[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S794-S795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mr. Sheehy, Mr. Daines, and Mr. 
        Hickenlooper):
  S. 453. A bill to establish a Wildfire Intelligence Center, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry.
  Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Wildfire 
Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act of 2025.
  This legislation would establish a joint wildfire intelligence center 
between the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and 
the Department of the Interior to foster

[[Page S795]]

collaboration and increase wildfire response capabilities. The scale, 
size, and intensity for the wildfire crisis demands a singular, whole-
of-government wildfire intelligence center. Such a center could compile 
comprehensive information on wildfires to better inform responses and 
inform wildfire recovery and streamline Federal wildfire response to 
ensure that States have a one-stop-shop within the federal government. 
This center would also increase monitoring and imaging capabilities 
that land management Agencies currently cannot achieve.
  As we have seen with the destruction in Los Angeles, increasingly 
severe and frequent wildfires pose a significant to the whole Western 
United States. In recent years, huge wildfires have struck Alaska, 
Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, and my home State of California. 
Whether the fire was burning in your State or whether the smoke 
traveled and covered the skies of your State, the impacts of wildfires 
cannot be ignored.
  As the West continues to suffer from devastating wildfires year after 
year, we must be proactive, and that includes coordinating across the 
Federal Government to meet the current challenge.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this necessary 
legislation to better coordinate fire responses and fire preparedness.
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