[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 144 (Thursday, September 7, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4257-S4258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Eastern Washington Wildfires

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, last month, the Gray and Oregon Road 
wildfires in Eastern Washington caused serious devastation and forced 
thousands of people to evacuate, including members of my family and 
members of my staff. While folks on the ground are still assessing the 
awful scope of the damage and what resources our communities need to 
recover and rebuild in the aftermath, we already know that these fires 
burned tens of thousands of acres; destroyed hundreds of buildings, 
including over 350 homes; and, tragically, the fires were responsible 
for two deaths.
  My heart goes out to the many families whose lives have been upended 
by these horrific fires, including our selfless firefighters, some of 
whom lost their homes to the flames while they were working hard to 
defend others'. I am incredibly grateful to all of our firefighters who 
have worked around the clock for weeks to get these fires under 
control. And I am also grateful to so many other first responders who 
helped keep our families safe from the blazes--law enforcement officers 
who raced door-to-door warning people as the fires approached, 
dispatchers who

[[Page S4258]]

worked so quickly to coordinate emergency response efforts, and 
everyone who helped those in danger, from evacuating families to 
conducting boat and helicopter rescues, to all of the volunteers who 
chipped in for the recovery effort.
  We are all relieved that those fires are now under control, thanks to 
the heroic efforts of so many firefighters, but communities in Eastern 
Washington have a long way to go on the road to recovery. So I will 
absolutely be staying in close touch with folks in my State and on the 
frontlines and making sure that our families and communities have the 
support they need to get through this.
  I am also going to continue to push to bolster our national efforts 
to prevent and mitigate and respond to wildfires and other extreme 
weather events, and that has to include more action on climate change 
because it is painfully clear--and it has been for a while now--that 
the climate crisis continues to make wildfires like this more common 
and more severe.
  Beyond the recent fires in Eastern Washington, my State has seen 
devastating fires in the Sourdough fire in the North Cascades; fires on 
our Olympic Peninsula, on Tribal lands, in the Columbia River Gorge; 
and we have seen high risks for catastrophic fires in literally every 
corner of my State.
  Over the last few years, Washington State has seen drier and hotter 
summers, which means longer and more dangerous fire seasons. And we are 
not alone. My heart breaks for the communities in Hawaii where the 
Presiding Officer has seen the impact firsthand. They were hit hard by 
devastating, unprecedented wildfires last month and are still suffering 
from that damage.
  We have to do more to address the climate crisis that is driving 
increasingly severe disasters. And on another important note, we 
absolutely must provide more resources for the critical work being done 
by FEMA and our Federal wildland firefighters to respond to fires 
across the country.
  FEMA's disaster relief fund is running dry. The Agency has already 
been forced to begin prioritizing immediate response efforts over 
longer term recovery projects. So it is absolutely essential that we 
deliver the additional resources FEMA needs as soon as possible because 
leaving behind communities struck by disaster is simply not an option.
  And we absolutely cannot let Federal inaction result in a salary cut 
for Federal wildland firefighters at the end of this month. After all 
they do for our communities, the last thing our firefighters need is to 
see their pay slashed.
  I know there is bipartisan support for providing the resources FEMA 
desperately needs in making sure wildland firefighters do not face a 
pay cut. I am talking with colleagues on both sides of the aisle about 
how we can make sure we get this done by the end of the month.
  But as the Presiding Officer knows, people are hurting right now. But 
they are also coming together to support survivors and gather donations 
and rebuild our communities. We need Congress to come together as well 
so we can tackle the climate crisis, support our wildland firefighters, 
continue to build on our investments in wildfire prevention and 
mitigation in a big way, and make sure FEMA has the resources it needs 
to help our communities.
  As the Presiding Officer well knows, when there is a fire, you don't 
ask what someone's politics are; you grab a bucket and go to work. That 
is what we need to do.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, before talking about some good news, I 
think, for so many of us across the country, I want to just thank 
Senator Murray for all of her leadership in the devastation she is 
describing in Washington State. I know that our Presiding Officer, with 
what is happening in Maui--the people of Hawaii are so fortunate to 
have you and Senator Hirono, who are out every day describing what 
needs to happen and pushing hard to make it happen.
  We have a lot of issues that are really important, a lot of 
devastation, a lot of extreme weather events; and we certainly 
understand that the climate crisis is adding to all of what we are 
seeing right now and the devastation. And it is critical--it is 
critical--that we keep focused on that.