Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 1567 introduced by my colleague from Wisconsin, Representative Tiffany. The United States Forest Service manages millions of acres of forestland, including vital watersheds, critical wildlife habitat, and countless outdoor recreational areas. The Forest Service's 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy Implementation Plan stresses the importance of fire-adapted landscapes and hazardous fuel treatments to build resilient forests. Wildfire risk reduction projects are complex multistep processes requiring significant planning and investments often carried out over several years. Therefore, it is important that we receive accurate, transparent, and accessible data on how forest management projects are being planned and implemented. This legislation would require the agency to include a report in the President's annual budget on hazardous fuel activities carried out in a given fiscal year to account for each treated acre. This ongoing reporting requirement will enhance transparency and accountability, providing critical information that can help guide investments in management of our national forests--including how we deploy our historic investments in wildfire risk reduction efforts that were included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and in the Inflation Reduction Act. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.”