Political Quotes

“today I am introducing the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2013 to end the destructive cycle of underfunding wildfire prevention and then having to spend even greater amounts fighting wildfires than if our forests were properly managed. For some time now, our country has witnessed tragic wildfire seasons that have put American lives and our treasured public lands in harm's way. Sadly, this year 19 firefighters lost their lives fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. Due to climate change, drought, and other factors, the risks from these infernos are likely to increase in the future. Federal fire suppression spending has increased substantially over the past 20 years. In the case of the Forest Service, the proportion of their budget devoted to wildland fire management has increased steadily from 13 percent of the total budget in 1991 to 41 percent of the budget in 2013. Most recent fire seasons have cost upwards of $1 billion, compared to $200 million in the 1990's. This leads to an unfortunate new reality: our Forest Service is turning into the Fire Service. In 8 of the past 10 years, the Forest Service has exceeded its budget for wildfire suppression, requiring the agency to conduct what is known as ``fire borrowing'' to cover wildfire suppression costs. ``Fire robbery'' would be a more accurate term because in many cases, the borrowed funds are never repaid.…”