[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 30, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H3979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRESS MUST ACT ON WILDFIRE RESILIENCY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Neguse) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of the 
people of Colorado who are experiencing historic, destructive, and 
devastating wildfires. Four of the largest wildfires in our State's 
history have happened in just the last 18 months.
  For my community, we are no longer witnessing wildfire seasons but, 
instead, wildfire years. Fires are burning in August, December, and 
March. Our communities are under threat by worsening, more dangerous, 
unrelenting wildfires 365 days a year.
  I would like to explain, Madam Speaker, to the American people what 
this encroaching threat will mean for families, for firefighters, for 
communities, and for our neighborhoods.
  On December 30, as the Speaker may be aware, a rangeland fire, fueled 
by hurricane-force winds, ran through suburban neighborhoods in my 
district of Louisville and Superior, Colorado, forcing over 30,000 
people to evacuate and destroying 1,084 homes and businesses in less 
than 18 hours--1,084 homes and businesses in 18 hours.
  Over 1,000 families left with nothing but the clothes on their backs 
and the items that they carried. Their lives will forever be changed as 
they begin the long, challenging, complex recovery process.
  The Marshall fire, now the most destructive fire in Colorado history, 
was not the first, and it will not be the last.
  The Cameron Peak fire in Larimer County, Colorado, burned over 
400,000 acres from August 2020 through December of that year. The East 
Troublesome fire in Grand County grew more than 100,000 acres in 1 day. 
Collectively, those fires have destroyed countless structures and left 
millions in damages for our communities to take on.
  Madam Speaker, these disasters warrant a response from the Federal 
Government, a bold, decisive response. We have proposed some of the 
potential solutions.
  First, we have to start paying our firefighters a living wage. I was 
looking at job postings this morning, Madam Speaker, in my district. In 
Boulder, there are customer service representative positions at copy 
stores, shops, and retail establishments with a starting pay of $20 an 
hour, $23 an hour. Yet, we have Federal wildland firefighters making 
today $19 an hour, $18 an hour, $16 an hour as they are literally 
sacrificing so much and putting their own lives on the line to protect 
our communities. It is unconscionable, and it should be unacceptable to 
every Member of this body.
  That is why we introduced Tim's Act to honor Tim Hart, a brave 
smokejumper who tragically lost his life last year working on a 
wildfire in New Mexico.
  Our bill with Representative Liz Cheney is the first bipartisan, 
comprehensive legislation of its kind to significantly raise pay for 
Federal wildland firefighters and ensure access to mental health 
services, healthcare, housing, retirement benefits, and so much more.
  These firefighters are risking their lives every day, Madam Speaker. 
They deserve just compensation. We have to change it, and I am 
committed to doing everything in my power to get this bill to the floor 
of this House.
  We also have to support our communities in recovery. Rebuilding takes 
time, and it takes a lot of money. It is emotionally exhausting and 
complex.
  Last week, families in my district in Boulder who are in the process 
of literally rebuilding their homes lost in the Marshall fire were 
evacuated from their new temporary homes, rental properties in Boulder, 
as the NCAR fire burned as close as 1,000 yards from homes in the area. 
Firefighters are literally working as we speak to contain that fire.
  My bill, the Wildfire Recovery Act, which recently passed out of the 
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last year, would help local 
communities like Boulder, Fort Collins, and communities across my 
State, from the Western Slope to the Eastern Plains, recover. It would 
invest money in mitigation, in resiliency.
  It is time for us to get this done, Madam Speaker. I am committed to 
doing everything I can to get those bills and many more to the floor, 
and we intend to get this done.

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