{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcsally.senate.gov/news/press-releases/mcsally-introduces-bill-to-speed-arizona-forest-restoration-project", "McSally Introduces Bill to Speed Arizona Forest Restoration Project", "2020-10-24", "2020", "2020-10", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Martha McSally", "M001197", "www.mcsally.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "McSally Introduces Bill to Speed Arizona Forest Restoration Project \n        \n      \n        \n          U.S. SENATE \r\nU.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) today introduced legislation to accelerate\r\nArizona's single most important forest restoration projectthe Four Forest\r\nRestoration Initiative (4FRI). The bill would reduce bureaucratic delays by waiving a requirement\r\nthat the Forest Service must wait an additional 30 days after notifying\r\nCongress of the completed contract before they actually issue the award.\r\nInstead, the Forest Service would be required to report the details of the\r\ncontract to Congress within seven days of its issuance. This Congressional notification waiver\r\nwould only apply to Phase 2 of the 4FRI project, which Congress has followed closely for years. Far too many\r\nArizona communities saw the devastation of catastrophic wildfires this summer,\r\nMcSally said. We cannot afford any more delays on this project to\r\nprevent forest fires in our state. Over the last two years, I've worked with\r\nthe Forest Service to speed the Four Forest Restoration Initiative. This\r\ncommonsense bill cuts through the bureaucratic red tape to ensure there is not\r\none more month of delay in awarding a contract for Phase 2 of 4FRI.  Leaders in\r\nNavajo and Coconino counties expressed support\r\nfor McSally's legislation. Navajo County\r\nSupervisor Jason Whiting:\r\nSimply put, we don't want to burn like we are seeing in states all around us.\r\nNow is the time for action to mitigate the risk of catastrophic fires through\r\nbetter forest management. Senator McSally's legislation will reduce unnecessary\r\nbureaucratic delays to forest management and wildfire prevention by authorizing\r\nthe Forest Service to issue the 4FRI Phase 2 contract as soon as negotiations\r\nare complete. I appreciate Senator McSally's leadership on this important\r\nissue.  Coconino\r\nCounty Supervisor Art Babbott said: I encourage the expeditious awarding of the 4FRI Phase 2 RFP. Time is of\r\nthe essence as the risks to our community are profound. Congress is well\r\naware of the RFP and the need to get Phase 2 forest restoration underway in\r\nnorthern Arizona. I appreciate Senator McSally's bill and hope that all parties\r\n Congress, the Forest Service, and our industry partners can move quickly to\r\nget this RFP awarded.  Read full bill\r\ntext HERE. BACKGROUND: \r\n On September\r\n     25, 2020, Sen. McSally and Rep. O'Halleran led members of the Arizona\r\n     delegation in a letter to the U.S. Forest Service highlighting the need\r\n     for action on the Four Forest Restoration Initiative in Northern Arizona\r\n     to help reduce wildfire risk.\r\n On September\r\n     16, 2020, McSally called out the U.S. Forest Service for delaying 4FRI.\r\n On June\r\n     13, 2019, McSally introduced a bill to streamline\r\n     4FRI. Many of the proposals in her bill were adopted by the Forest Service.\r\n On April\r\n     9, 2019, McSally pressed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)\r\n     about the timeline of Arizona's Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI).\r\n     \r\n On March\r\n     22, 2019, McSally visited Coconino County during her 15-county tour\r\n     and heard from community leaders about the state of the forests.\r\n On February\r\n     12, 2019, McSally helped pass the Bipartisan Natural Resources Management\r\n     Act, which included important provisions to modernize wildfire technology.\r\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://www.mcsally.senate.gov/news/press-releases/mcsally-introduces-bill-to-speed-arizona-forest-restoration-project"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1880432032048702, "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"}