{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-neguse-opens-debate-wildfire-response-and-drought-resiliency-package", "Rep. Neguse Opens Debate on Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Package", "2022-07-27", "2022", "2022-07", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Joe Neguse", "N000191", "neguse.house.gov", "neguse", "https://neguse.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Watch the Congressman\u2019s remarks on the House floor here.\n\nWashington, D.C \u2014 Yesterday, Congressman Joe Neguse opened debate on the House floor on his Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, H.R. 5118. The bill, led by Neguse, encompasses over fifty proposals aimed at enacting investments for tackling wildfires and drought, investments in resiliency, and mitigation efforts for communities impacted by recent climate-induced disasters. Currently, the House plans to secure final passage of this bill on Thursday evening.\n\n\u201cThe Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act represents a major step by House Democrats to address the dual crisis of wildfires and drought plaguing communities across the country \u2013 communities like those in my district, Colorado\u2019s Second Congressional District. This legislation makes specific, strategic, and targeted investments to protect communities from catastrophic wildfires and from drought, reducing risk for future fires and helping our firefighters who are currently fighting these flames. Similarly, the bill improves drought resiliency by investing in water projects with rapid timelines, modernizing data and technology, and providing near-term drought response.\u201d said Congressman Neguse.\n\nFrom wildfires to drought, the impacts of climate change are worsening and becoming increasingly devastating for communities across America. The Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act makes strategic and targeted investments toward protecting households from catastrophic wildfires, reducing the risk of future fires, and helping to support the federal firefighters that put their lives on the line to protect American families. Similarly, the bill improves drought resiliency by investing in water projects with rapid timelines, modernizing data and technology, and providing near-term drought response.\n\nThe Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act contains 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 includes 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-opens-debate-wildfire-response-and-drought-resiliency-package"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4691706746816635, "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"}