[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 11 (Thursday, January 22, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S422]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Crapo, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Risch, 
        Mr. Bennet, Mr. Gardner, Ms. Baldwin, and Mr. Daines):
  S. 235. A bill to provide for wildfire suppression operations, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on the Budget.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I am reintroducing the Wildfire 
Disaster Funding Act of 2015 with a bipartisan group of my colleagues, 
to ensure that Federal agencies have the resources and funding they 
need to not only fight the wildfires that erupt yearly in our Nation's 
forests, but to effectively manage forests to prevent future infernos.
  For decades, our country has experienced tragic and costly wildfire 
seasons. Year after year, communities are displaced, natural treasures 
are destroyed, and the brave men and women who fight these fires risk 
their lives, and some don't come home. Due to climate change, drought, 
and overstocked and under-managed forests, the risks from these 
infernos continues to grow.
  As the Forest Service needs to direct more and more resources to 
fighting fires, and less to managing the forests, it is transforming 
itself into the ``Fire Service.'' Over the past 20 years, substantial 
spending on Federal wildfire suppression activities has grown. In 2013, 
the Forest Service devoted 41 percent of its total budget to wildfire 
management, compared to just 13 percent of its total budget in 1991. In 
8 of the past 10 years, the Forest Service has exceeded its budget for 
wildfire suppression, requiring the Agency to conduct what's known as 
``fire borrowing'' to cover wildfire suppression costs. The funds being 
borrowed come from accounts that should be used for hazardous fuels 
treatment and other forest management activities, and are unfortunately 
rarely, if ever, paid back.
  This ``fire robbery'' is disruptive, unproductive, and undermines the 
core mission of the Forest Service, particularly as forest management 
program budgets continue to get slashed. Hazardous fuels treatments 
have been proven to reduce fire risk, yet Federal agencies don't even 
have the opportunity or the funding to conduct these treatments when 
fires are breaking out and threatening lives and property for months on 
end.
  Today I am reintroducing the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, to help 
our Nation find a better way to manage our forests, prevent future 
wildfires, and fund wildfire fighting activities, both small and 
catastrophic. Major wildfire events should be treated as the natural 
disasters that they are, and should be funded as such. This bill 
establishes parity for wildfire funding, putting it on equal footing 
with other natural disasters like floods and hurricanes. Whether it's 
water, wind, earth, or fire, the earth's natural disasters can all 
cause devastation and should be addressed equally.
  A Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture analysis 
shows that 1 percent of wildfires represent 30 percent of agency costs. 
To ensure that fighting the largest infernos doesn't cripple agency 
budgets, the bill would fund the largest fire even under disaster 
programs, leaving funds available for routine wildfire fighting and 
forest management activities. It does this by moving any spending above 
70 percent of the 10-year rolling average for fire suppression outside 
of the agencies' baseline budget and makes these additional costs 
eligible to be funded under a separate disaster account. This should 
free up discretionary funds that can now go toward hazardous fuels 
projects that will improve the health of our forests and ultimately 
prevent future wildfires.
  I am pleased to be joined again by Senator Crapo in introducing the 
bill today, as well as Senators Cantwell, Risch, Bennet, Gardner, 
Baldwin, and Daines. I look forward to working with my colleagues 
toward enactment of the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act in the 114th 
Congress.
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