[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 171 (Thursday, October 1, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H5113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING FIRE PREVENTION WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a former State 
certified firefighter one from Pennsylvania. As we kick off the month 
of October, I mention that next week is Fire Prevention Week.
  In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge established Fire Prevention Week, 
and today it is the longest running public health observance in the 
Nation. It is celebrated each year during the week of October 9 to 
commemorate the devastating Great Chicago Fire.
  This is an opportunity to educate one another on simple measures we 
can all take to prevent fires at home. You can bolster your family's 
safety by testing your fire alarms monthly, giving home heaters 
appropriate space, and having an escape plan if, God forbid, your home 
does catch fire.
  We must also do more to prevent wildfires. As former chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry, I have been a part of many 
conversations, meetings, and hearings about how we can better prevent 
forest devastation as a result of wildfires.
  We continue to see devastating wildfires on the West Coast. Homes, 
businesses, and forests are burning to the ground. The air quality is 
dangerous, and millions of Americans are at risk.

  For decades, the health and resiliency of our national forests have 
been in decline due to a lack of management and, more recently, extreme 
environmental policies.
  With nearly 90 million acres of forestland in need of urgent 
treatment, Congress needs to finally act and provide the tools and 
authorities to enable the Forest Service to proactively manage. Doing 
so will directly help prevent wildfire outbreaks, support our local 
communities, and restore the health of our Nation's forests. And a 
healthy forest is one of the largest carbon sinks in the world.
  The 2018 House-passed farm bill contained bipartisan, commonsense 
forest management provisions to help prevent loss of life and property 
from these fires. These bipartisan authorities were created with input 
from the U.S. Forest Service under both the Obama and Trump 
administrations. These were ideas that were well vetted through 
hearings and markups and supported by the House Agriculture Committee 
and on the floor.
  However, Senate Democrats have refused to even discuss these needed 
reforms. Since these provisions were rejected, 3.5 million acres of 
Forest Service land have burned.
  Wildfire response and recovery efforts should not be a partisan 
issue. We are blessed as a nation to have hundreds of millions of acres 
of beautiful forestlands, and the best way to prevent forest fires is 
through a well-managed forest.
  Mr. Speaker, well-managed forests, again, are the largest carbon 
sinks in the world and the greatest filters for our watersheds that 
originate in those forests. Our forests provide great opportunities for 
outdoor recreation, but they are also unparalleled environmental tools. 
Our national forests serve as some of the Nation's largest carbon 
sinks.
  This Fire Prevention Week, I would like to encourage everyone to 
brush up on their fire safety measures, and I reiterate just how 
crucial healthy forests are in preventing wildfires.
  I thank the brave men and women who are on the front lines fighting 
those devastating fires out West.

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