{"id":120176,"date":"2021-08-20T12:56:46","date_gmt":"2021-08-20T12:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=120176"},"modified":"2021-08-20T12:56:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T12:56:46","slug":"wildfires-and-higher-pay-for-firefighters-is-a-major-focus-of-infrastructure-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/wildfires-and-higher-pay-for-firefighters-is-a-major-focus-of-infrastructure-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildfires and higher pay for firefighters is a major focus of infrastructure bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>The $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the Senate this month includes money to raise wages for federal firefighters and Forest Service staff and would make about 1,000 temporary firefighting jobs permanent.<\/li>\n<li>It also includes money for climate-related initiatives, including $73 billion to improve and protect the grid, $3.5 billion allotted to reduce energy costs for low-income households and $12 billion for FEMA flood mitigation grants.<\/li>\n<li>But some outsiders say it should be characterized only as a down payment on the huge expenses need to fight climate change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The $1 trillion infrastructure bill that passed the Senate this month includes billions for reducing carbon emissions and protecting the nation from damage already done by global warming, but critics say it&#x27;s not even close to enough.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most glaring problems it seeks to rectify is federal firefighter compensation.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, federal firefighters are battling several explosive blazes in California, but they are sorely underpaid, making on average less than $13 an hour. That&#x27;s less than California&#x27;s minimum wage and far less than salaries for state firefighters. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That&#x27;s expected to change. If the House approves the bill, $600 million will go toward raising those wages. It would also raise salaries for the Forest Service by as much as 50% and make about 1,000 seasonal firefighting jobs permanent.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Wildland firefighters are truly at the frontlines of dealing with the effects of climate change, they are currently underpaid and poorly equipped, and so it&#x27;s no surprise that it&#x27;s hard to recruit firefighters who risked their lives defending communities in very remote areas,&quot; said Dan Lashof, U.S. director at the World Resources Institute.<\/p>\n<p>The measure also has $8 billion for wildfire risk reduction and forest thinning and restoration.<\/p>\n<h2>Scratching the surface<\/h2>\n<p>After the stark reminder last winter in Texas of just how vulnerable the nation&#x27;s aging electrical grid is to more severe weather, the bill carves out $73 billion to make it not only more sustainable but also to protect it.<\/p>\n<p>There&#x27;s also $3.5 billion allotted to reduce energy costs for low-income households.<\/p>\n<p>And as flooding becomes more severe due to sea level rise and increasingly intense rainfall, the bill provides $12 billion for FEMA flood mitigation grants in order to increase coastal resilience and improve flood mapping.<\/p>\n<p>President Joe Biden noted in a press conference following the Senate passage of the bill that it makes &quot;critical investments to combat climate change and to build a clean energy future.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>But some argue it just scratches the surface, given the extreme dangers to every facet of the economy from the effects of global warming.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;I think the investments in the bipartisan bill could be characterized as a down payment in addressing climate change,&quot; said Lashof. &quot;The problem is we can&#x27;t afford to mortgage our future, so we actually need to make the whole investment now.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Lashof points to the next step \u2014 the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill. It is expected to include larger investments in energy efficiency upgrades, electric vehicle infrastructure and incentives for consumers to go even greener.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;We need the full package to be responding to the effects of climate change at the pace and scale that it&#x27;s really demanding,&quot; Lashof said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/08\/20\/wildfires-higher-pay-for-firefighters-in-infrastructure-bill.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the Senate this month includes money to raise wages for federal firefighters and Forest Service staff and would [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":120175,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - 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