“We’ve seen massive mismanagement and gross incompetence by the Democrat leaders in California. That must change. This is not a crisis that will solve itself. My bill will make us better prepared to fight fires in the future.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate floor to introduce the Wildfire Prevention Act. The bill aims to improve preparedness for destructive wildfires, such as the recent wildfires in Wyoming and California.
Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.
Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:
“My heart goes out to the people of Los Angeles.
“The horrific loss of life, homes, and businesses due to the California wildfires is staggering.
“As we speak, firefighters and first responders are working around the clock to keep residents safe.
“I’m grateful for their heroic efforts.
“As they do their job, the Senate must do ours.
“There are a lot of questions that need to be answered.
“One of biggest questions is, how do we prevent the next wildfire?
“When it comes to the environment, liberal politicians want to control what kind of car we drive, what kind of stove we cook with, and how long we should shower.
“Yet they neglect our forests.
“They put up roadblocks to forest management tools that work.
“What is especially crazy is that these restrictions are made in the name of protecting the environment.
“Yet nothing could be worse for the environment than massive wildfires.
“As a result, our public lands have turned into tinderboxes.
“Wyoming is no stranger to wildfires. The 2024 fire season was especially devastating in northern Wyoming.
“We had the House Draw Fire in Johnson Country and the Elk Fire that spanned Johnson and Sheridan Counties.
“To put this in perspective, in Southern California, we saw 40,000 acres burn in just over a week. In Wyoming, we had almost 275,000 acres burn.
“Now, you might not have heard about this since Wyoming has the smallest population in the country. Our population is a fraction of Los Angeles.
“Yet we can learn lessons from each other about how to prevent the next fire.
“In the Senate, I’ve been working to promote effective forest management practices at every level.
“Today, I introduced the Wildfire Prevention Act.
“My bill allows agencies to treat more acres and remove more red tape to better protect our forests and our fellow Americans.
“It sets clear standards and clear expectations for forest management that we currently lack.
“It provides more tools to federal agencies for prevention and preparation.
“And it requires more openness about the limits and challenges we face on these important issues.
“This is about protection, not punishment. Protecting people. And protecting our clean air.
“As long as America lacks proper forest management, then we will continue to see terrible, costly tragedies like we’ve seen in California and Wyoming.
“With better forest management, we can lessen the damage of future fires.
“The federal government will help Californians rebuild. They must rebuild with resilience. They must rebuild with a commitment on preventing a similar fire in the future.
“We’ve seen massive mismanagement and gross incompetence by the Democrat leaders in California.
“That must change.
“This is not a crisis that will solve itself. My bill will make us better prepared to fight fires in the future.
“It should be attached to any disaster relief that goes to California.”
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