WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has directed federal officials to offer seasonal firefighters the option of purchasing federal health insurance coverage, White House officials told The Denver Post Tuesday.
On a a recent trip to Colorado Springs, the president was apparently moved by the men and women firefighters he met, senior administration officials said in an interview.
When he returned to Washington, he told his cabinet that he wanted to “find a solution” for the hundreds of workers toiling in dangerous conditions without the option to buy in to federal insurance insurance.
The 15,000 or so temporary seasonal workers who descend into fire zones are usually young people who work sundry outdoor jobs, depending on the time of year. Some pick up contract work removing trees in the fall or they work at ski areas in the winter. Many are college students.
But because they are not full-time U.S. Forest Service employees, before Tuesday’s announcement they did not have the option of purchasing federal health insurance.
Under a directive that will be made in the “near future” from the Office of Personnel Management, this group will get that option by the end of this month, White House officials said.
Not yet known is how the eligibility will work and how long these workers will be able to qualify for the federal insurance program. Many move on to other jobs by the time the first snow falls.
The announcement from the White House comes the same day GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney stumped in Colorado, Grand Junction and then Colorado Springs. Romney met with firefighters in a roundtable Tuesday afternoon. His campaign had no comment about the president’s directive.
This is the most recent example of Obama circumventing Congress to push ahead with his agenda in an election year.
Just last month, the president ordered the Department of Homeland Security to give young illegal immigrants who graduated from American high schools the opportunity to apply for work visas. In a speech announcing the decision, Obama said he was frustrated that Congress had not sent him a Dream Act to sign.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, coincidentally introduced legislation Tuesday that would provide health insurance for firefighters and their families.
Though the proposed legislation has some early bipartisan support, it has an uncertain path to victory since Congress only has another few weeks of true productivity before November.
“I’m elated the president has stepped in to bring access to health insurance for wildland firefighters,” DeGette said in a statement. “I look forward to working with him and the White House to implement this new policy.”
Other Democrat members of the Colorado delegation also welcomed the news.
Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, said it was “only right” that firefighters get health coverage.
“I’m happy the president acted so quickly following his visit to Colorado,” Polis said.
Colorado’s four Republicans were mostly silent.
A June Denver Post story described the firefighters’ desire for health insurance from the front lines during the height of the Larimer County High Park Fire. A Change.org Internet petition gathered 100,000 signatures in support of the idea and several firefighters, on lunch breaks, called around to advocates and lawmakers to promote it.
Casey Judd, president of the Federal Wildland Fire Service Association, said the news made him “happy and frustrated at the same time.”
“I’m encouraged there has been renewed interest in this issue … These are problems that could have been fixed 20 years ago,” Judd said. “Politicians come out of the woodwork during a good fire season.”
Allison Sherry: 202-662-8907, asherry@denverpost.com or twitter.com/allisonsherry