[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 126 (Thursday, July 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3784-S3785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Padilla, and Mr. 
        Hickenlooper):
  S. 4666. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
establish a deduction for attorney fees awarded with respect to certain 
wildfire damages and to exclude from gross income settlement funds 
received with respect to such damages; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of 
legislation that I introduced today along with Senators Alex Padilla 
and John Hickenlooper. This is a companion to the bipartisan bill that 
Representative Mike Thompson has introduced in the House of 
Representatives.
  In 2020, the Fire Victim Trust was established after Pacific Gas & 
Electric, PG&E, was found legally responsible for major California 
wildfires in 2015, 2017, and 2018. PG&E contributed about $13 billion 
to this fund to pay victims of these wildfires to cover losses they 
suffered.
  Unfortunately, the specific situations of each of these victims is 
different, and it is unclear to many whether they will need to pay 
Federal income tax on the amounts they receive. Moreover, it is unfair 
that these victims should have to worry about paying taxes on amounts 
that are simply intended to make them whole.
  In addition, about 30 percent of settlement payouts are devoted to 
attorney fees, for attorneys whom the victims did not hire. It appears 
that victims will even owe taxes on the full amount of the settlement, 
including these attorney fees.
  This is a problem now for wildfire victims in California. However, as 
the frequency and severity of wildfires grows across the Western United 
States due to climate change, it is more likely that this is a problem 
that California and other States will face again.
  Our legislation would do two things. First, it would clarify that 
such wildfire settlement fees are not taxable. Second, it would create 
an above-the-line tax deduction for relevant attorney fees. This would 
provide tax certainty and fairness to wildfire settlement victims now 
and into the future.
  With the incidence of wildfires rising, this is an important issue 
for Congress to address now to avoid victims having to worry about 
paying taxes on settlement payments that are meant to make them whole 
from devastating losses that many of them have suffered.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in support of this bill.
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      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. Padilla):
  S. 4669. A bill to establish the Western Riverside National Wildlife 
Refuge, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Western 
Riverside County National Wildlife Refuge Act, along with my California 
colleague, Senator Alex Padilla.
  As our country's population grows, so does the need for 
infrastructure like housing and highways. However, we must find a way 
to balance the needs of growth with the preservation of our natural 
resources, including endangered species habitat and green space for the 
health and safety of our communities.
  Senator Padilla and I are proud this legislation would accomplish 
those goals by creating a Federal wildlife refuge in western Riverside 
County as part of a collaborative land management plan created by 
Riverside County.
  The newly created wildlife refuge would provide expanded recreation, 
conservation, and educational opportunities for the local community--
one of the fastest growing in the Nation.

[[Page S3785]]

  This legislation builds off Riverside County's multiple species 
habitat conservation plan, allowing land that has already been acquired 
by the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority to be 
included in the new Federal wildlife refuge this bill would create.
  Our bill would establish a new unit of the National Wildlife Refuge 
System--the Western Riverside County National Wildlife Refuge. The 
refuge would be comprised of donated lands from Western Riverside 
County Regional Conservation Authority, as well as any additional lands 
deemed appropriate by the Interior Department acquired from willing 
sellers or donors, including Federal, State, or local agencies, Tribes, 
or private land owners.
  This refuge would not only create increased recreation, outdoor 
access, and educational opportunities in Southern California but also 
work to protect endangered species in the region like the arroyo toad, 
the southwestern willow flycatcher, and the quino checkerspot 
butterfly. These protections would in turn help streamline 
infrastructure projects and support smart growth and land management 
planning.
  As temperatures continue to rise and California experiences another 
historic drought and wildfire season, it is more important than ever to 
ensure that we conserve green spaces. As I stated earlier, Riverside 
County's population is one of the fastest growing in the country, and 
it is well documented that human development can have damaging effects 
on the health of endangered and threatened species. Additionally, 
overdevelopment results in poor community health and well-being.
  That is why smart, collaborative land management planning is our best 
option on how to move forward with a growing population and economy, 
while safeguarding the resources that keep our communities and wildlife 
populations healthy.
  This bill would support the conservation of habitat for 146 different 
species in the region, including 33 species that are listed as 
threatened or endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the 
California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The acquisition boundary 
for the refuge was created in collaboration with the county, 
environmental groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 
boundary area expands on local conservation efforts and increase access 
to green spaces, especially to underserved communities.
  The coronavirus pandemic and recent extreme heat waves in our State 
have served to underscore the importance of ensuring access and 
preservation of open spaces, especially as our Nation's population 
grows and its cities expand.
  This bill also meets the Biden administration's call to conserve 30 
percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, an initiative known as 
America the Beautiful. We are proud the creation of this refuge would 
contribute to that important goal.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mr. Cramer):
  S. 4672. A bill to modify the authority of the Secretary of Defense 
to transfer excess aircraft to other departments of the Federal 
Government and to authorize the Secretary to transfer excess aircraft 
to the Governor of a State, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Armed Services.
  Mr. PADILLA, Mr. President, I rise to introduce the bipartisan 
Emergency Aircraft Act of 2022.
  Currently, DOD has a program to transfer excess aircraft to Federal 
Agencies for wildfire suppression purposes. However, under current law, 
DOD is limited to providing only seven aircraft total to each Agency.
  After years of increasingly catastrophic wildfires, it has become 
clear that the Federal Government must do more to support suppression 
efforts to get fires under control quickly, as well as support search 
and rescue to keep communities safe. If there are excess aircraft 
available, they should be put to use suppressing fires and protecting 
communities.
  Furthermore, as fire activity has exploded in the past few years, 
States have stepped up and greatly increased their own suppression 
efforts. They should also be allowed to utilize these excess aircraft 
to increase suppression capabilities and put fires out faster. However, 
under current law, States do not have access to these excess aircraft.
  This bill would remove the arbitrary cap on how many excess aircraft 
DOD can transfer to Federal Agencies for wildfire suppression efforts; 
allow States to receive excess aircraft; expand the purposes for which 
these aircraft could be used from just ``wildfire suppression 
purposes'' to include purposes of ``wildfire suppression, search and 
rescue, or emergency operations pertaining to wildfires''; and mandate 
an annual report from DOD to the Committees on Armed Services of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives on aircraft transferred during 
the previous fiscal year.
  This bill represents a commonsense step forward to expand fire 
suppression and search and rescue operations across the Federal 
Government and State governments.
  I want to thank Senator Cramer for joining me in this bipartisan 
effort, and I urge my colleagues to join us in working to pass this 
bill as quickly as possible in light of the extreme wildfire danger 
facing States across the country.

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