[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H2530-H2531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  U.S. FOREST SERVICE NEEDS TO ACT NOW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, a few days ago a P-3 Orion aircraft, 
owned by Aero-Union, on contract to the U.S. Forest Service, crashed in 
California. This crash in and of itself reduced the current Federal 
fleet of nonmilitary, firefighting planes by 10 percent. It probably 
also will lead to the grounding of the remaining nine Federal aircraft 
currently available for firefighting in the United States. So here we 
are, quickly approaching the fire season, and our Federal fleet of 
civilian firefighting aircraft, which was 33 strong only 2 years ago, 
will most likely be nonexistent this year.
  Yes, we may have a few small crop dusters. We have some helicopters 
available. But if the wind comes up and a major conflagration gets out 
of control, our frontline firefighters will have no real backup. This 
would be a calamity of death and destruction, made all the worse 
because it is avoidable if we act now.
  To have us become so defenseless is inexcusable. Not to take the 
steps immediately to end this vulnerability would be even worse. So 
what do we do?
  Today I am calling on the leadership of the U.S. Forest Service and 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture to take the steps necessary to 
prevent a fire catastrophe later this year. Do not leave us helpless 
and our firefighters vulnerable and unable to thwart a blaze for lack 
of a large tanker aircraft which should be available. And do not tell 
me that it cannot be done unless we have billions of dollars. The U.S. 
Forest Service regulations establishing the requirements for airplane-
based firefighting are obviously designed to protect the good old boys 
and to discourage anyone else with new approaches and new alternatives. 
I am suggesting that the U.S. Forest Service drop its obstructionist 
policies that have prevented, among other things, the use of foreign 
firefighting aircraft to extinguish major fires in the United States.
  Specifically, the Russians have invested a large amount of money in 
large capacity firefighting air tankers. We wanted them to invest in 
this. We wanted them to invest in these things rather than in military 
hardware. Well, they invested and they can be anywhere in the United 
States or yes, anywhere in the world, in less than 24 hours. They have 
already played a significant role in extinguishing huge fires in 
Australia, Greece, and elsewhere. Yet the U.S. Forest Service has 
blocked the Russians from providing their services here, even as we 
endured massive fire destruction in places like Florida, New Mexico, 
and in California. This stonewalling and obstructionism has gone on for 
10 years, even as our Federal firefighting air fleet deteriorated, and 
even as lives, homes, and other property were being lost to out-of-
control fires.
  This year there has been considerably more rainfall in southern 
California than usual. It does not take a genius to predict that the 
increased rainfall we have already experienced will result in a 
proliferation of shrub growth, thereby increasing the danger of 
wildfires later this year. In short, we face a fearsome wildfire 
threat, and the U.S. Forest Service needs to act now, or we will have 
no large capacity firefighting aircraft tankers available should the 
worst occur. If we contract with the Russians who have large capacity 
firefighting aircraft ready to go, we will save lives and property, 
even if we do that as just a stop-gap measure until domestic aircraft 
is built and can be introduced.
  If the U.S. Forest Service does it right and does it right now, takes 
the steps that are required for these Russian air tankers to assist us 
in extinguishing a major wildfire and make those steps right now, we 
can actually save lives and save property. But if they do not take 
these steps now and we lose property senselessly, they will be held 
accountable. If disaster strikes and people and animals die and 
valuable property is destroyed as huge air tankers that could have 
helped remain grounded and kept out of the fight, then those 
responsible will be exposed for this incompetence. But that, 
unfortunately, will not undo the damage or bring back a life that has 
been lost.
  It is time for the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest 
Service to change its attitude, quit trying to protect a good-old-boy 
network which is unable to function, and to permit others to get into 
this business, including the Russians, who we would like to have invest 
in this type of domestic, peaceful technology.

     Mr. Jerry T. Williams,
     Director, Fire and Aviation Management, Forest Service, 
         Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Williams: Reference your 19 Aug 2004 letter, File 
     Code 5700. My staff examined your response to the questions 
     on the Air Tanker grounding by the Forest Service and the 
     possible role of the Russian IL-76 in fighting US wildfires. 
     Your response has raised some very interesting questions. The 
     recent news release saying that the Forest Service is 
     planning to contract for only 10 air tankers has added 
     urgency to our investigations. With the heavy rains in 
     California this last winter, the additional brush and timber 
     will create an extreme fire hazard here in Southern 
     California. A review of your Aerial Resource Bridge Plan for 
     2005 indicates that you are only going to contact for a 
     maximum of 20 heavy fire fighting aircraft instead of the 33 
     air tankers that have been available in the past. Your RFP 
     for heavy tankers has excluded the possibility of the use of 
     foreign aircraft such as the IL-76, the CL-215, and the CL-
     415 to supplement the limited U.S. resources available due to 
     your grounding of the air tanker fleet. It is not clear that 
     the resources will be available to fight the fires if we have 
     a fire season as bad as we had several years ago.
       I am requesting that you prepare a briefing for 
     presentation at my Huntington Beach office to set the stage 
     for discussions between your experts and myself in Washington 
     on the air tanker issues. The primary topic would be the FY 
     05 fire fighting plans with emphasis on the heavy air tanker 
     fleet. Particular emphasis should be given to discussion of 
     your modernization strategy and the role that newer aircraft 
     will be playing. Information on the civilian C-130 fleet that 
     is not included in your bridge plan should be included. Since 
     the military C-130's appear to play an important role in your 
     fire fighting plans, it is inconsistent that the civilian C-
     130 fleet capabilities have been excluded in your recent RFP. 
     A detailed explanation of this action is requested.
       The points of contact for this presentation are Dr. George 
     Kuck in my Huntington Beach office and Chris Minakowski on my 
     Washington staff. Before presenting me with the briefing in 
     Washington, please have your appropriate staff member travel 
     to Huntington Beach for a pre-briefing to Dr. Kuck

[[Page H2531]]

     and discussions on your strategic overall plan.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Dana Rohrabacher,
     Member of Congress.

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