[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S174-S175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Daines, and Mr. 
        Wyden):
  S. 188. A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to select and 
implement landscape-scale forest restoration projects, to assist 
communities in increasing their resilience to wildfire, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I rise to speak in support of the 
Wildfire Emergency Act, bipartisan legislation that Senators Padilla, 
Daines, Wyden, and I are introducing today, to help address the threat 
of catastrophic wildfire throughout the West.
  Wildfires have always been a part of life in California and other 
Western States, but climate change and drier forests have increased the 
threat of catastrophic wildfire. The new fire season is nearly year-
round, and the wildfires themselves are more destructive as they spread 
faster and burn hotter.
  The new reality of the wildfire threat requires transformative action 
to protect our forests and neighboring communities. Our bill would do 
just that, empowering Federal, State, and local land managers to make 
both our forests and infrastructure more resilient.

[[Page S175]]

  The most recent National Climate Assessment, conducted by leading 
scientists from the research community and across the Federal 
Government, found that the number of acres burned in the Western United 
States is double what would have burned without climate change.
  My home State of California knows this all too well as it is the 
epicenter of this destructive phenomenon. The top three worst wildfire 
seasons in California were all in the last 5 years, including the 
largest single wildfire in California history in 2021. Since 2017, 
wildfires have burned more than 11 million acres, killed nearly 200 
people, and destroyed more than 32,000 homes.
  Worryingly, these wildfires are predicted to only grow worse as 
climate conditions continue to change, and the Federal Government has 
not yet adequately responded. Important investments in wildfire 
resilience were included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 
and the Inflation Reduction Act, which were enacted in the last 
Congress, but stakeholders are nearly unanimous in supporting 
additional policy changes to improve the pace and scale of wildfire 
resiliency treatments.
  At the same time, the urgency of this crisis should not prompt 
Congress to vitiate important environmental safeguards. Throughout my 
time in the Senate, I have consistently championed the preservation and 
careful stewardship of our treasured forests, and this bill will be no 
different.
  Our Wildfire Emergency Act is the result of a considered approach to 
the wildfire crisis and includes feedback from conservationists, public 
and private stakeholders, and the U.S. Forest Service.
  First, it would provide the U.S. Forest Service with a pilot 
authority to leverage private financing options to increase the pace 
and scale of forest restoration projects. These projects would involve 
a collaborative approach to forest management to ensure that the 
forests are protected.
  This conservation finance model would be a new way of implementing 
forest restoration work, but the principle at its core is that forests 
are vital to a healthy environment and populace. Forests provide shade 
and wind breaks, stabilize steep mountain slopes, and help purify our 
water. These benefits have tangible value, and the financing model we 
develop here would make those benefits plain for all to see.
  In addition, the bill makes energy resilience a priority across the 
Federal Government. It would help develop and fund backup power for 
critical infrastructure like drinking water or hospitals, and put a 
renewed focus on wildfire detection and monitoring. As vulnerable as 
our forests are, it takes just one spark to ignite an entire mountain. 
The sooner our firefighters can detect and respond to these fires, the 
better our chances of preventing more communities from devastation.
  In addition, the bill would provide grants to low-income households 
to make fire-resilient upgrades to their homes. Thanks to home 
insurance regulatory changes taking place in California, wildfire 
retrofits could also help lower insurance premiums and reduce the 
financial burden on rural homeowners. The bill would also make grants 
available to low-income communities to help involve them in planning 
and implementing forest restoration projects on the lands surrounding 
their homes.
  Lastly, our bill recognizes that the forest management workforce is 
also in crisis. The U.S. Forest Service and Department of Interior have 
experience chronic staffing shortages in wildland firefighters for 
years. And even though the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation 
Reduction Act provided historic levels of funding for forest 
conservation work, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts an overall 
decline in the forest conservation workforce in the next 10 years.
  To address these issues, our bill would create new funding sources 
for forest management education and firefighter training. It would also 
establish a prescribed fire training center in the Western United 
States, to train the next generation of firefighters and forestry 
technicians in the landscapes where their skills are most needed.
  The simple reality is that wildfires will continue to happen in the 
West. They are an integral part of the West's ecology, even if climate 
change has exacerbated their scale and intensity. Our job must be to 
prepare for these wildfires to the extent we are able, to use the best 
available science to make our forests more resilient, and ensure that 
our communities remain safe.
  That is why Senators Padilla, Daines, Wyden, and I have introduced 
this bill today, and I urge my colleagues to support and pass it as 
soon as possible.

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