Newhouse Applauds House Passage of Bipartisan Bill Addressing Wildfires

Statement

Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) applauded House passage of H.R. 2936, Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017. Rep. Newhouse cosponsored the bipartisan legislation to address the growing economic and environmental threats of catastrophic wildfire. This legislation would tackle the issue of fire borrowing and provide targeted forest management reforms to dramatically improve the health and resiliency of our nation's forests and rangelands. Rep. Newhouse said:

"My constituents know as well as anyone the immense threat that wildfires pose to local communities. In just the past four years, the 4th District, my district, has seen the two largest fires in Washington state history. We have lost hundreds of homes, business, and structures. My constituents are still struggling to recover from the Carlton Complex Fire in 2014 and the Okanogan Complex Fire from 2015. We lost three firefighters that year. That truly is a high cost. Active forest management is a matter of saving lives and livelihoods, of protecting our communities, and ensuring our constituents' healthy and safety, which is why I am proud to support this rule and the underlying legislation today."

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