Drought in the Western United States

Floor Speech

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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, joining my colleagues concerned about drought conditions ravaging America and wildfires devastating my district and the West.

Whether it be northern Minnesota, California, Oregon, Colorado, or Idaho, we have a wildfire problem. The Superior National Forest in my district is boreal forest land nestled among thousands of acres of lakes and rivers.

With these water resources, wildfires should be few and far between. Instead, we are seeing new fires starting and expanding more frequently than ever.

Our hotshot teams and firefighters are doing an excellent job, but they fight a losing battle just like they do out West.

According to my good friend and one of Congress' foremost leaders on wildfire issues, Representative LaMalfa, there are three factors causing fires: topography, weather, and forest management. Humans can control only one of those, and that is forest management.

Our loggers do an excellent job when they are allowed. They take down dead trees, clear slash piles when possible, and benefit forest health by working collaboratively with other stakeholders to plant three trees for every one taken, when they are allowed.

But far too often they aren't allowed. Radical activist groups sue at every turn when our loggers are trying to clear trees.

Democrats continue to insist that more and more Federal lands be taken away from management, and instead they let fuel build up on our forest floor.

Meanwhile, the ongoing drought crisis suffocates everyone. In northern Minnesota we have farmers driving a day's journey to spend too much on hay just so their livestock can survive one more year.

I feel for my colleagues out West, too, as they struggle with drought-caused water shortages.

Instead, activists, once again, sue at every turn and lobby their Democrat party allies to shut down responsible stewardship of water in the West.

And what has the Democrat majority done? Nothing. Not a single hearing on drought or wildfire held in the Natural Resources Committee or in the House Agriculture Committee.

There have been no Democrat solutions offered, only silence. At best, we get the canned talking points on why logging is bad for the environment or why we need to stop managing our land.

And on the other hand, Republicans have offered solutions and provided resources to our constituents struggling with drought and wildfire.

As a vice chair of the Congressional Western Caucus and ranking member of a House Natural Resources subcommittee, I can say that I am proud of our Republican actions. We have introduced legislation that would empower forest management and deliver water, our most precious resource, to those that need it in the West.

We have held the administration accountable on their inaction by sending letters and grilling radical nominees opposed to any kind of development. We have moderated forums and listened to the needs of those who live and work in the affected communities.

Mr. Speaker, let's control what we can control.

Just listen to our resident forester, Ranking Member Westerman: We need to manage our forests, and that means our loggers clearing trees. It is good for our economy, our community, and our forests. We need to provide water resources so our Western agriculture producers can survive.

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