Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4866, the Fire Weather Development Act of 2024, offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Mike Garcia), my friend and colleague on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to improve the forecasting and detection of fire weather as well as increase collaboration with State and local partners to predict and fight fires. Just over a month ago, the largest wildfire in U.S. history burned over a million acres in the Texas Panhandle and parts of my district in western Oklahoma. The Smokehouse Creek fire, as it is now known, was the result of extremely dry and windy conditions that saw a half million acres burn within 24 hours of the fire's start. With two fatalities, along with hundreds of homes and thousands of cattle lost, the effects of this fire will be felt in this region of our country for many years. If it wasn't for a shift in wind direction at just the right time, my property would have been a part of that destruction. At home, I had to take the precaution of moving cattle into fields that were less likely to burn, if the fire kept coming our way. Looking back on this event today, there is one good thing we can take from it: We know with certainty that the National Weather Service has the tools and capability for fire weather forecasting and prediction that can protect lives and property.…”