ATF fire investigators gain federal occupational-disease compensation
H.R. 8863 — To amend title 5, United States Code, to add certain employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to the definition of employees in fire protection activities for the purpose of compensation for certain illnesses and diseases deemed to be proximately caused by employment in fire protection activities. · Filed by Austin Scott (R-GA) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced May 15, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill expands federal workers' compensation for occupational illnesses to include ATF Certified Fire Investigators and National Response Team members. Currently, only certain federal employees in fire protection roles qualify for compensation if they develop diseases deemed caused by their work; this bill adds two specific ATF job categories to that list, making them eligible for the same benefits retroactive to the bill's enactment date.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to expand federal workers' compensation eligibility to two specific ATF job categories performing fire-related duties. It is a straightforward occupational-health protection measure with no secondary purposes or riders.
What the text implies
- Retroactive application to claims filed after enactment may create a backlog of previously ineligible claims now suddenly eligible, requiring administrative processing and potential budget adjustment within the federal workers' compensation system.
- The bill does not specify what illnesses or diseases qualify as 'proximately caused by employment in fire protection activities' — that definition lives in the existing § 8143b statute and is not restated here, so the scope of coverage depends entirely on how that section is interpreted by the Department of Labor.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
ATF fire investigators and National Response Team members who develop occupational illnesses from fire-related work gain access to federal workers' compensation benefits, reducing their out-of-pocket costs and providing income replacement during illness. This is a targeted expansion of existing worker protections to a previously excluded group performing hazardous duties.
Who stands to gain
- ATF Certified Fire Investigators
- ATF National Response Team members
Named in the bill
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), 5 U.S.C. § 8143b, Department of Labor (administers federal workers' compensation), Certified Fire Investigator, National Response Team
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 3 Democrats.
- May 15, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 15, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $40,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 24 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Austin Scott, the sponsor, reported $752,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association — $40,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 10, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (810 characters) on Jun 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 10, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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