[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. Daines):
  S. 4826. A bill to amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 
to modify the definition of the term ``at-risk community'' ; to the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the 
Community Wildfire Protection Act, bipartisan legislation that Senator 
Daines and I are introducing today.
  This bill would ensure that those communities that are deemed to be 
under the greatest threat from wildfire are eligible to receive 
existing Federal wildfire grants. This sounds obvious but unfortunately 
is not the case under existing law.
  This will help more communities in our home States of California and 
Montana and others throughout the West access Federal grants to reduce 
hazardous fuels around their communities and reduce the threat posed by 
wildfire. In particular, it would protect areas at risk of a large-
scale wildfire that would significantly threaten human life and 
property.
  Aligning the definition in law for at-risk communities to today's 
environmental realities is more important than ever given the increased 
spread, frequency, and destructiveness of wildfires, especially in the 
West.
  The current definition of an ``at-risk community'' was codified in 
the 2003 Healthy Forest Restoration Act. That law requires that, other 
than experiencing significant wildfire risk, an eligible community must 
either be adjacent to Federal land or included on a list generated in 
2001 consisting of voluntary input from States and Tribes.
  To be clear, including a town on this list was not based on an 
objective evaluation of wildfire risk or threat to life and property, 
only whether an individual Governor or Tribal leader decided to add it. 
There are obvious omissions from the list that show its inadequacy, and 
in fact, 19 States and territories never submitted a single community.
  For example, in California, big cities like Fresno, Fairfield, and 
Napa are not included, all of which have experienced major wildfires in 
recent years, nor are countless small towns that are at great risk of 
wildfire. The town of Grizzly Flats, CA, which was devastated by the 
2021 Caldor Fire, is also notably absent from the list.
  The exclusion of these communities means that they are not eligible 
for Federal grant funding that would help them develop and implement 
wildfire resiliency plans, such as hazardous fuels reduction, nor can 
they utilize critical authorities to expedite wildfire mitigation 
projects on nearby Federal lands.
  Our bill would simply end the practice of making Federal grants 
contingent on being this outdated, incomplete list. Instead, our 
legislation would allow communities to be included based on the most 
up-to-date quantitative wildfire risk data for the entire United 
States--data that are already maintained by the U.S. Forest Service.
  Our bill would also allow communities not immediately within or 
adjacent to Federal lands to qualify as ``at risk'' of wildfire. This 
is important given a recent survey of more than 22,000 fires that 
indicated that wildfires are more likely to start on private lands and 
burn into Federal forestlands than the reverse. Federal policies must 
adapt to recognize this fact, not prevent funding from going to where 
it would be most effective.
  Better tailoring Federal grants to the areas at greatest risk of 
wildfire is particularly essential given congressional funding of 
wildfire resilience projects, including $1.8 billion that passed as 
part the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act.
  I am proud that our bill has received the support of the National 
Association of Counties, Rural County Representatives of California, 
the National Association of State Foresters, the Pacific Forest Trust, 
and the California Fire Safe Council.
  I am pleased to work with Senator Daines on this commonsense bill 
that will save lives, save communities, and ensure that Federal dollars 
are spent as effectively as possible.
   Mr. President, my bill is simple--just three lines long--but it 
would ensure that our Federal policies enable billions in wildfire 
resiliency funding to be applied where it is needed most.
  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation.
                                 ______