Wildfire Funding and Forest Management
Floor Speech
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Mr. ROBERTS. Thank you to my colleagues, Senator Enzi and Senator Murkowski, for their work on these important issues related to wildfire and forest management. I would like to echo their concerns and share with the rest of my colleagues that I agree with them entirely that this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. Coming off the end of a catastrophic wildfire season with a record amount of acres burned, it is essential that the Senate turn its attention to finding a wildfire solution in 2016--and through regular order.
As chairman of the Agriculture Committee, it is my first and foremost priority that the committee serve as the platform for America's farmers, ranchers, small businesses, rural communities--and forest land owners and forestry stakeholders, a constituency sometimes forgotten. As chairman of the Agriculture Committee, we intend to serve and represent all of agriculture, of which forestry plays an important role.
Last November, the Agriculture Committee held a hearing on the effects of wildfire and heard testimony from stakeholders on the budgetary impacts and threats to natural resources on Federal, State, and private forest lands. The message from that hearing was unanimous and clear: it is time for Congress to act and advocate for solutions that not only address funding fixes, but more importantly advocate for solutions that improve the management of our national forests.
H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015, which passed the House last summer, has been referred to the Senate Agriculture Committee. This legislation, while not perfect, includes provisions that attempt to address both the funding mechanism and incorporate meaningful forest management tools which are the paramount issues in the overall wildfire debate. I recognize the challenges that remain ahead with crafting such a legislative proposal that satisfies all interested parties involved in this larger debate. With that being said, I stand ready to work with my colleagues to find areas where common ground and consensus can be achieved to address the overall wildfire issues facing us today.
I look forward to working together with Senator Murkowski, Senator Enzi, and others to provide the necessary tools to expedite the much needed work on not just Western forests, but also nationwide, encompassing Federal, State, and private forest lands.
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