Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2921, the National Forest System Vegetation Management Pilot Program Act of 2017. This legislation authorizes the U.S. Forest Service to create a pilot program to assist in the management of our Federal forests to reduce wildfire risk and associated costs. These management pilot projects are approved by the Forest Service, but will be conducted and paid for by the private sector. This collaborative approach will ensure a more stable power grid for Americans in rural areas. Deteriorating forest health is a problem felt across the United States, particularly in the West. This has resulted in increased fire threats to the electric transmission and associated utility infrastructures across the Forest Service land. The Government Accountability Office has found that fuel reduction treatment projects reduce flammable vegetation, minimize the severity of wildland fires, create landscape resiliency to fire, and provide firefighter access during fire suppression activities. Utility infrastructure destroyed by a fire or a fallen dead tree is costly to repair or replace, and outages can result in significant economic costs to businesses and homes. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to allow utilities to collaborate with the Forest Service to keep the lights on in rural communities, and I reserve the balance of my time.”