On the recordSeptember 17, 2020
It is wonderful to see the gentleman in the Chair. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, a month ago yesterday, a siege of lightning strikes ignited the CZU Lightning Complex fire in my congressional district, and it is now the 10th most destructive wildlife in California's history. Over the past month, the fire has destroyed nearly a thousand homes in my district and forced 77,000 of my constituents to evacuate. Thanks to the extraordinary--and I mean, extraordinary work--of thousands of first responders, the fire is now over 90 percent contained. As we work toward recovery, much of the Bay Area and the entire western United States is still breathing the toxic smoke from these fires, which can have lasting effects and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases and have a terrible impact on children whose lungs are still developing. Congress should immediately pass my legislation, the Smoke Planning and Research Act to help local governments address this public health crisis. I am also calling on Congress to pass the WIRED Act to allow States to require wireless companies to deploy infrastructure that is resilient enough to support cell phone networks during disasters. ____________________
