Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (AR-04) and Western Caucus Vice Chair Tom Tiffany (WI-07) reacted to the Trump Administration’s wildfire prevention and response Executive Order.
“As peak wildfire season continues, President Trump is continuing to take decisive action to increase preparedness to combat these preventable disasters,” said Chairman LaMalfa. “By consolidating Federal wildland fire programs between agencies and increasing Federal and local partnerships, every firefighter will be part of a stronger and better coordinated response. The President’s action also modernizes the tools available to predict and detect wildfires, which will not only hasten reaction times but also enhance preparation and prevention efforts. Strengthening State and local response, and land management practices will decrease future out of control fires. I look forward to seeing implementation of this Executive Order.”
“Today's executive order will help improve forest management and modernize wildland firefighting, enhancing the federal government’s ability to combat catastrophic wildfires,” said Chairman Westerman. “Increasing collaboration between state and federal agencies, using innovative technologies and eliminating inefficiencies are cornerstones of both this executive order and the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act. I'd like to thank President Trump for his leadership on this issue, and I look forward to working on more ways we can make our forests healthier and more resilient to fire.”
“We can’t keep repeating the same failed forest management approach and expect different results,” said Vice Chair Tiffany. “With this executive order, President Trump is giving land managers the authority to do their jobs and cutting through red tape so we can finally clear out dead trees and reduce wildfire risk.”
Background
President Trump’s Executive Order on Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response:
Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to consolidate the agencies’ wildland fire programs.
Improves Federal partnerships and supports State and local preparedness, response and prevention efforts.
Enhances State and local wildfire identification and response capabilities by directing the use of available technologies.
Directs Federal agencies to modify rules to make it easier to facilitate fire-retardant use, preventative prescribed fires, and fuel reduction methods.
Prioritizes the sale of excess aircraft and parts at the Department of Defense for aerial firefighting efforts.
