Jim Costa: “I thank my friend and colleague from Minnesota, Congressman Peterson, for yielding this time. It is clear, I think, for…”

“I thank my friend and colleague from Minnesota, Congressman Peterson, for yielding this time. It is clear, I think, for everybody in this Chamber to know how devastating the fires have been, not only in California over the last recent weeks but throughout the West, and it has been this way for several years. It is long overdue for Congress to address the many issues facing our forests under Federal management, and that is what this legislation attempts to do. Years of mismanagement have contributed to the rise of catastrophic wildfires, not only in my home State of California but throughout the West. The heart of the problem is simple: money that Congress has allocated to prevent wildfires has been used instead to put them out. Now, there are other factors involved as well to be sure, but for years what we have done with densely overgrown forests that need managing is we have set ourselves up to allow these densely overgrown forests to be the subject of very destructive fires if something should go wrong; and, of course, we have lightning strikes and we have other natural conditions that cause these fires. This year alone, the United States Forest Service has spent about $2.4 billion on putting out fires and has transferred nearly $576 million from management activities. These management activities would go to thinning the forests and to allow for better overall growth. This would be a preventive means to decrease the ability of these fires to grow.…”