{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-neguse-leader-hoyer-lead-lawmakers-push-legislation-expand-wildfire", "Rep. Neguse, Leader Hoyer Lead Lawmakers in Push for Legislation to Expand Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency", "2022-07-28", "2022", "2022-07", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Joe Neguse", "N000191", "neguse.house.gov", "neguse", "https://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Watch the Livestream here.\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Congressman Joe Neguse, Chairman of the House Public Lands Subcommittee, led a broad group of House Democrats, including Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, in calling for the swift passage of the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, H.R. 5118. The monumental legislative package \u2013 up for consideration this week \u2013 would increase investments for tackling wildfires, resiliency efforts, and mitigation projects for communities impacted by recent climate-induced disasters.\n\nNeguse was joined at today\u2019s event by House Majority Leader, Congressman Steny Hoyer, and Representatives Huffman (D-CA), Leger Fernandez (D-NM), O\u2019Halleran (D-AZ), Lofgren (D-CA), Schrier (D-WA), Panetta (D-CA), Stanton (D-AZ), and Stansbury (D-NM).\n\nAs the impacts of climate change worsen, climate-induced natural disasters are becoming increasingly devastating for communities across America. For lawmakers in Washington, one thing is clear \u2014 the scale of this crisis requires an urgency that matches the severity of its consequences.\n\n\u201cThe Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act is a carefully crafted bill \u2014 that includes proposals from nearly fifty stand-alone pieces of legislation championed by some of the lawmakers here today. Across America the impacts of climate change continue to worsen, and in this new normal historic droughts and record setting wildfires have become all too common. What once were wildfire seasons are now wildfire years. For the families across the country who have lost their homes due to these devastating wildfires and for the neighborhoods impacted by drought, we know that we need to apply a whole of government approach to [\u2026] supporting community recovery and bolstering environmental resiliency,\u201d said Congressman Neguse. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to have secured so many victories as part of this bill [\u2026] This is a bill that we believe meets the moment for the West.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am glad to have the opportunity to stand with my colleagues and to talk about the legislation that we are passing today to address the wildfires and drought throughout the American West. We are one nation indivisible and if one part of us is burning, we are all burning,\u201d said House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer.\n\n\u201cWhat I share is not just a border with Congressman Neguse, but I share the sorrow and the pain of having watched our communities \u2013 our homes and our livelihoods go up in flames \u2013 and the deaths that occur from that,\u201d said Rep. Leger Fernandez. \u201cThis bill is like a gentle monsoon of rain falling on our parched landscape, it brings both hope and solutions.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not just a western United States problem. As the West burns the smoke travels across the entire United States. So it's not just being felt in the West, but it\u2019s being felt in the Midwest, it\u2019s being felt in the East and we need to take action. I thank you Mr. Neguse and I hope that the Senate will take up this bill promptly,\u201d said Rep. Lofgren.\n\n\u201cWe have work to do and this crisis is only getting worse. Mr. Neguse and my colleagues here, thank you for your leadership in bringing this package together. I\u2019m grateful that Democrats have been laying the groundwork and building legislation [WRDR Act] to meet this moment \u2013 this package is full of transformative bills,\u201d said Rep. Huffman.\n\n\u201cThe west is hot \u2013 hotter than ever \u2013 it is dry and when it is windy, the west is on fire. And we are seeing this every year because of climate change. That\u2019s why this bill is so important and I thank my colleagues for working so hard on every part of this bill that will protect the West by addressing water shortages and protecting our forests, and addressing the needs of our firefighters,\u201d said Rep. Schrier.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s more than just turning on the TV and seeing the conflagration, the devastation, and the destruction. It\u2019s about the realization that because of the drought our forests have reached record levels of dryness [...] It\u2019s a dangerous and deadly threat to our national forests, to our national parks, and to our surrounding communities. That\u2019s why we have to act now,\u201d said Rep. Panetta. \u201cThis bill is about smart science based commonsensical stewardship of our forests that will enhance their sustainability and that will protect our communities.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis bill is essential for the American West. This bill is mission critical for the state of Arizona. The people of your state, Mr. Neguse, in Colorado, and my home state of Arizona, they need Congress to take bold action \u2013 this bill does exactly that,\u201d said Rep. Stanton.\n\n\u201cThis week we will vote to pass the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, new legislation to address drought and wildfire in our nation. And it needs to get done,\u201d said Rep. O\u2019Halleran. \u201cWith a decades long drought long overlooked, overgrown forests, and the compounding effects of climate change there is no longer a wildfire season in Arizona\u2019s 1st Congressional District \u2013 there\u2019s been a multitude of fires already this year.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a good day to address climate change and drought in the United States Congress. Today we are about to pass a historic piece of legislation that includes almost four dozen pieces of legislation that helps to address wildfire, drought, and climate change [...] These are critical pieces of legislation to address our climate crisis and I am so proud to stand with all of my colleagues behind me,\u201d said Rep. Stansbury.\n\nNeguse, the Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus, has emerged as a leader amongst his colleagues in the fight for increased federal support to communities recovering from climate-induced natural disasters. Following Colorado\u2019s record-setting wildfires seasons in 2020 and 2021, Neguse has worked tirelessly to bring federal resources home to recovering communities and advocate for increased support for wildland firefighters, wildfire prevention, and forest management. He serves as Chair of the U.S. Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, where his Restoring Our Lands and Communities Agenda prioritizes addressing the causes and impacts of wildfires.\n\nThe Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act advanced several Neguse-led legislative priorities, including:\n\nThe Wildfire Recovery Act increases flexibility in the federal cost share for Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAG) and brings in additional resources for communities as they rebuild from wildfire damage.\n\nThe Wildfire Smoke Relief Act provides federal emergency assistance to at-risk individuals in Colorado and nationwide suffering from unhealthy air quality caused by wildfire smoke.\n\nThe REPLACE Act requires that certain critical document replacement fees be automatically waived for individuals that are affected by major disasters and where Individuals and Households Program (IHP) assistance has been granted for that disaster.\n\nThe Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Recovery Act protects endangered fish species in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins, and preserves critical water infrastructure projects.\n\nThe Land Restoration and Resiliency Act establishes the Community Resilience and Restoration Fund, to provide grants to invest in restoration and resiliency projects to protect against the threat of climate change, administered through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).\n\nThe bill also included provisions from:\n\nThe Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act\u2014 Specifically, the sections which establish a GS-6 starting wage with parity for federal firefighters, annual adjustments, disability annuity, hazard duty pay, and 7-day mental health leave. The package also includes sections of Tim\u2019s Act that issue a report to Congress on compensation comparable to state and local federal firefighters.\n\nThe Western Wildfire Support Act\u2014 Specifically, these sections:\n\nEstablishes a Long-Term Burned Area Recovery Account to protect watersheds, prioritizing those recently impacted by wildfires.\n\nRequires a spatial wildland fire management plan, specifically for prescribed burns.\n\nThe Tribal Access to Clean Water Act\u2014 Specifically, the section that allocates funds to the Bureau of Reclamation for water infrastructure development and maintenance.\n\nA provision based on the SOAR Act, which encourages the use of Conservation and Youth Corps to fulfill the goals of the 10-year wildland fire management plan.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:49:02Z"]], "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://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-neguse-leader-hoyer-lead-lawmakers-push-legislation-expand-wildfire"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4751800335943699, "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"}