This bill authorizes Congress to award a single Congressional Gold Medal to wildland firefighters as a collective honor recognizing their courage, sacrifice, and service in protecting American forests and communities. The legislation acknowledges that wildland fires have intensified over the past three decades, affecting over one billion acres across the country, and that more than 18,700 federal wildland firefighters plus thousands of state and local firefighters work in extraordinarily dangerous conditions, often logging 16-hour workdays during fire season. The bill documents that 91 wildland firefighters lost their lives in the five years before enactment and notes that these firefighters also serve as all-hazards emergency responders and participate in international firefighting efforts. The Secretary of the Treasury will design and strike the gold medal in consultation with the National Interagency Fire Center, which will display it at appropriate locations associated with wildland firefighters. The bill authorizes the Treasury to cover the medal's production costs through the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund and allows the sale of bronze duplicate medals, with proceeds returned to that same fund to offset expenses.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.