[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 27, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S247-S248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 WILDFIRE FUNDING AND FOREST MANAGEMENT

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to enter into a 
colloquy with the chairman of the Budget Committee, Senator Enzi of 
Wyoming, and the chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Senator Roberts 
of Kansas.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Last session, I came to the floor to speak about the 
significant wildfire provisions we included in the Omnibus 
appropriations bill, why Congress could not accept a flawed proposal 
supported by this administration and a handful of Senators, and to 
outline a path forward on this important issue in 2016.
  As we begin consideration of the energy bill, I have come to the 
floor to add further definition to that path forward. As many of you 
know, wildfire budgeting and forest management overlap jurisdictionally 
with several other Committees so I want to thank my colleagues, 
Senators Enzi and Roberts, for joining me here.
  In my view, the time has come to find real solutions to the 
challenges we face in each of these areas. This crisis has gone on for 
long enough. It has grown worse and worse. Our lands are burning. 
Communities are being devastated. And it is time for Congress to act.
  I want to start first with wildfire budgeting. For some time now, 
Members of this Chamber have been talking past each other. Before we 
can come up with a solution, we have to at least agree on the problem 
we are trying to solve.
  We have all been saying that we want to solve the problem of ``fire 
borrowing''--the unsustainable practice of borrowing from non-fire 
government programs so that fire response activities can continue when 
wildfire suppression accounts are depleted.
  One way to fix the problem of ``fire borrowing'' is to continue to 
fully fund the predicable costs of wildfire suppression, the 10-year 
rolling average, while allowing access to additional funds through a 
limited cap adjustment when the agencies run out of suppression funds, 
for the emergency and unpredictable costs of wildfire suppression.
  Another issue relating to wildfire budgeting is the percentage of the 
Forest Service's discretionary budget

[[Page S248]]

spent on wildfire. The Forest Service has said that it now spends 
nearly half of its discretionary budget on wildfire. Some of our 
colleagues and this administration have conflated the fire borrowing 
problem with this budgeting issue. They have sought to shift 
anticipated wildfire suppression costs off-budget to limit how much of 
the Forest Service's discretionary budget is spent on fire with the 
goal of ``freeing up'' dollars for other programs under the 
discretionary cap.
  Cap adjustments and budgeting generally are within your committee's 
jurisdiction. I say to Senator Enzi. Have I properly characterized the 
wildfire budgeting issues we are wrestling with?
  Mr. ENZI. I agree with Senator Murkowski that fire borrowing has been 
mischaracterized and conflated with the Forest Service's overall 
concern about its discretionary budget. Although I recognize the fact 
that the Forest Service has serious management challenges, consensus 
doesn't exist in the Senate to adjust the caps so the Forest Service 
can spend more money on other programs within its discretionary budget.
  That said, Congress must find a fiscally responsible solution to 
wildfire funding and fire borrowing. I welcome the opportunity to 
review the fire borrowing issue in my committee and how the 
unpredictable costs of wildfire suppression have forced Congress to 
appropriate emergency dollars in past years. We can find a solution to 
budgeting for wildfires. We cannot, however, only work on the budget 
issues without also making changes to the way we manage our forests. It 
is crucial to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently and 
effectively.
  Just as there are many State, local, and Federal partners in the 
field when it comes to suppressing wildfires during the fire season, it 
is important that all the necessary committees in the Senate work 
together on this issue. I look forward to addressing these issues with 
Senator Murkowski and Senator Roberts, with my committee members, and 
with other Western Senators interested in the outcome.
  Mr. ROBERTS. Thank you to my colleagues, Senator Enzi and Senator 
Murkowski, for their work on these important issues related to wildfire 
and forest management. I would like to echo their concerns and share 
with the rest of my colleagues that I agree with them entirely that 
this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. Coming off the end 
of a catastrophic wildfire season with a record amount of acres burned, 
it is essential that the Senate turn its attention to finding a 
wildfire solution in 2016--and through regular order.
  As chairman of the Agriculture Committee, it is my first and foremost 
priority that the committee serve as the platform for America's 
farmers, ranchers, small businesses, rural communities--and forest land 
owners and forestry stakeholders, a constituency sometimes forgotten. 
As chairman of the Agriculture Committee, we intend to serve and 
represent all of agriculture, of which forestry plays an important 
role.
  Last November, the Agriculture Committee held a hearing on the 
effects of wildfire and heard testimony from stakeholders on the 
budgetary impacts and threats to natural resources on Federal, State, 
and private forest lands. The message from that hearing was unanimous 
and clear: it is time for Congress to act and advocate for solutions 
that not only address funding fixes, but more importantly advocate for 
solutions that improve the management of our national forests.
  H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015, which passed 
the House last summer, has been referred to the Senate Agriculture 
Committee. This legislation, while not perfect, includes provisions 
that attempt to address both the funding mechanism and incorporate 
meaningful forest management tools which are the paramount issues in 
the overall wildfire debate. I recognize the challenges that remain 
ahead with crafting such a legislative proposal that satisfies all 
interested parties involved in this larger debate. With that being 
said, I stand ready to work with my colleagues to find areas where 
common ground and consensus can be achieved to address the overall 
wildfire issues facing us today.
  I look forward to working together with Senator Murkowski, Senator 
Enzi, and others to provide the necessary tools to expedite the much 
needed work on not just Western forests, but also nationwide, 
encompassing Federal, State, and private forest lands.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. I thank Senator Roberts. I look forward to working 
with him as well. And he is right. The wildfire problem is not just a 
budgeting problem--it is also a management problem. Reforming the way 
we manage our forests is absolutely crucial. Healthy, resilient forests 
are fire-resistant forests; yet despite knowing the value of fuel 
reduction treatments in mitigating wildfire risks, increasing 
firefighter safety, and protecting and restoring the health of our 
forests, active management is still often met with a series of 
discouraging and near insurmountable obstacles.
  High upfront costs, long planning horizons, and regulatory 
requirements--including what seem like unending environmental reviews--
are impeding our ability to implement treatments at the pace and scale 
these wildfires are occurring. We must also work with our State 
agencies, local communities, and the public to increase community 
preparedness and install fuel breaks to break up fuel connectivity to 
keep fires small.
  As you can see here, the chairmen of the committees with jurisdiction 
over the wildfire budgeting and forest management issues are ready to 
roll up our sleeves in 2016. We are going to work through regular 
order, in a transparent and collaborative manner, to come up with a 
legislative solution.
  We look forward to the input of our colleagues, who also care deeply 
about these issues. My plan is to dedicate whatever time we have in 
February after this bill clears the floor--and the entire month of 
March--to producing this legislative product. I appreciate Members' 
willingness to work with us and believe we are on a good track to find 
real solutions to our wildfire challenges.

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