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Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the bipartisan Support Our Firefighters Act. This bill would ensure that our Federal wildland firefighters are given the rest, recuperation, and compensation they deserve after working around the clock when disaster strikes.

We have all seen the devastation, destruction, and loss that has occurred in communities across the country as wildfires grow in frequency and intensity. Last year, we saw the Eaton and Palisades fires destroy thousands of structures and take 31 lives, making them 2 of the worst fires in history.

As a result of climate change, Californians have become all too familiar with wildfires. Containing them has proven to be a large undertaking that has required close local, State, and Federal coordination.

Communities are able to make it through these horrific disasters thanks to the bravery and hard work of fire crews on the ground. During the LA fires, firefighters from across the State, country, and even abroad answered our call for support, and it is thanks to their hard work and bravery that more structures, and most importantly more lives, were not lost.

We owe it to these heroes to ensure they have the support and conditions they need to do their jobs safely and to ensure that they get fully paid for their courageous work. Specially, this legislation would provide 3 days of paid rest and recuperation leave after a 14-day period of work and 4 days of rest and recuperation following a 21-day period of work. It would also extend the waiver of overtime caps for wildland firefighters permanently.

After these long periods of work, it is essential for our wildland firefighters to get the rest and recuperation they deserve. Mandating this time is an important first step to addressing the many mental and physical challenges our firefighters face as they operate under hazardous conditions.

These emergency situations also necessitate our firefighters to work long hours, and given the yearly cap they face on total compensation, it sets up a situation where our heroes are sometimes required to go without pay. This is unacceptable, and we must end this arbitrary cap.

I want to thank my colleague Senator Sheehy, for coleading this effort with me in the Senate. Finally, I want to thank our brave Federal firefighters for risking their lives to protect our communities when they need it the most. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance the Support Our Firefighters Act as quickly as possible. ______

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