S-142-119
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text: CR S231-232)
Sponsored by John Barrasso (R-WY)
What it does
This bill would direct the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange the presentation of a single Congressional Gold Medal to wildland firefighters collectively, in recognition of their service and sacrifice. The Secretary of the Treasury would design and strike the medal in consultation with the National Interagency Fire Center, where the medal would be permanently displayed. The bill also authorizes the Treasury to produce and sell bronze duplicate medals at cost-recovery prices, with proceeds deposited into the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
Who benefits
Current and former wildland firefighters — including the more than 18,700 federal employees across the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs — as well as state, local, and contract wildland firefighters and volunteers. The National Interagency Fire Center, which would receive and display the medal, also benefits institutionally. Families of the 98 wildland firefighters who died between 2019 and 2025 may receive symbolic recognition. Collectors and the public who purchase bronze duplicates would gain access to a commemorative item.
Who is hurt
There are no direct negative effects on any identifiable group. The U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund bears the cost of striking the gold medal, though the bill authorizes that fund to be charged accordingly. Bronze duplicate sales are structured to be cost-neutral.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that wildland firefighters perform extraordinarily dangerous work — routinely logging 16-hour days, exceeding 2,500 operational hours in a six-month period, and risking their lives in conditions that claimed 98 lives between 2019 and 2025. They contend that the Congressional Gold Medal is Congress's highest civilian honor and that wildland firefighters' expanding role — from forest management and prescribed burns to international deployments in Australia and Canada — reflects a level of national service that merits formal recognition at the highest level.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that while wildland firefighters are undeniably deserving of recognition, a symbolic medal does not address the documented national crisis in firefighter recruitment and retention, nor does it improve pay, benefits, or safety equipment for those currently serving. They contend that Congress's limited floor time and legislative resources could be directed toward substantive policy changes — such as workforce funding or hazard pay — that would produce more tangible improvements in firefighters' lives and public safety outcomes.