Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I am introducing the Clean Air Refugee Assistance Act of 2018 to help Americans who have been driven away from their homes by choking, hazardous wildfire smoke. Western wildfires are getting bigger, hotter, and more difficult to fight and scientists says it's only likely to get worse. Folks back home in Oregon and across the Pacific Northwest already know what I'm talking about because they're on the front lines of these disasters. With dryer summers and lower snow packs, wildfires rage across the West. They're threatening lives, homes, and businesses and generating so much smoke that they're creating what I call clean air refugees. These are people who can't go outside and, in some cases, who must flee their homes and communities to find pockets of fresh air. I'm talking about children suffering from asthma and other conditions and seniors who need a respirator to breathe. In some cases, Oregonians lacking access to safe, clean air are being told to seek shelter in public places like libraries and government buildings. My legislation would help provide some relief by opening the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Transitional Sheltering Assistance program to people seeking temporary shelter from wildfire smoke. This program already permits FEMA to pay for temporary lodging for people who can't immediately return home following a disaster.…”