{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://begich.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-begich-co-leads-fire-weather-development-act-bolster-wildfire", "Congressman Begich Co-Leads Fire Weather Development Act to Bolster Wildfire Preparedness and Forest Protection", "2025-06-17", "2025", "2025-06", "Republican", "House", "AK", "Nicholas J. Begich III", "B001323", "begich.house.gov", "begich", "https://begich.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 June 17, 2025 \u2013 Congressman Nick Begich (AK-AL), joined by Representatives Jeff Crank (CO-05), Luz Rivas (CA-29), and Jeff Hurd (CO-03), introduced the Fire Weather Development Act, legislation aimed at improving our nation\u2019s ability to forecast, detect, and respond to wildfires.\n\nThis legislation directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to enhance fire weather forecasting and detection capabilities, ensuring communities - especially remote and rural areas in Alaska - receive earlier warnings, more accurate fire models, and stronger coordination between federal, state, and local responders.\n\n\u201cThe Fire Weather Development Act takes a proactive step forward in fire management by improving our ability to forecast and respond to wildfire threats through cutting-edge technology and stronger interagency coordination,\u201d said Rep. Begich. \u201cI\u2019m proud to co-sponsor this legislation and thank Congressman Crank for his leadership in bringing this forward. This bill ensures that Alaska and communities across the country have the tools they need to prepare for and respond to the increasing threat of wildfires.\u201d\n\n\"The Fire Weather Development Act will ensure that government entities are receiving the resources they need to accurately forecast and respond to the fire environment,\" said Rep. Crank. \"Unfortunately, Colorado Springs is no stranger to fires, and neither are other parts of the country. Just this year, we have seen how fires can damage our communities, which is why we must improve fire forecasting and our response once these natural disasters occur.\"\n\n\u201cAs we saw during the wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year, keeping communities safe requires a strong coordinated effort between federal, state, and local agencies,\u201d said Rep. Rivas. \u201cOur Fire Weather Development Act plays a critical role in making sure agencies across all levels of government have the support and resources necessary to protect lives, protect property and businesses, and be better prepared to respond to wildfires.\u201d\n\n\u201cI'm proud to co-sponsor Congressman Crank\u2019s Fire Weather Development Act, that ensures communities in Colorado\u2019s Third District have a voice in how we prepare and respond to wildfires,\u201d said Rep. Hurd. \u201cBy strengthening local engagement and improving fire weather forecasting, we are safeguarding lives and protecting homes.\"\n\nAlaska is home to over 129 million acres of forest - an important resource for Alaska\u2019s environment and economy. The increasing intensity and frequency of wildfires pose a growing threat, and the Fire Weather Development Act is designed to meet this challenge.\n\nThe Fire Weather Development Act:\n\nImproves forecasting and early warning systems by requiring NOAA to develop cutting-edge fire weather modeling systems, satellite-based detection tools, and real-time environmental forecasting to identify wildfire risks earlier and with greater precision.\n\nAdvances technology deployment by investing in tools such as atmospheric sensors and unmanned aircraft systems to monitor fire behavior, reducing the need to place firefighters in dangerous environments while improving real-time situational awareness.\n\nEstablishes an Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildfires to streamline collaboration and eliminate redundancies across federal wildfire programs - ensuring state and local emergency officials have the tools they need to act quickly.\n\nCreates an Independent National Advisory Council on Wildfires composed of local leaders and subject matter experts to advise the federal government and ensure that frontline communities in Alaska and beyond are directly shaping wildfire response strategies.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T01:08:28Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://begich.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-begich-co-leads-fire-weather-development-act-bolster-wildfire"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7684330232441425, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}