Mike Thompson: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, many of my colleagues have asked, because of the recent fires in my…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, many of my colleagues have asked, because of the recent fires in my district, how I will be voting on this measure today. Well, I am a ``no.'' My district experienced the worst wildfires in California history. Fires burned close to 300,000 acres, killed 43 people, forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate, decimated some 7,000 homes, and left 10,000 people homeless in the city of Santa Rosa alone. Our fires didn't burn Forest Service lands and they didn't start on public land, so nothing in this bill that we are discussing here today could have prevented the devastation in my district. I agree that we should be doing more to prepare for catastrophic fire events, but this bill doesn't achieve that goal. Instead, it guts longstanding protections and fails to fix the budgetary issues that plague fire management. In fact, this bill could make things worse by creating more red tape for agencies when they are actively responding to wildfires. That is why I joined Representative Huffman to introduce an amendment that would have more directly addressed the risk of wildfires.…”