John Barrasso: “I would just like to say a few words, if I may, about the Senate passing S. 1553. In Wyoming, we refer to it as the…”

“I would just like to say a few words, if I may, about the Senate passing S. 1553. In Wyoming, we refer to it as the RANCH Act, and that stands for Resiliency for Ranching and Natural Conservation Health. This is an important piece of legislation for my home State of Wyoming and for all Western States. Livestock grazing plays a critical role in my State of Wyoming and in a lot of the Rocky Mountain West. It is important to maintain rangeland health, and this is what this bill does. This also supports ranchers' livelihoods. Natural disasters and emergencies occur. They can have a huge impact on so many of our rural communities. In fact, this past summer, we had significant wildfires, and this is just one example of how bad it can get and how quickly. So when ranchers face the loss of the use of their normal public land allotments for grazing, they do need access to emergency pastures in a timely manner for their animals to continue to graze. So the RANCH Act allows for temporary use of vacant grazing allotments during extreme events and disasters, which, regrettably, happen more frequently than we would like. This bill promotes resilient and healthy rangelands. It also supports effective grazing management for the West. The RANCH Act is going to provide land management agencies the authorities that they need to help ranchers and rural communities facing emergency situations. I am so pleased it has passed the Senate today by unanimous consent.…”