Nevada County’s congressman is unhappy with the rejection of a budget amendment that would have increased pay for federal firefighters. Republican Doug LaMalfa says Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee have blocked a proposal that would have added two-and-a-quarter billion dollars over five years that he says would also boost recruitment. He says the committee, instead, has approved the money for a new Citizen Climate Corps. He calls that wasteful, when it could be better spent on more direct wildfire reduction efforts, such as thinning trees and removing underbrush…,

click to listen to Doug LaMalfa

Meanwhile, LaMalfa notes the Biden Administration supports increasing pay from 13 to 15 dollars an hour. And 600-million dollars for firefighters is included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act…

click to listen to Doug LaMalfa

The legislation also includes creating a new wildland firefighter occupation series. That’s where positions located in specified geographic regions, where it’s difficult to recruit and retain talent, will be eligible for an annual salary increase of 20-thousand dollars a year, or an amount worth 50-percent of base pay, whichever is less.