Bruce Westerman: “I thank the gentleman not only for yielding me time but for bringing another commonsense and good amendment that makes…”

“I thank the gentleman not only for yielding me time but for bringing another commonsense and good amendment that makes H.R. 1 even a better bill. As he mentioned, similar provisions were enacted in 2018 to allow electric transmission or distribution facility operators to remove hazard trees that can threaten infrastructure and start a catastrophic wildfire. That is what this amendment was built on. Madam Chair, I have been to California. I have been to South Lake Tahoe. I have seen the efforts and the fruits of the labor in the field from the work of my colleague from California (Mr. LaMalfa) and our colleague Mr. McClintock, who worked so hard to be able to get this provision in previous legislation. This has been used to thin the timber on power lines. Actually, these provisions have helped stop wildfires from spreading. This works. This should be added to, and we should be doing it everywhere we can to prevent these catastrophic wildfires like the folks in California and other parts of the West see all too often. Madam Chair, I support this amendment, and I encourage everyone else to support it.”