[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 15, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H4530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  REMEMBERING FIREFIGHTERS EMILY BARKER, NICK HUTCHERSON, AND SYDNEY 
                                 WATSON

  (Mr. KENNEDY of Utah asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KENNEDY of Utah. Mr. Speaker, right now as we stand in this 
Chamber, devastating wildfires are tearing across our lands. I thank 
the brave crews who are working around the clock on the front lines. 
Their courage is keeping our communities standing. Our prayers are with 
them.
  We especially hold in our hearts the families of the brave 
firefighters who we recently lost along the Utah-Colorado border, 
including Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson, and Sydney Watson.
  These individuals made the ultimate sacrifice, and we owe them a debt 
of gratitude we can never truly repay. Possibly the most frustrating 
part is that, in many cases, we already have the solutions to deal with 
these wildfires. We know how to thin overgrown brush. We know how to 
clear hazardous fuels. We know how to restore health to our forest 
through proactive management. The obstacle isn't a lack of knowledge. 
It is bureaucracy.
  Decades of bloated regulation delay critical mitigation work for 
years, but a wildfire does not wait for a multiyear environmental 
review. The flames do not pause for paperwork.
  That is why we passed the Fix Our Forests Act. That is why I 
introduced the Utah Wildfire Research Institute Act. Our communities 
cannot afford another year of congressional inaction.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to cut the red tape, pass 
commonsense and often lifesaving legislation, and protect our lands.

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