Amendments to H.R. 2499 – Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022

Each amendment receives up to 10 minutes of debate. Each En Bloc receives up to 20 minutes of debate

Scott (D-VA) En Bloc #1: VOTE REQUESTED

Houlahan (D-PA) – Amendment No. 1 – Includes a Review of Science of Gynecological Cancers to study the potential risk and connection between fire protection activities and likelihood of developing gynecological cancers

Jackson Lee (D-TX) – Amendment No. 2 – Adds a study regarding the health and safety impacts on firefighters from circumstances encountered as firefighters

Stanton (D-AZ) – Amendment No. 5 – Requires the Secretary to notify Congress when approving or denying petitions to add diseases to the list

Tlaib (D-MI) – Amendment No. 6 – Adds an annual reporting requirement on the total number of and demographics of employees with diseases and conditions covered by this Act desegregated by the specific condition or conditions, for the purposes of understanding the scope of the problem. The report may include recommendations for additional steps to be taken to minimize the risk of adverse health impacts for firefighters

Torres (D-CA) – Amendment No. 7 – The Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health shall conduct a comprehensive study on long-term health effects that Federal wildland firefighters, who are eligible to receive workers’ compensation, experience after being exposed to fires, smoke, and toxic fumes when in service

Torres (D-CA) – Amendment No. 8 – Directs the Secretary, not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, to evaluate the best available scientific evidence of the risk to an employee in fire protection activities of developing rhabdomyolysis

Joyce (R-OH) – Amendment No. 3 – Adds the Kenneth Meisel Public Servants’ Claimant Fairness Act, which amends the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) to establish that claimants who have been asked by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs to provide additional evidence to support their occupational illness, traumatic injury, or death claim have at least 60 days to provide such evidence

Keller (R-PA) – Amendment No. 4 – Strikes all of the bill text and inserts a provision establishing the Firefighter Special Claims Unit at the Department of Labor to process any claim relating to occupational disease filed by a federal firefighter. Directs GAO to submit a report describing any known barriers to the delivery of health care to federal firefighters, evaluating claims submitted by federal firefighters, and providing information on the standard the Department uses to determine causation with respect to claims – VOTE REQUESTED