Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018
Floor Speech
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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer a commonsense amendment that will empower local communities by allowing counties to be included in Good Neighbor Authority cooperative agreements and contracts in order to improve forest health and bolster watershed restoration.
The base farm bill reauthorizes Good Neighbor Authority through fiscal year 2023 and contains a provision that allows tribal governments to be eligible to enter into Good Neighbor Authority cooperative agreements and contracts. Our amendment simply builds on that commonsense provision by also authorizing counties to be eligible for Good Neighbor Authority.
Good Neighbor Authority projects have been remarkably successful. From 2002 to 2013, 63 projects treated more than 4,100 acres in Colorado and Utah. These worthwhile treatments mitigated the threat of catastrophic wildfire, reduced flooding, enhanced forest health, and improved water quality.
Counties on both sides of the aisle requested this amendment and new authority.
The problem in Coconino County, a liberal county represented by my colleague Mr. O'Halleran, is that the wood is low-value timber, so they can't attract private industry to thin their forest for pending work they need completed.
Counties want to do this type of work themselves or find a contractor if the Federal Government won't treat their forests. All that is missing is the authorization from Congress.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is already entering into cooperative agreements with counties to partner in the management of Wisconsin County Forests, and it is working for them as well.
Some counties have actual foresters or other land management professionals on staff. These are not limited specifically to large counties either. For example, Adams County, Idaho, population of 4,000, has a natural resources committee that is chaired by a retired Forest Service employee who also serves on the local forest collaborative.
Coconino County has a forest restoration director who would be in charge of these county Good Neighbor Authority agreements. This is a director-level executive position that reports directly to the deputy county manager.
While some counties will likely contract with outside entities to perform the work, county contracts will be overseen by someone such as an auditor or a clerk.
The National Association of Counties supports this amendment, stating, ``NACo stands ready to work with you to promote locally supported, consensus-driven solutions to address forest management challenges and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. NACo encourages the United States House of Representatives to adopt your amendment to H.R. 2 and give counties the opportunity to assist our Federal partners to make our national forests healthy again.''
In addition to NACo, I am also honored to have the support of the National Water Resources Association, the Arizona Association of Conservation Districts, the Salt River Project, the Colorado Pork Producers Council, and more than 20 other local and national organizations and elected officials.
I urge all of my colleagues in the House to support this commonsense amendment that will empower bipartisan communities throughout the country, improve forest health, and bolster watershed restoration.
Again, this is an authorization, not a requirement. It puts more power into the hands of local communities who need the work done but have nowhere to turn under the status quo.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Gianforte), my good friend and colleague, who is a cosponsor of this amendment.
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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my good friend and colleague Congressman Gianforte's wildfire salvage operations amendment. I am glad that, with the farm bill package, we have the opportunity to look at the forest industry and wildfire issues from all sides.
This amendment is part and parcel of a broader wildfire strategy that requires proactive action from Congress for the steps before, during, and after wildfires are expected. Specifically, this amendment will ensure that the National Forest System forest is cleared and replanted if a catastrophic wildfire chars it to the ground.
Our National Forest System lands will be rehabilitated after wildfire devastates them, but in a way consistent with forest plans. That way, the ecosystem of the new forest will have better management and be less susceptible to another large-scale burn-down event.
This is a forward-thinking amendment to fix a backwards system we have devised in Congress, and I urge Members to vote for this demonstration that shows Congress isn't willing to just give up and let our forest system lands be catastrophically burnt.
Mr. Chair, I applaud Representative Gianforte for his strong leadership and tireless efforts to reduce the threat of dangerous wildfires. I urge adoption of this commonsense amendment.
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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by my good friend and colleague, Mr. Westerman.
The United States is about to embark on yet another year of ravaging catastrophic wildfire. I say ``embark'' because this is ultimately a choice. While some amount of summer wildfire is to be expected during the heat of summer, the devastation we have seen in recent years is unprecedented.
2017 was one of the worst wildfire seasons on record. More than 58,000 fires burned more than 9.2 million acres. The Forest Service spent more than $2.5 billion on suppression costs this fiscal year alone, a new record.
These expenditures and destruction coincide perfectly with Congress' dereliction of its duty to ensure our land management agencies are equipped with the tools and authorities to properly manage our forests. Congress has provided some legislative fixes this year, but I think every Member understands full well we shouldn't pat ourselves on the back just yet.
As the coming months will demonstrate, we and, by extension, the American taxpayer are still on the hook here. We are susceptible to years more of supermassive fire blanketing the country unless we build on our progress.
Mr. Westerman's amendment here does just that. It will require the government to holistically evaluate the impacts of its forestry decisions on overall forest health. By requiring the costs of inaction to be weighed, the Forest Service will have to demonstrate its decisions are ultimately in a forest's interest.
Mr. Chair, I applaud Mr. Westerman for his strong leadership and tireless efforts to improve a failing system that we have inherited.
Mr. Chair, I urge the adoption of the commonsense amendment
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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my good friend and colleague Congressman LaMalfa's amendment.
The amendment aims to streamline a bureaucratic process that is hampering broadband infrastructure development in rural America.
As chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus and Representative for Arizona's Fourth Congressional District, I can tell you that this problem is all too real in the communities that I represent.
Many families and businesses in the West still lack basic broadband. According to a November 2017 Brookings Institution study, more than 50 percent of my district live in neighborhoods without an available broadband connection. Many of you all will find this hard to believe, but a huge chunk of my district has no social media platform whatsoever.
Closing the broadband availability gap should be a priority for all Members of Congress. Doing so will create jobs, improve education, and grow our economy.
I applaud Representative LaMalfa for his leadership and tireless efforts to close the broadband availability gap, and I urge adoption of this excellent amendment.
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