor or subcontractor of such a public
agency, in an official capacity, with or without compensation, as a
pilot or a crew member of an aircraft carrying out a firefighting mission
on behalf of such public agency and who is killed or disabled as a result
of an injury that occurs while the aircraft is moving under its own
power for the purpose of take off, flight, or landing shall be eligible
for a death or disability benefit under section 1201 of Public Law 90-351
(42 U.S.C. 3796).
`(2) COVERED PUBLIC AGENCIES- Subsection (a) applies with respect to
the Forest Service and any agency of the Department of the Interior.
`(3) APPLICABILITY- This subsection shall apply with respect to death
or injuries occurring on or after September 29, 1976.'.
SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY OF AERIAL FIREFIGHTERS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER
DEATH BENEFITS.
(a) In General- Paragraph (9) of section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B) by striking `or' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at the end and inserting
`; or'; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
`(D) an individual serving a public agency, or a contractor or subcontractor
at any tier of a public agency, in an official capacity, with or without
compensation, as a pilot or a crew member of an aircraft carrying
out a firefighting mission on behalf of such public agency, so long
as the injury occurs during the contract period beginning with the
moment in which the aircraft moves under its own power for the purpose
of flight and ending with the moment in which the aircraft comes to
rest after landing.'.
(b) Applicability- The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with
respect to injuries occurring on or after September 29, 1976.
END
