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Polis, Ruiz Wildfire Disaster Relief Bill Passes House

Press Release

Date: March 1, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security

Yesterday, Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02) and Dr. Raul Ruiz (CA-36) passed key provisions of the Wildfire Prevention Act of 2015, in the broader Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Assistance Reform Act. The FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015 was a bipartisan piece of legislation that would authorize $947 million annually from fiscal 2016 through 2018 for all disasters. The Wildfire Prevention Act included in this comprehensive legislation, acknowledges wildfires as an eligible incident for "post-disaster' mitigation resources.

"Under current law, wildfires are not considered natural disasters, which makes it impossible for communities to drawdown federal resources to control and respond to these devastating catastrophes," said Polis. "I'm relieved to see this common-sense solution pass the House, and thankful that neighborhoods around Summit County, Boulder, and Fort Collins devastated by wildfires can now access the necessary funds they need to recover."


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