{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/bipartisan-push-to-boost-usfs-firefighting-capacity-amid-utah-wildfires", "BIPARTISAN PUSH TO BOOST USFS FIREFIGHTING CAPACITY AMID UTAH WILDFIRES", "2025-08-29", "2025", "2025-08", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "John R. Curtis", "C001114", "www.curtis.senate.gov", "curtis", "https://www.curtis.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) urged U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins this week to address staffing shortages at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) by expanding firefighting capacity. The request comes as Utah battles nearly ten major fires and other Western states face heightened threats during the ongoing wildfire season.\n\nIn their letter, the Senators called on Secretary Rollins to increase the number of Incident Qualification Cards, commonly known as \u201cRed Cards,\u201d for USFS wildland firefighters. The Red Card is an essential credential for any firefighter participating in interagency wildland fire operations.\n\n\u201cAs the 2025 wildfire season intensifies, timely certification is critical to ensuring that qualified firefighting personnel can be mobilized without delay. Unfortunately, the persistent backlogs in Red Card processing are impairing the ability of our states and other Western states to deploy federal, state, and contract crews during periods of high fire activity,\u201d the Senators wrote.\n\n\u201cOur wildland firefighters are working in increasingly hazardous and complex conditions as we have already seen this year. Those putting their lives on the line deserve efficient administrative systems that match the urgency and importance of their mission,\u201d the Senators continued.\n\nThe full text of the letter can be found here and below:\n\nDear Secretary Rollins,\n\nWe write to urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure an adequate level of Incident Qualification Cards\u2014commonly referred to as \u201cRed Cards\u201d\u2014including through their issuance and renewal, for wildland firefighters operating at the United States Forest Service (USFS).\n\nThe Red Card is an essential credential for any firefighter participating in interagency wildland fire operations, including those under the USFS. Without current certification, even experienced and fully trained individuals are sidelined at a time when every available resource counts.\n\nAs the 2025 wildfire season intensifies, timely certification is critical to ensuring that qualified firefighting personnel can be mobilized without delay. Unfortunately, over the years, the persistent backlogs in Red Card processing are impairing the ability of our states and other Western states to deploy federal, state, and contract crews during periods of high fire activity. These delays are not only creating operational gaps but also placing additional strain on already-deployed responders. We remain committed to the expeditious rollout of Red Cards and to adequate staffing at USFS to efficiently respond to this fire season.\n\nOur wildland firefighters are working in increasingly hazardous and complex conditions as we have already seen this year. Those putting their lives on the line deserve efficient administrative systems that match the urgency and importance of their mission. If we can be helpful in this effort, please let us know how; we stand ready to work with USDA and USFS to ensure a satisfactory number of trained and ready firefighters can be on the line when needed.\n\nAdditional Reading:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:02:47Z"]], "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://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/bipartisan-push-to-boost-usfs-firefighting-capacity-amid-utah-wildfires"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 8.24313098564744, "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"}