Political Quotes

“Firefighter safety is their highest priority. In fact, the 1995 Federal Fire Policy sets the order of priorities for wildland firefighters as, number one, public and firefighter safety; number two, protection of resources; number three, protection of property. The safety, health, and welfare of firefighters and the general public are becoming increasingly linked to the decline in the health of forested ecosystems. The most effective means of reducing burgeoning fire suppression costs, protecting community values, restoring forest and grassland health, and improving firefighter safety is an aggressive fuel treatment program. How land managers apply the fuels reduction program will have the greatest impact on the safety of wildland firefighters. Threats to human life are compounded by the fact that more and more people are living in homes near fire-prone forests, placing themselves and the firefighters who try to protect them at greater risk. My amendment allows the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to develop and distribute information on the importance of clearing biomass from Federal lands.”