Washington, DC – This afternoon, Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) spoke at the House Natural Resources Subcommittee hearing on her bipartisan legislation, the “Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act.” The bill would overhaul federal firefighter pay, benefits, and classification, and is named after Tim Hart, a smokejumper from Cody, Wyoming who lost his life earlier this year while battling the Eicks Fire in New Mexico.
Watch her full remarks here and see the transcript below:
REP. LIZ CHENEY: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the committee. I’m really grateful — I don’t have questions, I just wanted to say thank you. I’m very grateful to the committee and to you, Mr. Chairman, for taking up this important legislation. And I know Michelle Hart is there, Tim Hart’s widow. We all recognize the critical role that our wildland firefighters play in helping us deal with the fires that the committee has been discussing this morning, as they’ve raged all across the West and making sure that we’re in a position where we are providing the kind of resources our wildland firefighters need, the kind of benefits they need, and the kind of commitment they need through adequate pay and salary, to make sure that we recognize the real danger that they face and the sacrifices that they make to keep us safe. I’m proud that this has been a bipartisan bill. I am hopeful that we’ll be able to move it quickly through committee, and to ensure that we get it across the Floor over in the Senate as well and to the President’s desk for signature, so we can both remember the sacrifice of our wildland firefighters like Tim Hart, and also make sure that we’re continuing to provide the resources they need. So with that, I’d like to just thank the Chairman and yield back and thank the committee.
Original source can be found here.
