[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 160 (Wednesday, September 16, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H4475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SAVE OUR HOMES--SAVE OUR PLANET

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, over this August break, my family and I 
left our house, not because it was vacation season but because it was 
wildfire season, and we were some of the thousands of people that were 
evacuated from our homes. Now, thanks to the amazing work of 
firefighters and first responders, we had a house to come home to, but 
as we know, many others were not as lucky.
  You see, the American West, including my district on the Central 
Coast of California, is experiencing destructive wildfires where we are 
not just victims of these conflagrations, but we are also witnesses to 
the climate crisis.
  Our climate is hotter. Our countrysides are drier, and our 
communities are more vulnerable to this type of devastation. We can't 
ignore it. We can't deny it, but we can pass the Climate Action Rebate 
plan to reduce our carbon output. We can pass the bipartisan Emergency 
Wildfire and Public Safety Act, and we can pass the bipartisan REPLANT 
Act.
  This is not a binary choice. We can do both. If we don't act, our 
fire seasons will turn into fire years. But if we do act with 
commonsense legislation in Congress, we will save not just our homes, 
we will save this planet.

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