{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://herrerabeutler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=388208", "Jaime Herrera Beutler and U.S. House Appropriations Committee Advance Bill for Healthy Forests, Healthy Waters, and Healthy Rural Communities", "2014-07-16", "2014", "2014-07", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Jaime Herrera Beutler", "H001056", "herrerabeutler.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Jaime and a majority of the U.S. House Appropriations committee yesterday approved critical funding for fighting wildfires, as well as other Southwest Washington priorities.\r\n          share:\r\n          f \r\n          t \r\n        \r\n      \r\n      Jaime and a majority of the U.S. House Appropriations committee yesterday approved critical funding for fighting wildfires, as well as other Southwest Washington priorities.\r\nThe U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved a bill to fund the Department of Interior, Forest Service, EPA, and other related agencies in the upcoming year that was $409 million below the President\u2019s request. In addition to wildfire fighting funding, the responsible spending bill calls for more active management on our national forests, and also includes funding to protect Northwest waters from aquatic invasive species that threaten both ecosystems and local economies.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nSouthwest Washington priorities included in this bill:\r\nWild Fire prevention:\u00a0Wildfires have been increasing in severity over the past several years, damaging forests, threatening safety, and forcing the Forest Service to tap into its budget for other services and priorities. The bill includes $291 million for wildfire suppression and $160 million for hazardous fuel management.\u00a0 The bill also calls for active forest management to prevent wildfires by reducing the fuel load and creating healthier forest.\u00a0 This would also create healthier species habitat.\r\nForest Road Maintenance and Construction:\u00a0The bill would direct the U.S. Forest Service to maintain forest roads in a way that preserves recreational opportunity and reduces costs.\u00a0 Currently, the Forest Service cannot adequately maintain 4,078 miles of road and 115 road bridges in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.\u00a0 Many of these roads pose safety, environmental and public health threats that must be addressed.\u00a0 This bill would direct the USFS to close and stabilize the roads as opposed to permanently decommissioning them.\u00a0 Along with the recreational opportunities and taxpayer savings created by this provision, access for firefighting and future forest management would still be available.\r\nAquatic Invasive Species:\u00a0The nonnative quagga and zebra mussels have severely damaged freshwater eco systems in the Northeast and Southwest United States. This bill provides $2 million for containment, prevention, and enforcement to prevent the spread of these invasive species to uncontaminated bodies of water throughout Washington state.\r\nPayment in Lieu of Taxes Fund (PILT):\u00a0The bill includes $422 million for payments to counties with large portions of land owned by the federal government. These funds help offset the loss of property tax income that pays for education, emergency services, county road maintenance, and other critical services in rural communities.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe increase in wildfires in past years has consumed the Forest Service\u2019s budget and crippled its ability to properly manage our forests,\u201d said Jaime.\u00a0 \u201cThis bill acknowledges that, given the current state of our national forests, more funding is needed to fight wildfires\u2013 but we also call for more active management to bring about a future of healthier forests less susceptible to fires.\u00a0\r\n\u201cAs our fish populations continue to recover, the need to protect our waters from invasive species has never been greater,\u201d continued Jaime. \u201cGiven the havoc they\u2019ve wreaked on other ecosystems and economies throughout the country, I\u2019m pleased to offer this bill that will help prevent the spread of quagga and zebra mussels to our region\u2019s waters, protecting local species and local jobs.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://herrerabeutler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=388208"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7795621640980244, "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"}