Lower Bucks Today

This week, Congressmen Brian Fitzpatrick and Gerry Connolly introduced the Federal Firefighters Families First Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at ensuring federal firefighters receive retirement benefits comparable to their state and local counterparts. The proposed legislation seeks to include overtime hours in retirement calculations for federal firefighters.

"Every day, firefighters across the nation make extraordinary sacrifices to protect our families, homes, and communities," said Fitzpatrick. "Our Federal Firefighters Families First Act will ensure overtime hours are counted toward retirement, providing the security and respect they have earned."

Connolly emphasized the responsibility to provide fair retirement for these workers: "It is our absolute responsibility to provide them with a retirement worthy of the sacrifices they have made in service to the United States."

Firefighters and labor leaders highlighted the need for this reform. Edward A. Kelly of the International Association of Fire Fighters noted that federal firefighters work long hours for less pay than their counterparts. "The bipartisan Federal Firefighters Families First Act will correct this inequity," he stated.

Everett B. Kelley from the American Federation of Government Employees expressed support: "AFGE proudly supports the Federal Firefighters Families First Act because federal firefighters deserve nothing less than full and fair retirement benefits."

Currently, federal firefighters do not receive credit for mandatory overtime in their retirement calculations, unlike state and local firefighters. The new bill aims to address this disparity by factoring these hours into retirement benefits.

The legislation has backing from several organizations including the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), National Federation for Federal Employees (NFFE), and National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).