"Isn't that part of the Forest Service's problem, their ineptness with the bureaucracy?"
"It is time for a paradigm shift in restoring our landscape so that national forests can once again meet the purposes for which they were established."
"We need to remove the volume of fuels that these forests are adding to themselves at a rate of 30% each year."
"We need to thin the trees. We do not need more 'experiments' or more 'pilots' to tell us what the problem is."
"I thank Mr. Tipton and Mr. Gosar for their hard work, as well as Ranking Member Markey for his recognition of the need for a more active approach to our forest resources."
"First, my thoughts and prayers continue to go out to our constituents who have suffered from catastrophic wildfires."
"It is clear that the process of planning, studying, consulting, litigating, appealing, and collaborating are failing us in our forests."
"Our ecosystems are suffocating."
"Our forests have been mismanaged for a long time, and it is way past due to change our strategy."
"I thank Chairman Bishop for holding today's hearing and for cosponsoring my bill, the Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2012 (H.R. 5744)."
"Our ecosystems are suffocating. Where we once had 10 to 25 trees per acre, we now have hundreds."
"The current federal system continues to prioritize fighting fires. Although the need to suppress fires is never going to go away, we must shift priority towards pro-active management."