The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote before the August recess on an omnibus bill to boost wildland firefighter pay, strengthen the 10-year forest management agreement and help communities cope with drought.
The Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act combines over 45 bills previously introduced by lawmakers on a wide range of issues but without some of the approaches that Republican lawmakers were seeking.
Speaking at the House Rules Committee meeting, Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO-2) said the bill builds on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and would codify the U.S. Forest Service’s 10-year wildfire strategy to increase the scale of forest management projects by authorizing additional projects in the plan and expanding watershed management projects.
Neguse also sponsored the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act—the first title in the omnibus bill—that would establish a minimum pay for federal firefighters and provide hazardous duty pay and mental leave for firefighters.
“Wildland firefighters ought to be fairly compensated, as they are woefully, woefully under-compensated,” Neguse said at the hearing. “While we made some progress in the infrastructure bill, there remains much more to be done.”
Neguse said the bill is “an ambitious effort” supported by dozens of members from both parties, and he realizes “some of his colleagues across the aisle will push back against this effort.”
“I believe it meets the priorities of many members, in particular from the West, and really meets this critical moment to address the devastating wildfires and drought conditions that we’re continuing to experience,” Neguse said.
Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-OR-2) criticized the bill, calling it “a Democratic wish list” that authorizes $4 billion for unnecessary studies that do not deliver water to communities, do not give firefighters raises and place regulatory burdens on agencies.
Bentz said the bill would require the development of a new 10-year strategy to address wildfires and forest management that would divert USFS from mitigation that needs to be completed.
“The bill includes no streamlining provisions that address the root causes of catastrophic wildfires, which are bureaucratic red tape, analysis, paralysis and failure to implement scientific forest management on the landscape,” Bentz said. “The bill fails to address frivolous litigation, which is allowing rogue environmental groups to tie a critical forest management project across the country.”
Bentz said the firefighter pay parity mandate could have the unintended consequences of causing the federal government to cut firefighter positions if appropriations don’t keep up with the requirement.
Bentz said the amendments offered by the Republicans would offer some solutions to the bill.
Over 75 amendments to the bill were introduced, most of which were blocked by the Rules Committee.
Amendments offered by Bentz and other Republican representatives would roll back regulations under the Endangered Species Act to those under the Trump administration, expand the categorical exclusion for forest management from 3,000 acres to 10,000 acres, and include a program to improve wildfire forecasting and detection.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1) proposed several amendments that would streamline the process of forest and vegetation management and would make certain reconsultation requirements related to endangered species inapplicable to land and resource management plans. LaMalfa also proposed for states to substitute their own environmental laws for the National Environmental Policy Act.
To help combat drought, Republican lawmakers offered amendments that would make it easier to build desalination plants and prohibit the Department of the Interior from confiscating excess water from Lake Mead. Several Republicans also offered projects to increase water storage, including $700 million for the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act and an extension of the act for one year.
Instead, the House will consider an amendment from California Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-23) and Connie Conway (R-22) authorizing a grant program to improve the water supply for rural communities experiencing drinking water shortages, as well as an amendment by Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA-8) to expand pre- and post-fire weather assessments to include identification of data collection gaps, accuracy and efficiency of fire weather forecasting.
Rep. Raъl Grijalva (D-AZ-3), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, submitted a manager’s amendment to conduct studies on agricultural losses due to adverse weather events that have occurred in 2022, the use of Chinook helicopters to respond to wildfires, and how to reduce the evaporation of water at Bureau of Reclamation facilities. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
