Matt Rosendale: “I thank Representative Newhouse for chairing the Western Caucus and bringing this very important issue and lawsuit to…”

“I thank Representative Newhouse for chairing the Western Caucus and bringing this very important issue and lawsuit to light. Let me begin by quoting President Dwight Eisenhower when he said farming looks mighty easy when you live a thousand miles away from a cornfield and use a pencil for a plow. The problem that we face on a regular basis across our Nation is that far too many individuals who are completely removed from the issues are making decisions about how to address them. This is exactly the case when we look at the current lawsuit against the United States Forest Service. First, let's shed a little bit of light on the litigants, the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics. As Representative Newhouse described them, the FSEEE is not a group of Forest Service employees. They are a radical group out of Oregon whose goal is to stop humans from properly managing forests while lining their own pockets with taxpayer dollars after a settlement. The result? Severe air and water quality degradation and the risk of thousands of lives and livelihoods. Fire retardant is a vital and effective tool for Montanans and rural communities, slowing the spread of fires and minimizing damage. Wildfires burned more than 7.5 million acres across the United States in 2022. This number could easily be doubled or tripled if not for the use of safe and effective fire retardants that the litigants are suing to prohibit the use of.…”