Patrick Leahy: “The people of my State of Vermont, and Americans across the Nation, mourn with our colleagues, Senator Feinstein and…”

“The people of my State of Vermont, and Americans across the Nation, mourn with our colleagues, Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer, and with the people of California, over the tragic loss of life and property from the wildfires in San Diego County. Today, we lost a firefighter from Novato, CA. These brave men and women on the front lines need to be recognized first in this debate. Our hearts go out to the firefighters' families and friends. We have all been riveted by the vivid images we have watched, day after day, and by the heart-wrenching stories of loss and of bravery that go with these pictures. Our hearts go out to all of these families that have lost so much. And our thanks go out to the courageous and diligent firefighters and emergency response team members who are fighting those fires and are doing all they can to protect these communities. Here in the Congress, we need to do more to protect forests and communities from wildfires. That is why I introduced the Forest and Community Protection Act this summer. This is a bill and an approach that would make a real difference for communities facing this kind of potential devastation. The bill before us now, unfortunately, would not offer the same level of help.”