; and (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 5545b the following: 5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees engaged in wildland firefighting. . (d) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 2023. 4. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting (a) In general Subchapter II of chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting (a) Definitions In this section— (1) the term applicable Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior, as applicable to a covered employee; (2) the term covered employee means an employee of the Forest Service or the Department of the Interior who— (A) qualifies as a wildland firefighter based on the definitions of the terms firefighter and wildland firefighter in section 5332a(a) (applying the definition of employee in section 6301(2) in lieu of the definition of employee in section 5331(a)); or (B) is certified by the applicable Secretary to perform wildland fire incident-related duties during the period the employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident