WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Western Caucus Vice Chair and Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee Bruce Westerman (AR-04), and Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC-03) led 18 Members in sending a bicameral oversight inquiry to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland regarding the impacts President Biden’s vaccine mandate will have on national wildfire preparedness.
President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate requires federal employees and contractors to be fully vaccinated by November 22, 2021, and December 8, 2021, respectively. The Members of Congress expressed grave concerns that the loss of essential employees across the country who will be terminated or who leave the workforce due to the mandate will jeopardize federal wildland firefighting efforts.
“Due to these trends, we are concerned the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees may adversely affect the number of wildland firefighters serving at USDA and DOI,” wrote the lawmakers. “Coupled with other factors contributing to the depletion of federal firefighter ranks and the lack of management fueling longer, more severe wildfire seasons, President Biden’s actions may exacerbate challenges in the ongoing effort to combat wildfires.”
The Members requested Secretaries Vilsack and Haaland produce documents and comprehensive analyses on the mandate’s impact and to determine if an exemption for USDA and DOI firefighters is appropriate to preserve our ability to combat and prevent wildfires throughout the United States.
They continued, “Understanding the adverse impact of President Biden’s mandate on USDA’s and DOI’s federal wildland firefighter force is critical to assessing the federal government’s ability to effectively manage and respond to wildfires.”
Read the full letter here and below:
Dear Secretary Vilsack and Secretary Haaland,
As of October 15, 2021, almost 6.5 million acres in the United States burned from more than 47,000 wildfires since the beginning of the year. The Forest Service (FS) is responsible for wildfire management and response for 193 million acres of the National Forest System (NFS) while the Department of the Interior (DOI) manages response for more than 400 million acres of public land. These 593 million federal acres have 14,500 Department of Agriculture (USDA) and 5,000 DOI wildland firefighters dedicated to protecting our federal lands.
In their roles, these federal wildland firefighters also coordinate emergency responses with state, local, and tribal partners, and are the tip of the spear to combat ongoing wildfire threats. As President Joe Biden stated earlier this year, “we’ve got to be prepared and have every resource available to make sure we’re there for the American people.” The full availability of these federal firefighters is imperative to the health and safety of our federal lands and the communities near those lands. Therefore, we seek to assess the consequences of President Biden’s recent vaccination mandates on the staffing of USDA and DOI wildland firefighters.
Due in large part to decades of inadequate forest management, wildfire seasons now last year-round and put increasingly significant strains on our federal wildland firefighters and firefighting resources. This year, the United States spent more consecutive days at the highest wildfire preparedness level, Preparedness Level 5, than in any other year. According to FS Chief Randy Moore, firefighting resources are already stretched to the limit and the agency continually struggles to recruit and retain new firefighters. The Biden Administration’s policies forcing our wildland firefighters, who professionally risk their lives, to choose between their livelihood and their own personal health decision is therefore counterintuitive to ensuring necessary recruitment and retention.
Rather than allowing federal employees to consult with their doctor to determine appropriate medical actions, President Biden mandated that federal employees and contractors receive COVID-19 vaccinations. Federal employees must be fully vaccinated by November 22, 2021, and federal contractors must be fully vaccinated by December 8, 2021. Employees not in compliance with this requirement will face consequences, including termination of employment.
Several federal employee advocacy groups criticized President Biden’s vaccine mandate as misguided and an inappropriate overreach. For example, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association opposed the mandate and encouraged its members to seek individual medical advice about vaccinations. Numerous Members of Congress also urged President Biden to reconsider the mandate. Similar vaccination mandates at state and local levels received negative reactions, particularly from firefighters. Across the country, essential employees left the workforce because of COVID-19 vaccination mandates.
Due to these trends, we are concerned the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees may adversely affect the number of wildland firefighters serving at USDA and DOI. Coupled with other factors contributing to the depletion of federal firefighter ranks and the lack of management fueling longer, more severe wildfire seasons, President Biden’s actions may exacerbate challenges in the ongoing effort to combat wildfires.
Additionally, many stakeholders are concerned about the vaccination mandate’s harmful impact to federal contractors, specifically those completing critical forest management projects that are essential to reducing the risk and severity of catastrophic wildfires and improving forest health. We echo their concerns that the mandate is likely to disrupt work in rural America, ultimately jeopardizing wildfire prevention efforts and potentially endangering hundreds of communities at risk of destruction due to catastrophic wildfire.
These trends also raise doubts about USDA’s and DOI’s ability to maintain the appropriate level of preparedness necessary to effectively respond to wildfire threats. President Biden's actions, however, ignore the reality of the unique environments in which wildland firefighters must work, and the efficacy of COVID-19 precautions. In Chief Moore’s recent congressional testimony, he confirmed that “the Forest Service and our interagency partners have seen success with our COVID-19 prevention and mitigation measures.” Two weeks ago, the Mine Safety and Health Administration determined that the strength of existing mine worker protections are sufficient to not require COVID-19 vaccinations. USDA and DOI should similarly examine the existing protections for federal wildland firefighters and contractors to determine if an exemption from the vaccination mandates is appropriate. At a minimum, the agencies must evaluate reasonable accommodations and alternatives to vaccinations, such as routine testing.
Understanding the adverse impact of President Biden’s mandate on USDA’s and DOI’s federal wildland firefighter force is critical to assessing the federal government’s ability to effectively manage and respond to wildfires. Therefore, to assist with our oversight activities, please produce the following, as soon as possible, but no later than 5:00 p.m., October 26, 2021:
- A document sufficient to describe the estimated number of fully vaccinated federal wildland firefighters at your Department as of October 19, 2021.
- A document sufficient to describe your Department’s plan for employees and contractors who do not comply with President Biden’s vaccination mandates.
- All documents and communications, including, but not limited to, internal memoranda and e-mails, referring or relating to attrition concerns at your Department because of President Biden’s vaccination mandates for federal employees and contractors.
- All documents and communications referring or relating to the decision to implement vaccination mandates between January 20, 2021 and October 19, 2021.
- A document sufficient to describe your Department’s contingency plan to address the attrition of federal wildland firefighters and relevant contractors because of President Biden’s vaccination mandates for federal employees and contractors.
- A document sufficient to describe your Department’s analysis of working conditions for both federal wildland firefighters and relevant contractors to assess the appropriateness of an exemption from President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination mandates.
- All documents and communications referring or relating to the National Interagency Coordination Center’s unfulfilled dispatching or mobilization requests of wildland firefighter crews, staff to assist wildland firefighters, and resources needed to combat wildfires between January 20, 2021 and October 19, 2021.
Please contact the House Natural Resources Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Minority staff at (202) 225-7107 with any questions about this request and to coordinate the delivery of your response to room 1329 of the Longworth House Office Building.
An attachment contains additional instructions for responding to this request. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
