Jeff Denham: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of H.R. 1873, the Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of H.R. 1873, the Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection Act. In California, we know all too well the disastrous effects of wildfires. Reducing the threat of wildfires requires numerous proactive efforts, including the timely removal of fire hazards. My colleague, Mr. LaMalfa, has identified a solution to help improve fire hazard removal on Federal lands and prevent electrical blackouts. There are more than 18,000 miles of power lines on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land, and these transmission lines, running along electricity rights-of-way, are critical to the power distribution in the West. The costs of operating and maintaining these transmission rights-of- way are borne by utility companies, but approval for companies to remove the fire hazards comes from the Forest Service. Currently, it takes the Forest Service months to grant approval to remove a dead tree. H.R. 1873 addresses this issue by allowing utility companies to remove fire risks in a timely manner and ensuring we are being responsible stewards of our Federal lands. The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.”