[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 138 (Tuesday, August 4, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4733-S4734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. Daines):
  S. 4431. A bill to increase wildfire preparedness and response 
throughout the United States, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President. I rise to speak in support of the 
bipartisan Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act of 2020, a bill 
that Senator Daines and I are introducing today to protect our 
constituents from the increasing threat of catastrophic wildfires.
  As a result of climate change, California and other Western States 
are experiencing a growing crisis. Over my 27 years in the Senate, I 
have witnessed dozens of massive wildfires. But the level of 
destruction we have seen in recent years and the transformation of 
wildfire from a seasonal phenomenon into a year-round threat require 
bold, new action. Our bill would do just that by giving Federal, State, 
and local governments new tools to better manage wildfires and protect 
communities.
  While California has always had dangerous wildfires, the particularly 
devastating fires in 2017 and 2018 were a wake-up call and a harsh 
example of the consequences of inaction on climate change. The latest 
National Climate Assessment found that, over the past three decades, 
the number of acres burned in the Western United States is double what 
would have burned if the climate weren't changing. Nowhere is this 
being felt more than in California.
  The 2018 Camp Fire killed 86 people in town of Paradise and destroyed 
15,000 homes. That fire spread as fast as 80 acres a minute according 
to some estimates. After the 2017 Tubbs Fire, I visited the Coffey Park 
subdivision of Santa Rosa, which was destroyed when wildfire swept 
through Napa and Sonoma. The devastation was unlike anything I have 
ever seen.
  According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection 
statistics, 10 of the 20 most destructive wildfires in California state 
history have occurred in just the last 5 years and 2018 was the most 
destructive wildfire season in recorded California history: nearly 2 
million acres burned in our State, displacing hundreds of thousands and 
leading to billions of dollars of damage.
  These problems will only grow worse as temperatures continue to rise 
as a result of climate change. But we can't simply wait for the world 
to roll back emissions to address our wildfire problem. Preparing for 
these challenges will require an all-of-the-above approach utilizing 
the latest science, even if some solutions aren't politically popular.
  There are more than 150 million dead trees in California's forests, 
the result of both the historic drought and bark beetle populations 
that are thriving as temperatures warm. A single spark in the middle of 
those dead trees can lead to an inferno. And while 60 percent of the 
forestland in California is owned by the Federal Government, fires 
don't stop at the borders between federal, state, and private land, so 
any action must be coordinated.
  I have joined California leaders and environmentalists in opposing 
the wholesale clearing of forests. There is a growing consensus around 
what appropriate forest management actions consist of, and I am 
encouraged by cooperative efforts such as the Tahoe-Central Sierra 
Initiative.
  We can and should increase the use of firebreaks to stop massive 
wildfires from spreading into communities, and we can identify 
landscapes that are overgrown and restore resilience to our forests. 
But we must do it in a smart and sustainable way.
  We should also continue to expand commercial markets for timber and 
wood products. Biomass energy generation would not only help remove 
overgrowth from the forests but would also provide energy for 
California homes and businesses.
  We should increase our use of advanced detection systems to identify 
outbreaks sooner, and invest in safer power transmission lines and 
other methods to harden infrastructure. While California has 
requirements for defensible space around at-risk homes, incentives 
should be provided for homeowners to use fire-safe building materials. 
The Federal Government should also increase support for outreach 
efforts, so that risks and mitigation strategies are communicated to 
vulnerable individuals and communities.
  This is why I am introducing The Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety 
Act of 2020. Our bill would protect communities by reducing wildfire 
risk in Federal forests, getting the private sector more involved in 
addressing wildfire risk, improving best practices for addressing 
wildfire, and creating more resilient communities and energy grids.
  The bill would authorize the Forest Service to undertake three 
priority wildfire mitigation projects that would be limited to 75,000 
acres in size, would allow for expedited environmental reviews 
regarding the installation of fuel breaks near existing roads, trails, 
transmission lines and pipelines, and would include a technical fix to 
ensure that the Forest Service consults with the Fish and Wildlife 
Service when new public peer-reviewed research demonstrates potential 
harm to threatened or endangered species. The bill would also codify an 
existing administrative practice that allows the Forest Service to 
expedite hazardous fuel removal projects in emergency situations where 
it is immediately necessary to protect life, property, or natural and 
cultural resources.
  The bill also makes important changes to stimulate the private market 
for low-value timber that poses a wildfire danger. The bill would 
establish a new $100 million biomass infrastructure program to provide 
grant funding to build biomass facilities near forests that are at risk 
of wildfire and to offset the cost of transporting dead and dying trees 
out of high-hazard fire zones. The bill would also lift the current 
export ban on unprocessed timber from federal lands in the west for 
trees that are dead, dying, or if there is no demand in the United 
States. These measures are necessary to ensure that we can mitigate 
wildfire in a commercially viable way, and not just through continued 
government funding.
  In terms of utilizing the latest science and techniques, the bill 
would also expedite permitting for the installation of wildfire 
detection equipment such as sensors, cameras, and other relevant 
equipment and expand the use of satellite data to assist wildfire 
response. The bill would also establish a new prescribed fire center to 
coordinate research and training of foresters and forest managers in 
the latest methods and innovations in prescribed fire practices to 
reduce the likelihood of catastrophic fires and improve the health of 
forests.
  Given the generational shortage of workers in the forest management 
field, the bill would authorize a new workforce development program to 
assist in developing a career training pipeline for forestry workers.
  Lastly, the bill would creating more resilient communities and energy 
grids by expanding the Energy Department's weatherization program to 
allow for the retrofit of homes to make them more resilient to wildfire 
through the use of fire-resistant building materials and other methods, 
and by establishing a new $100 million grant program to help critical 
facilities like hospitals and police stations become more energy 
efficient and better adapted to function during power shutoffs. The new 
program would also provide funding for the expanded use of distributed 
energy systems, including microgrids. Finally, the bill would allow 
FEMA hazard mitigation funding to be used for the installation of fire-
resistant wires and infrastructure as well as for the undergrounding of 
wires.
  It is important to be realistic about the threat we face. There have 
always

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been wildfires in the West, and there always will be. But we must face 
the reality that climate change and rising temperatures will mean more 
risk of wildfires. We can and should prepare for this future beginning 
today. That is why we have introduced this new bill, and I urge my 
colleagues to take it up and pass it as soon as possible.
                                 ______