[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 161 (Thursday, September 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5689-S5690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Wildfires

  Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about what we 
are seeing in this country in the West with the horrific wildfires that 
are happening right now. I have to say, so many of my colleagues have 
been speaking out, and rightfully so. My heart, along with all of 
theirs, goes out to everyone who has been affected by the fires raging 
across the West and, most of all, to those who have lost members of 
their families or their homes.

[[Page S5690]]

  You know, I am thinking of the hundreds of thousands of people in 
Oregon under evacuation orders, of the brave firefighters in California 
who are battling flames in the middle of a pandemic, of Nevadans whose 
skies are blanketed with hazardous smoke--everyone in the West who is 
pooling all of their efforts and resources to support one another from 
Washington to Oregon, to California, to Nevada--everywhere that we have 
seen
  I also want to honor the efforts of two courageous pilots who died in 
a crash over Caliente, NV, in July while dropping fire retardant on the 
Bishop Fire. David Blake Haynes and Scott Thomas lost their lives while 
protecting the people of Nevada, and I join all Nevadans in sharing my 
condolences with their families.
  You know, Americans are up against the brutal reality of the climate 
crisis. Science tells us that climate change is making the West hotter 
and drier and contributing to wildfires. Scientists have been sending a 
consistent message about climate change for the past 30 years. In the 
entire Western United States, we have seen just some of the dire 
effects scientists have predicted. That is why we need Federal action 
to slow the very clear effects of climate change.
  We have seen those effects in my home State of Nevada where, this 
year alone, almost a quarter million acres have burned so far. Since I 
have been in the Senate, over 2\1/2\ million acres in Nevada have 
burned in tragedies like the Poeville Fire, the South Sugarloaf Fire, 
the Range 2 Fire, and the Martin Fire, which was the State's largest 
fire in our country. That is why the entire Nevada delegation has 
worked so hard to get Nevada the resources it needs to prepare for 
these fires, combat them when they occur, and rebuild afterward.
  We have helped get funds to the University of Nevada, Reno, for its 
ALERTWildfire Program, which uses state-of-the-art cameras to monitor 
the fires. We have requested that the Nevada Air National Guard get the 
tools it needs to combat these fires, including C-130J aircraft that 
could fight fires all over the West. Yet, inexplicably, this request 
was turned down earlier this year.
  Along with my colleagues in the Senate, we have worked to pass a bill 
to create a permanent Forest Service contingency account so that 
Federal agencies aren't left empty-handed when they need the money the 
most.
  Last summer, I convened the first of its kind wildfire summit in 
Nevada. I was honored to join our firefighters, our ranchers, our 
conservationists, our scientists, our power companies, and 
representatives of government agencies in thinking through new ways to 
coordinate and collaborate around how to address these wildfires.
  There is so much that we can do working together--from developing 
innovative digital platforms to monitor the fire to funding research, 
to restoring native plants, to helping neighborhoods plan for and adapt 
to fire seasons. We need to make our farms and landscapes more 
resilient. We need to preserve our national treasures and improve the 
health and well-being of those who live in our cities and rural areas 
alike because the truth is that it is not getting cooler.
  Anyone in Los Angeles, which saw temperatures of 120 degrees 
Fahrenheit this month, or in Las Vegas, which hit 113 degrees in July, 
can tell you that. Taking climate seriously shouldn't be a partisan 
issue. This is about safeguarding property, protecting local economies, 
and saving lives--lives of first responders who have too much to do 
with too few resources and lives of civilians throughout Nevada and the 
West frightened by what they are seeing literally in their backyards.
  So I plan to listen to what the scientists are telling us. I am 
listening to Nevadans in places like Winnemucca and Elko, where 
ranchers and local officials have lived through these fires. I am 
listening to Nevada's Tribal leaders, whose people have been stewards 
of the land for millennia, and to other communities of color that are 
among the hardest hit when disaster strikes. And, yes, I am listening 
to my colleagues who have devastating stories of what is happening to 
their own constituents in their States right now.
  The climate crisis is all around us--from the wildfires we are seeing 
in the West to the hurricanes we are seeing right now in the South. It 
is time for us to take bipartisan action, address the climate crisis, 
and make sure we are doing what we do best: funding short-term and 
long-term policies and goals to address these issues.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues around the States.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote that 
has been scheduled for 11:45 begin immediately.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.