Merkley Pushes to Expand Benefits for Fallen Wildland Firefighters

Merkley pushes to expand benefits for fallen wildland firefighters

U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and John Curtis introduced a bill to increase death benefits for fallen wildland firefighters from $10,000 to $100,000, matching what's provided to fallen military members.

MERKLEY, CURTIS LEAD BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION TO HONOR FALLEN WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS

October 5, 2026 9:40 a.m.  On Monday, U.S. Senators Democrat Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Republican John Curtis of Utah announced the introduction of the Honoring Fallen Wildland Firefighters Act. A release said the legislation would expand death benefits of fallen firefighters to match up to $100,000 provided to fallen members of the military. That...

New bill looks to expand line-of-duty death benefits for wildland firefighters families

A new bipartisan bill aims to expand death benefits for federal wildland firefighters who are killed in the line of duty from $10,000 up to the level of funds g

Bill Would Raise Wildland Firefighter Death Benefits to $100K

A bipartisan bill from Sens. Merkley and Curtis would raise wildland firefighter death benefits from $10,000 to $100,000, matching military families.