[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 38 (Monday, March 1, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REPLANT ACT IS PRACTICAL LEGISLATION

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Madam Speaker, what I am about to show you are the 
examples of the cycle of destruction from the climate crisis in my home 
district on the central coast of California.
  Last year, my district was victim to a brutal wildfire season in 
which almost 650,000 acres were burned. What was left behind in many of 
those areas is called a burn scar, ground that has crusted and is hard 
for water to penetrate. As a result, when it rains, it leads to floods, 
mudslides, and devastation, including this damage to Highway 1 in Big 
Sur, in which water and debris flowed down the hills, blocked the 
culverts, then flowed up over Highway 1, and took out the road from 
that side.
  Now, we know we have a lot of work to do when it comes to reducing 
our carbon output. In the meantime, we can stop this type of damage 
with reforestation of burn scar areas.
  That is why I will reintroduce the REPLANT Act, to fund those types 
of projects, and I plan to work on bipartisan legislation to help 
manage forests to prevent fires and not just suppress them. It is that 
type of reasonable and practical legislation that is the foundation for 
how we in Congress can protect our communities and prevent the effects 
of the climate crisis.

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