Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse fights to prevent pay cut for federal wildland firefighters amid worst wildfire season in years

As fires rage across the Western United States, the nation's elite wildland firefighters are facing a 50% pay cut.  

Hotshots, smokejumpers and Helitack crews are among the federal firefighters who would be impacted by the reduction. They go where no one else will to do the work no one else can. They use hand tools and chain saws, in triple-degree heat and rugged terrain, to stop wildfires that threaten homes and lives. In return, the federal government pays them just above the minimum wage in Colorado.

"The reality is you have wildland firefighters risking their lives 5-10 miles from here who were not making enough to live in these communities that we're all so blessed to call home, said House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse in an interview last week while he was in Colorado. "I think that is unconscionable and we have to fix it."

The Democratic Congressman -- who co-chairs the Wildfire Caucus and represents Colorado's 2nd Congressional District -- has made increasing firefighter pay and benefits his top priority for the last three years.

"We're talking about $25-$30 an hour, we're talking about retirement benefits so that these wildland firefighters can retire in dignity, we're talking about full leave entitlement benefits so that they can ultimately access the leave they need given all they're doing for our communities. We're not talking about a lot."

Neguse fought to include a temporary pay hike in the Infrastructure law two years ago, but it expires Sept. 30.

"A lot of my colleagues in the Congress lack the political will to ultimately address this and see it as the crisis that we see it as here in the Western United States. I've spent a lot of time trying to implore my colleagues on the eastern seaboard that this is a real challenge."

It is also a moral imperative, says Neguse, who delivered meals and a message to firefighters in Larimer County and Boulder County.

"We owe them a debt of gratitude and lunch and breakfast don't begin to cover it. We'll keep fighting for them," he said.

Colorado received federal reinforcements late last month after Neguse, along with other members of Colorado's congressional delegation, sent a letter to the National Interagency Fire Center. But as federal agencies struggle to recruit and retain firefighters during one of the worst fire seasons in years, Neguse worries about the availability of help in the hot, dry months ahead.

In a sign of how taxed federal resources are, the National Federal Preparedness Level is now 5, the highest stage. As the fourth most powerful member of U.S. House, Neguse is fighting to make passage of the federal spending bill contingent on a permanent pay increase for the firefighters.