{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/10/boise-state-public-radio", "Boise State Public Radio: Idaho Senators Continue Push For Change In Wildfire Funding", "2017-10-12", "2017", "2017-10", "Republican", "House", "ID", "Jim Risch", "R000584", "www.risch.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "At the same time firefighters work to control the deadly flames in Northern California, a group of western politicians are pushing for a change in how these efforts are funded.\r\nIn the\u00a0latest attempt\u00a0to force a change in Congress, Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch have again signed on to a bill that deals with wildfire funding. The bipartisan bill has support from Democrats in Montana, Oregon and Colorado.\r\nAccording to Lindsay Nothern with Sen. Crapo\u2019s office, the Wildfire Mitigation Assistance Act would allow states to access a federal grant program without waiting for a presidential disaster declaration. Nothern says the FEMA money could be used to stop flooding and erosion after a wildfire has swept through the landscape. It could also go toward prevention of future fires.  \u00a0  The bill comes after Crapo and Risch supported a measure that would change how wildfire bills get paid. Known as fire borrowing, the current accounting method raids unrelated parts of the Forest Service budget to cover increasingly expensive fire years.\r\nIdaho Representative Mike Simpson\u00a0introduced similar legislation\u00a0that would treat wildfires like other natural disasters, alleviating the pressure on land management budgets.\r\nLink to article", 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.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2017/10/boise-state-public-radio"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5997029840946198, "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"}