{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://walden.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/greg-walden-leads-hearing-air-quality-health-impacts-wildfires-oregon", "Greg Walden leads hearing on air quality, health impacts of wildfires in Oregon", "2017-10-04", "2017", "2017-10", "Republican", "House", "OR", "Greg Walden", "W000791", "walden.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Greg Walden leads hearing on air quality, health impacts of wildfires in Oregon \n Shares constituent photos from Oregon of \u201csmoke clogged skies from catastrophic fires\u201d \nClick here or on the image above to view Walden\u2019s remarks from today\u2019s hearing\nWASHINGTON, D.C. --\u00a0 Continuing his push for forest management reforms to prevent catastrophic fires in Oregon, Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) led a hearing today to call attention to the air quality, environmental, and health impacts of wildfire smoke. Walden, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said examining the impact of devastating wildfires on air quality needs to be part of the broader conversation on forest management reform.\n\u201cIt\u2019s time that we looked at air quality as part of the overall mix. Oregonians have been living this problem in the rural West for years -- smoke clogged skies from catastrophic fires,\u201d said Walden. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many people I\u2019ve talked to who\u2019ve had health issues develop that they have never had before. People had to see physicians or go to the hospital because the air quality was so bad.\u201d\nOregonians have sent Walden their photos of smoke filled air from catastrophic wildfires this summer. Walden shared these photos during today\u2019s hearing to capture the full picture of how fire and smoke has impacted individuals across Oregon.\n\u201cDecisions on how, when, and how aggressively we fight fires matter. They matter to our forests, to our habitats, to our watersheds, and to the air quality in our communities,\u201d Walden concluded, holding a jar of ash to illustrate what Oregonians endure every year. \u201cLet\u2019s have less of this ash, less of this ruin, and better air quality.\u201d\nClick here or on the image above to view Walden's questions from today's hearing\nWalden heard testimony from expert witnesses on the environmental impacts of wildfires that pour carbon into the atmosphere each year. As recent Forest Service studies have shown, young growing forests absorb more carbon, while dead trees, along with fire, are carbon emitters. Active forest management that thins our forests, and cleans up and replants after wildfire are important components to reducing fire risk and air quality impacts.\nAmong the witnesses this morning was Dr. John Bailey of Oregon State University\u2019s College of Forestry, who told Walden how far some forest landscapes have traveled from their historic state. In some cases, the forest landscapes that would have historically held 20 trees to an acre, are at 1,000 or more trees per acre. That unnatural density of trees is merely built up fuel for future fires, unless steps are taken to improve active management to reduce the fuel load. \u00a0\nFor more information on today\u2019s hearing, including a background memo, witness testimony, and full webcast, please click here.\n###", 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://walden.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/greg-walden-leads-hearing-air-quality-health-impacts-wildfires-oregon"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7719539571553469, "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"}