Rep. Stansbury Votes to Expand Access to Critical Benefits for Firefighters
As New Mexico faces some of the largest wildfires in the history of the state, the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act will expand access for job-related disability and retirement benefits for federal firefighters.
WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) voted to pass critical legislation to ensure federal firefighters receive the same access to job-related disability and retirement benefits as state, county, and municipal firefighters. Numerous studies have found heart disease, lung disease, certain cancers, and other infectious diseases to be occupational hazards of firefighting.
Under current law, federal firefighters must point to a specific incident or exposure in order to have a disease considered job-related, which creates an extraordinarily difficult burden of proof. The Federal Firefighters Fairness Act, led by Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24), creates the presumption that federal firefighters who become disabled by certain serious diseases contracted illness on the job.
California was the first state to pass a firefighter’s presumptive illness law in 1982. In 2019, Montana and Florida passed the same law making it 48 out of 50 states with health presumption laws for state and local firefighters. These laws do not cover federal firefighters.
Rep. Stansbury’s vote to pass the key legislation comes as New Mexico continues to face the worst drought in 1,200 years, resulting in early-season wildfires that have devastated communities and forced evacuations across New Mexico as some of the nation’s largest wildfires consume over 250,000 acres of land. The severity of the wildfires has prompted President Biden to issue a Major Disaster Declaration to provide additional federal funding to help communities across New Mexico recover from the impacts of these fires.
“Our firefighters are on the front lines battling unprecedented fires across New Mexico and putting their safety and wellbeing on the line to protect our communities,” said Rep. Stansbury. “As we thank our firefighters for their courage and bravery, it’s time to deliver for our first responders to ensure they can access critical benefits and protections for serious illnesses contracted through the job—which is why I am proud to vote to pass the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act and ensure every firefighter can access job-related disability and retirement benefits.”
The full text of the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act can be found here.
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