The decision to provide a 50% refund to wildland firefighters at the GS-10 level who reside in government-owned housing will affect roughly 5,500 employees.
Much like the workforce-focused wildfire bill introduced last week in the House, the EMBER Act draws its provisions from the recommendations of a recent bipartisan commission report.
The Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act would create a new Middle Fire Leaders Academy to rapidly bolster the ranks of federal wildland firefighters.
The arrest and subsequent indictment of a federal supervisor doing his job had caused panic within the workforce and has some concerned the damage will be difficult to reverse.
The American Climate Corps program aims to recruit a diverse workforce. But it will face challenges including low pay, the need for child care, and historic discrimination against women in the trades.
A GAO report found the Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to factor more risk from the impact of more extreme natural events in how it licenses the safety of power plants.
Highly skilled firefighters are the last line of defense against wildfires, but that line is fraying because the government decided long ago that they’re not worth very much.
Officials, who are calling for reforms, say environmental regulations shouldn’t lead to yearslong waits to build transmission lines or impede their ability to respond to natural disasters.