The President signed into law a bill from a Tri-Counties congressman to improve healthcare benefits for federal firefighters.
The bipartisan measure guarantees federal firefighters will have the same access to job-related disability and retirement benefits as their non-federal counterparts.
Up until now, many firefighters haven’t had the same levels of benefits as state, county, and city firefighters. They have been forced to prove that their exposure to certain conditions led to major health issues like heart disease and cancer, creating a high burden of proof.
It’s estimated 10,000 federal firefighters will benefit from the change in the law.
Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara joined forces with a fellow Democrat and two Republicans to sponsor the legislation.
