Frank Pallone: “Once again, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. McNerney). Mr. McNERNEY. Mr.…”

“Once again, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. McNerney). Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1289, the PHONE Act. As we stand here today, two new, fast-moving wildfires, the Glass and the Zogg fires, are blazing through my home State of California. Thousands of people had to evacuate their homes yesterday as a result of the fires, some of them in the middle of the night. Since the beginning of this year, there have been over 8,100 wildfires that have burned well over 3.7 million acres in California alone. Nearly every part of the State has been ravaged by wildfires this year, and we are now only starting to approach what has historically been the most deadly and destructive part of wildfire season. Worrying about deadly wildfires spreading quickly is the new norm that my constituents now live in, and worrying about whether they will have to evacuate their homes is part of this new norm. Because of this legislation that we are considering today, the PHONE Act, which I am proud to cosponsor, my constituents, Californians, and Americans across the country who are impacted all too frequently now by natural disasters due to climate change will have to worry about one less thing when they are forced to evacuate their homes, and that is the ability to keep their phone numbers.…”