Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003
HEALTHY FORESTS RESTORATION ACT OF 2003
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I thank Senators COCHRAN and REID for allowing me to do this. I have been waiting for quite a while. We can get through some of these amendments.
I rise again with a heavy heart to report on the fires raging in my State and bring the Senate up to date on what is happening as of my last report at 3:30 p.m: 600,000 acres of land have been burned, more than 3 times the size of Chicago; 2,000 homes have been destroyed, 18 people are dead. Governor Davis has declared Riverside County a state of emergency. Riverside has asked the President to declare a national disaster there. I have written to the President asking him to act.
In San Diego, we have 30,000 people without power. Our public schools are closed due to bad air. The Cedar Fire in San Diego is raging out of control. It is threatening to merge with the Paradise Fire. The fires as of 3:30 were only 5 miles apart.
The head of the California Department of Fire, Chief Chuck Mayner, said that they have not gotten all of the equipment and the help they have asked for. Senator Feinstein and I have been getting different information. It is a little disconcerting. Yesterday, I heard they got all the equipment. Today I hear they have not. We actually have heard from CDF Chief Mayner that he has not gotten all the equipment and the help. That is backed up by Jim Arta, the deputy chief. I have a list of the things they have asked for. I hope FEMA will act on this.
I have met with Mr. Michael Brown. He is very open to doing all he can, but I merely want to say on the record that we need help. We need strike teams. Strike teams are a combination of resources composed of fire trucks and personnel. We need strike 2 teams composed of fire trucks designed for fighting brush fires. We need 11 engine strike teams for the Paradise Fire, 33 hand strike crews, 12 single resource dozers, two type 1 helicopters, one type 2 helicopter.
We need for the Cedar Fire, in addition to strategic 1 strike teams, strike 3 teams, five type 3 helicopters, four type 1 helicopters, and one type 2 helicopter.
As I stand here giving this report from just a few minutes ago, we are not getting all the help we need to fight these fires. We need it desperately. We urge everyone to work together to get the equipment into these areas.
Our brave firefighters are working to save Julian, which is a town in San Diego County. The winds are making the situation worse. There were hundreds of firefighters working there. The city of Cuyamaca is 90 percent destroyed and 150 homes are gone. In Ventura, we have the Scenic Valley Fire threatening the Stevenson Ranch area. They are already asking us for a FEMA disaster center there.
In San Bernardino, we still have the Old Fire. It is raging out of control, threatening Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead communities. Unpredictable winds are making things worse.
I had a good meeting with a FEMA director today, and a good meeting with Governor-elect Schwarzenegger today. We are all on the same page. We all want to open disaster centers, disaster assistance centers, known as DACs, in the State. I had recommended one in each county. We will have that, plus a couple of mobile units. We are probably going to need more disaster centers because we are talking about so many miles, so many acres. Six hundred thousand acres is a lot of land here. We do not want people to have to go far distances to get what they need.
I want to show a few pictures to my colleagues so you can see what things look like. This is a picture of a home burning in San Bernardino. You can see the raging fires there. Somebody's hopes and dreams are just gone.
I show you a Marine Corps base in San Diego. This is Camp Pendleton. This is a hillside. You can take a look at these fires, and when I am done with these brief opening remarks, I am going to lay down an amendment which deals with helping people in terms of the quality of the air. I wanted to show that.
I want to also share with my colleagues that nine of us, back in April, sent a letter to the President. I think this is extremely important. This letter was signed by Republicans and Democrats alike-two Senators and Congressmen DREIER, HUNTER, BACA, CALVERT, CUNNINGHAM, ISSA, FILNER, DAVIS, BONO, and LEWIS-equal numbers, approximately, of Republicans and Democrats.
This is what we asked the President for in April:
We are writing you today to encourage your swift approval of California Governor Gray Davis' request of a Presidential emergency declaration for Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties relative to the high threat of forest fire in these regions.
Due to drought conditions and infestation by the bark beetle, our national forests have been met with an unprecedented danger as the bark beetle has attacked over 415,000 acres of trees in these three counties. Because of the unique urbanization in and around forests, this infestation has created a tinder box of such magnitude that the loss of life and resources would be incomprehensible should fire break out.
My friends, we said-nine of us-we could have fires like this. We said:
Most of the affected trees are on or adjacent to federal lands, making this crisis well beyond the ability of state and local authorities to manage. Therefore, it is critical that the federal government help provide financial assistance for infested tree removal from public and private lands, as well as assist with other mitigation measures. Now that the State of California has requested a federal emergency disaster declaration, your help at this juncture remains critical and would make a positive impact in these areas of Southern California.
We conclude our letter:
Mr. President, we appreciate the various burdens being placed upon you in these challenging days. However, we urge you to consider this matter as expeditiously as possible since these areas are in need of immediate federal assistance.
In a bipartisan way, nine of us asked the President to declare an emergency, and he did not do it. We did get some small funding. It helped a little bit. But we did not get the help we needed. We begged for it. I guess if we had a crystal ball, maybe things would have been better.
We all were asking for buffers around our communities. I think the importance of this legislation before us is it is our opportunity to direct funding, adequate funding, to make sure these buffers are created and the fire damage is diminished greatly.
I myself want to make sure this bill is a Healthy Forests bill and is not something else, a "cut down the forests" bill. I will be supporting many amendments to make sure this bill is the best it can be. I do not know the fate of those amendments, but we will be going on the record very strongly.
AMENDMENT NO. 2025
Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from California [Mrs. BOXER] proposes an amendment numbered 2025:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
TITLE . FIREFIGHTERS MEDICAL MONITORING ACT
SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Title shall be referred to as the "Firefighters Medical Monitoring Act of 2003".
SECTION 2. MONITORING OF FIREFIGHTERS IN DISASTER AREAS.
(a) IN GENERAL.-The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health shall monitor the long-term medical health of those firefighters who fought fires in any area declared a disaster area by the Federal Government.
(b) HEALTH MONITORING.-The long-term health monitoring referred to in subsection (a) shall include, but not be limited to, pulmonary illness, neurological damage, and cardiovascular damage, and shall utilize the medical expertise in the local areas affected.
© AUTHORIZATION.-To carry out this Title, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary in each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I thank very much the clerk for reading the amendment. It is a very straightforward amendment. It basically recognizes the fact that our firefighters are our heroes. We certainly learned that. Every American learned that after 9/11. We certainly learned that.
Their health has been affected and impacted. We learned we need to do more to monitor their health. Right now, we have 12,000 brave firefighters frantically working with the California Department of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service, the California Highway Patrol, the Red Cross, and FEMA to contain these fires in terrible conditions.
Firefighters are not only from California, but they are from Nevada and Arizona. Other help is on the way from other States.
I want to show you a photo of some of the conditions these firefighters are working in at this point.
This is the Simi Valley, where you can see the firefighters, how strong they are, and yet how they look so small in front of this unbelievable blaze they are trying to contain.
I will show you another picture, another view.
This is in San Diego. You can see the incredible black, deadly smoke here. That is filled with toxins and is right over the hill from where they are standing.
Many of these firefighters are living in fire camps, spending 24 hours a day in proximity to the smoke from the fires. We know smoke from these fires-because it is coming from homes, and there are cars and businesses-contains heavy concentrations of carcinogens and other toxins. The smoke contains fine particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur, formaldehyde, mercury, and heavy metals and benzene. We also know the accumulation of carbon dioxide can lead to progressive heart problems, to brain dysfunction, and may ultimately lead to coma and death.
These are the heroes. These are the heroes. I would hope we would vote 100 to nothing in favor of this amendment.
I can't imagine an argument against it. Numerous studies have shown that the higher the particulate matter, the greater the number of emergency room visits and premature deaths. Why do I put it on this bill? Because the purpose of this bill is to reduce the likelihood we will have these kinds of fires. But if we do, we have to recognize it.
By the way, even with the bill, we may well have fires in the future. We know health monitoring can identify adverse long-term health consequences caused by prolonged exposure to smoke, leading to early detection and better treatment. Those who are the most in danger are those who are exposed the most; that is, these brave firefighters who are working around the clock to contain the fires.
My amendment, again, is quite simple. It directs the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to work with the medical expertise in local areas to monitor the long-term health effects on firefighters who fight fires in disaster areas.
Mr. WYDEN. Will the Senator yield?
Mrs. BOXER. I am happy to yield.
Mr. WYDEN. I think what the Senator is doing is very constructive. On the forestry subcommittee, we have heard of a myriad of health concerns which seem to me, as much as anything you are addressing, a first responder issue. These are first responders who are working in a very significant area where there are health concerns-in the forestry area. It is important from a forestry standpoint and from a first responder standpoint. I am very hopeful-I see the chairman of the full committee in the Chamber as well-that we can work this out. Given the crisis right now in your State, I want to see this adopted.
Mrs. BOXER. I yield the floor.
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AMENDMENT NO. 2026
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I send the amendment to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from California [Mrs. BOXER] proposes an amendment numbered 2026.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment is as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
TITLE . DISASTER AIR QUALITY MONITORING ACT
SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Title shall be referred to as the "Disaster Air Quality Monitoring Act of 2003".
SEC. 2. MONITORING OF AIR QUALITY IN DISASTER AREAS.
(1) IN GENERAL.-No later than six (6) months after the enactment of this legislation, the Environmental Protection Agency shall provide each of its regional offices a mobile air pollution monitoring network to monitor the emissions of hazardous air pollutants in areas declared a disaster as referred to in subsection (b), and publish such information on a daily basis on its web site and in other forums, until such time as the Environmental Protection Agency has determined that the danger has subsided.
(b) The areas referred to in subsection (a) are those areas declared a disaster area by the Federal Government.
© The monitoring referred to in subsection (a) shall include the continuous and spontaneous monitoring of hazardous air pollutants, as defined in the Public Law 95-95 section 112(b).
(d) AUTHORIZATION.-To carry out this Title, there are authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, this goes to the quality of the air. We have learned so much after what happened on 9/11. When we have this type of a fire, if we could look at this smoke here-I have another picture to show. Look at this black smoke just headed right toward these homes. We know there are pollutants we don't really monitor on a daily basis that are getting into people's lungs. I will mention some of these: Benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, asbestos, ethylene, glycol. Those are just a few.
The effects of these could be devastating: Premature death, cardiovascular illness, neurological disorder, respiratory problems, and cancer. One atmospheric scientist described it in the L.A. Times this way:
When they burn, these homes and businesses are mini toxic waste dumps.
This is the quality of the air we are seeing here. In San Diego, every single school has been closed because it is too dangerous for the children to go outside their homes. They are telling the elderly to stay inside with their windows and doors closed. We know the elderly and the children are the most vulnerable to the effects of pollution.
I believe we must ensure that the public knows which pollutants they are being exposed to. Today they would not know. My amendment will solve that problem. My amendment will require the EPA to provide each of its regional offices a mobile air pollution monitoring network to go into these areas in the event of a catastrophe and monitor toxic emissions on a continuous and spontaneous basis. The amendment will require this to be done within 6 months. We should begin doing it immediately. We authorized the funding-it isn't much, $8 million-to carry this out.
In short, my amendment assures that we will have the ability to monitor emissions of these hazardous air pollutants in the event of a disaster and give the public the information it needs because if they have a child, a sick grandma, someone who has cancer or heart disease, they need to know to keep them in.
I ask for the yeas and nays on my amendment and yield the floor.