Providing for Further Consideration of H.R. National Defense
Floor Speech
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Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, the combination of the late hour together with too much time to talk led to a really foolish discussion from my colleague on the right.
This issue is of paramount importance to the military. I am just going to cite three, four instances in which climate and resiliency have impacted the military.
Let's talk about Tyndall Air Force Base. It was literally wiped off the map by a hurricane. It would have been good to have some coordination.
How about Camp Lejeune, another $2 billion problem, excessive rain and flood.
Let's talk about China Lake, another $3 billion problem. We can go on and on.
The fact of the matter is that climate changes are dramatically affecting the military, and to have coordination from the White House with the entire economy and the entire community of America focusing on this issue is a direct problem that must be addressed, and the NDAA is the place to do it.
This amendment, 216, is cosponsored by Ms. Jacobs of California and Ms. Lofgren of California, it is part of my Military Support for Fighting Wildfires Act.
I think all of us are aware we have plenty of fires and we often do not have enough firefighters. From time to time, the military can play a very significant, important, and vital role in fighting fires.
This amendment essentially waives the current requirements for FEMA and the Federal land management agencies--BLM, the Forest Service, and the National Parks--to reimburse the Department of Defense for costs incurred by the military during support for disaster response to major fires.
Right now, the Economy Act of 1933 forces one government agency requesting services from another government agency to essentially sign a blank check for an unknown amount of money before they know the full scope of services that may be required.
This reimbursement under the Economy Act does not cost the taxpayers any extra money, it is an accounting between one agency and another, trying to keep their books straight. And we have already heard enough about the inability of the Department of Defense to keep its books straight.
I want to make sure that Federal agencies are focusing on firefighting and using every available government resource to accomplish a successful fight and not have to worry about the needless pencil-pushing back and forth between agencies, and what might ultimately turn out to be a very significant amount of money, unknown at the outset when the service is requested.
It is pretty simple. We are trying to make sure that we have maximum services available. Presently, an agency that might need help from the military might not even ask for it for fear that they might wind up with a very, very serious account to be filled.
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Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, enough has been said, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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