Asst. Leader Neguse Joins Colleagues in Introducing First of its Kind Bipartisan Bill to Tackle Western Wildfire Crisis
Washington, D.C. — House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse, Co-Chair and Founder of the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus, joined Representatives Josh Harder (D-CA) and Scott Franklin (R-FL) in introducing a first-of-its-kind bill to modernize how the United States combats the wildfire crisis. The Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act is a landmark piece of legislation, marking the first time the Federal Government has taken an all-the-above approach to dealing with the wildfire crisis by modernizing existing fire prevention efforts and responding directly to the needs of firefighters, wildfire experts, and public health officials.
“From Colorado to California, wildfires have become a pervasive issue across the West – and with these disasters taking place year round, it’s time for a bold approach to equip our communities with the tools they need to mitigate against the impacts of these fires. I am proud to co-lead the Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act, a legislative proposal that truly invests in wildfire mitigation and resiliency, our wildland firefighting workforce, and helping communities recover,” said House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse.
“Last week a wildfire came within a mile of my home. More than 14,000 acres burned and 400 firefighters risked their lives to contain it. We no longer have a wildfire season in California – it’s a year-round crisis. We cannot wait another day to tackle this threat,” said Rep. Harder. “Alongside our bipartisan partners, we’ve put together a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive bill to finally fight this crisis head-on. Our families and our communities are counting on us to get this bill passed.”
“As a father of a wildland firefighter, I’m pleased to join Reps. Harder and Neguse to modernize and innovate our approach to wildfire management,” said Rep. Franklin. “This comprehensive package will invest in new wildfire mitigation technologies and ensure permanent solutions to current and future workforce challenges.”
The Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act takes a four-part approach to combating the dangerous rise in megafires:
- Combat firefighter shortages by establishing a new Middle Fire Leaders Academy and grant programs to train and hire more firefighters;
- Retain expert wildland firefighters with increased benefits and better working conditions;
- Improve fire response time with updated technology like developing risk maps and establishing the Joint Office of Fire Environment Center; and
- Address the public health crisis caused by wildfire smoke by establishing a nationwide real-time air quality monitoring and alert system.
The Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act was written in response to the independent Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission’s 148-page report recommending policies to end the wildfire crisis. Reps. Greg Stanton (AZ-4), Mike Thompson (CA-4), John Garamendi (CA-8), and Val Hoyle (OR-4) are also original co-sponsors of this bill.
A one-pager on the Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act is available here and the full bill text is available here.
Background
Since first taking office, Congressman Neguse has worked tirelessly to bring federal resources home to communities recovering from wildfire and to advocate for increased support for wildland firefighters, wildfire mitigation, wildfire prevention, and forest management. Earlier this year, Rep. Neguse successfully secured an extension of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law pay increase for federal wildland firefighters. He continues to advocate for a permanent extension of this increase through his bipartisan, bicameral bill, the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act.
Additionally, Congressman Neguse has introduced numerous bills in the House of Representatives meant to directly benefit communities in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District that have been impacted by the Western wildfire crisis, including a monumental legislative package composed of over 50 stand-alone bills all focused on tackling wildfires, boosting firefighter pay, and funding resiliency.
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