[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 100 (Thursday, June 8, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2013-S2014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Climate Change

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as everyone knows, this week, the United 
States has suffered through some of the worst wildfire air pollution in 
the entire history of our country.
  North of the border, over 400 wildfires continue blazing across 
Quebec and many parts of Eastern Canada, and winds are sending smoke 
and toxic air across the border and into our cities, into our 
communities, into our lungs.
  To walk through New York City yesterday was to walk on another 
planet. The orange fog of wildfire smoke left our city unrecognizable. 
Sadly, New York City had the worst air quality of any major city in the 
world yesterday, even more than such cities as Delhi or Jakarta, which 
always rate at the top for the worst air quality. And even as New York 
City had the worst air quality, the pollution was even worse for 
Upstate New York. From Bayside to Brooklyn, from Buffalo to Binghamton, 
my home State looked like the scene of a scary movie.

[[Page S2014]]

  Across the Northeast, schools canceled outdoor activities and 
afterschool programs. The Yankees, the Phillies, and the New York 
Liberty all postponed their games. People as far west as Indianapolis 
and as far south as South Carolina have been impacted.
  I urge all people here in Washington and across the United States to 
listen to local health officials and take every precaution to stay 
safe.
  The climate crisis is real, and it is here to stay. We must take 
action against the climate crisis, both short term and long term.
  In the short term, this morning, I am calling on Secretary Tom 
Vilsack to double the number of Forest Service personnel deployed to 
fight these fires in Canada. I am calling on the Secretary of 
Agriculture to double the number of personnel to mitigate the risk in 
the air for millions of Americans. I am sending a letter to him, asking 
him to double the Forest Service personnel.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this letter be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Dear Secretary Vilsack: I am writing to express my concern 
     for the health and safety of New Yorkers, and all Americans, 
     affected by the smoke resulting from the wildfires currently 
     raging in Quebec, Canada. I urge the U.S. Forest Service (FS) 
     to double the personnel preparing to deploy to help Canada 
     fight these forest fires and protect the lives and health of 
     all those impacted.
       As you know, the Quebec wildfires of recent days have 
     caused terrible air quality impacts across much of the 
     northeastern United States, including New York. Today, the 
     United States had the worst air quality in the world with New 
     York City measuring particulate matter 14.5 times greater 
     than the World Health Organization's annual air quality 
     guideline value. Over the past two days, much of New York 
     State has faced Hazardous air quality index (AQI) ratings of 
     over 300, levels at which all people are likely to be 
     affected, no matter their health. This poor air quality has 
     caused flight cancellations, restaurant closures, and 
     Broadway show cancellations, grinding New York City, and the 
     rest of the state, to a halt. Rapidly returning our air 
     quality to normal, healthy levels is of the utmost 
     importance.
       Containing these fires is the best way to prevent more 
     smoke from drifting into the U.S. and returning air quality 
     in New York and elsewhere to healthy levels. To assist their 
     Canadian counterparts in their firefighting efforts, the New 
     York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has 
     already deployed one Forest Ranger to assist with efforts to 
     contain the raging fires. The Northeastern Forest Fire 
     Protection Compact (P.L. 81-129) grants the U.S. Forest 
     Service authority to provide necessary cross-border 
     assistance to cope with fires beyond a sole entity's 
     capabilities. I ask that FS prepare to send additional 
     personnel to provide the Canadian Forest Service with 
     whatever necessary expertise and service they require to 
     contain and end these fires as quickly as possible.
       Thank you for your attention to this request. Please do not 
     hesitate to contact me with any questions.
           Sincerely,
                                               Charles E. Schumer,
                                                     U.S. Senator.
  Mr. SCHUMER. These unprecedented wildfires are a crisis for both 
Canada and the United States, so both nations must respond speedily and 
forcefully to contain the blazes. The best way to ensure the United 
States does not suffer another wave of wildfire air pollution is to 
contain these fires up in Canada as soon as possible. That is getting 
at the source, and that is what we need to do. It won't be easy, but 
the Federal Government--our Federal Government--must explore all 
options on the table to keep Americans safe.
  We must send personnel. We must send equipment. We must offer any 
assistance that our friends north of the border need. Over the last 2 
years, the Senate passed billions in funding to mitigate and respond to 
wildfires. We did it when we passed the bipartisan infrastructure law 
and the Inflation Reduction Act. The American Rescue Plan also provided 
huge sums to help schools improve their air filtration systems. Today, 
these investments are paying off. Many schools are safer and cleaner 
because of the legislation we passed, but there is much more to do.
  In the long term, there is little doubt that climate change has 
exacerbated both the depth and breadth of these fires in Canada. We 
cannot fully account for these fires without recognizing that climate 
change is making disasters like this far more common and far more 
destructive. Temperatures in May reached record levels in Canada, and 
warmer temperatures mean that forest fires often burn faster, burn 
hotter, burn bigger. We are seeing this play out in realtime. Canadian 
officials say their country is now on track for their worst season of 
wildfire destruction on record.
  What we consider freak accidents today could become the norm 
tomorrow, and the more we ignore our obligation to lower carbon 
emissions, the greater the risks of these disasters. That is why 
Democrats passed the largest package of clean energy investments in 
American history last year through the Inflation Reduction Act, but 
both parties have an obligation to do more, both to reduce our carbon 
emissions and make sure we all have the resources necessary to respond 
to natural disasters--so many of them caused or exacerbated by climate 
change.
  In the coming days, I will continue to reach out to the 
administration to ensure that we are doing everything we can to help 
contain the fires up north. That is the best thing we can do to keep 
American citizens across the country safe and healthy.