Federal firefighters are waiting for pay raises they hope will help fill their ranks

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...:Officials told employees that they are still working to figure out what to do when the infrastructure bill funding runs out and the pay supplements stop — effectively creating a cliff for wages. One of the options is requesting a special salary rate and implementing it in time for when the funding runs out.

But officials noted even that has its hurdles, including making sure that Congress itself provides additional funding for salaries to support any increase in wages.

In the budget request for the next fiscal year, the Forest Service has asked for $1.15 billion for wildland fire management salaries and expenses but lawmakers will draft their own legislation regardless of the budget asks."...