Political Quotes

“I really appreciate the gentleman's efforts to be able to highlight the threat from wildfires that we are having in the West. Mr. Speaker, in recent weeks, the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have dominated our news cycles. Our hearts certainly go out to the people who have been impacted as they rebuild their lives and continue to work to ensure that they have the resources they need. When we hear the term ``natural disaster,'' most of us probably think of hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes. Unless you come from the Western United States, you probably don't think of wildfires as a natural disaster. But they are, and they have devastating effects. Wildfire season is a part of life in the West, but this year's fire season is shaping up to be the worst in history. Years of mismanagement of our national forests have led to conditions where fires are burning longer and hotter than ever before. We need to address this problem on two fronts: one, through better forest management; and, two, by updating wildfire response so it is more in line with the Federal response to other natural disasters. On the forest management front, we need to give the Forest Service the tools to engage in actual forest management.…”