Political Quotes

“I rise in opposition to the planned reorganization of the Forest Service, which will mean the relocation or closure of dozens of Forest Service offices. The Forest Service is an agency many of us don't think about, but it does so much important work that impacts our lives every day. They protect national forests, wildlife diversity, and watersheds. They lead the fight against forest fire and promote fire prevention. They research forest health and manage 193 million acres of land. We already know that these relocations and closures of Forest Service offices will be a disaster, because the first Trump administration relocated just three offices, which resulted in the largest loss of productivity and staffing in recent history for that agency. That is just three offices. Imagine moving the entire headquarters, which is 260 employees. Those folks, some of whom are my constituents, would have to choose between their jobs or uprooting their lives and their families. The administration also wants to close 57 of 77 Forest Service research facilities. This will slow down or end research on wildfire prevention, logging techniques, endangered species research, and climate change response. I could keep going. This is irresponsible, given the record temperatures we are seeing every year and the once-in-a-lifetime droughts and floods that are happening every few years.”