Continental Divide Trail Completion Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. NEGUSE. 5118.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 5118, the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act. This legislation represents another major effort to act on climate by responding to record-setting wildfires and drought that are impacting communities across our country.

I represent Colorado's Second Congressional District, and it was barely over 6 months ago, in December, when the Marshall Fire burned through Boulder County and became the most destructive fire in Colorado history. The fire destroyed a 30-acre subdivision in a matter of hours; nearly 200 homes burned to the ground and caused over $1 billion in damages.

This comes on the heels of my district experiencing the first and second largest wildfires in the history of Colorado in Larimer and Grand Counties in 2020, and as parts of the western United States is currently experiencing their driest drought conditions in over 1,000 years.

Fires have become the primary occupation of so many of our offices. Countless constituents come to us, grieving the loss of their homes, but also seeking the resources that they deserve from the Federal Government. We have a duty to provide our constituents with the support that they need to rebuild and to recover.

The reality is that we are living with a new normal as climate change results in a hotter, drier, planet where historic drought and record- setting wildfires are not merely a possibility, but an inevitability. Wildfires no longer occur in a season, but throughout the entire year.

I am grateful to my colleagues, to Chairman Grijalva, Chairman Scott, Chairwoman Maloney, Chairwoman Johnson, Chairman DeFazio, Chairman Pallone, Chairman Nadler, Chairwoman Velazquez, Chairwoman Waters, Chairwoman Lofgren, and House leadership for helping bring this package to the floor. This is exactly the kind of response that our constituents desperately want to see from Congress.

H.R. 5118 provides a whole-of-government response to the droughts and the wildfires impacting American communities across the country, and it combines more than 50 standalone pieces of legislation originating from nine different House committees, including Republican and Democratic bills.

We began this important work last year, as my colleagues know, working with President Biden to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included historic investments to reduce wildfire risks, improve ecosystem resilience, and ensure reliable water supplies.

The Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act builds on those investments. It provides an increased starting wage for our brave and courageous Federal wildland firefighters. It invests in water security and in drought resilience and advancing wildfire science.

As climate-change-induced drought means long-term reductions in rain, snow, and necessary water supplies, this legislation invests in drought-proof water projects like water recycling, modern desalination, advancing water data management and technology, protecting and restoring ecosystems.

The bill also advances projects to deliver reliable water across Indian Country, including by incorporating key provisions from my bill, the Tribal Access to Clean Water Act. And it provides significant resources to prevent key Colorado River reservoirs from declining to critically low water levels, protecting the supplies of a river that 40 million Americans, 40 million, rely on.

H.R. 5118 also includes several other important pieces of legislation introduced by many Members in the body today. Provisions from Tim's Act, named after a heroic smoke jumper, Tim Hart, who tragically lost his life fighting a wildfire in New Mexico, would increase pay and benefits for Federal wildland firefighters, and that provision is part of this bill.

Finally, the bill includes provisions that would provide flexibility in Federal FEMA cost shares to support our local communities and to protect watersheds impacted by wildfire.

Madam Chair, this bill is a good bill, and it meets the moment for the American West. And for that reason, I will encourage my colleagues today to support it. I look forward to hearing from many of my colleagues who will speak on the bill.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Let me just say this: The gentleman is entitled to his own opinion but not to his own facts, and I take great umbrage at his reference to the word ``disgrace.''

He knows and my colleagues know just as well as anyone in this Chamber that the pay increase that was authorized by the bipartisan infrastructure law, which, by the way, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle voted against, all but 13 of them, that pay increase expires a year from now.

Every wildland firefighter in the United States will receive a pay diminution if this bill isn't passed, if we don't authorize the pay increases that are in this bill. It is a disgrace to suggest anything otherwise.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would, again, simply say the irony is rich. My colleagues will vote against the authorization for more wildland firefighter pay, and then when we fight for the appropriation, they will vote against it, too. So, it is a bit difficult to hear them make those claims.

I also would say that the 10-year Forest Service management plan is something we support, I support. I am glad to hear my colleagues support it because they all voted against it.

Literally, a year ago, when we passed a bill in this Chamber to authorize the Forest Service to spend $20 million to invest in forest management in Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada, where were they? They voted against it. Now, they claim to support it, yet they will vote against a bill that authorizes more projects along those same lines.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I have just a few key points.

First, I understand why there is some confusion on the other side regarding the firefighter pay provision because, again, my colleagues voted against increasing firefighter pay a year ago when the bipartisan infrastructure bill was before this body, so I understand that they are prepared to vote against it again.

I would just simply say with respect to the provisions of this bill, and whether they are bipartisan, partisan or not, I suspect that Representative LaMalfa, whose H.R. 4505 is in this bill, would disagree. I suspect H.R. 5345, a bill introduced by Mr. Moore which is also in this bill, I think tends to refute that fact.

Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton).

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford).

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I say thank you to my Republican colleague and neighbor from Utah and that we are glad we can get his bill into this important bipartisan Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act package.

Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran).

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I have great respect for my colleague from Washington, and we have worked together closely in the past.

I would just say that we are considering a number of amendments today, including an amendment from the Republican leader, Mr. McCarthy, who spent a great deal of time on the floor just a few moments ago talking about his particular amendment.

Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez).

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Chair, I thank Chairman Grijalva and everybody who has worked to bring this bill to the floor today.

A historic drought has forced ranchers in our parched Eastern Plains to sell their cattle early.

We don't collect and share data about our precious water resources with the ranchers, Tribes, and farmers who need it most.

Four brave firefighters lost their lives battling wildfires across my beautiful State. Five more people died in the fires and the floods from the burn scars. Today, I honor each of those nine souls and their grieving friends and family.

The Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act is like a gentle monsoon rain falling on our thirsty landscape. It brings real solutions to these problems.

It includes my Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon fire bill to compensate those who lost their ancestral homes, businesses, and ranches when the Forest Service started not one but two fires that became an inferno of destruction. These fires scorched 534 square miles of land in Mora, San Miguel, and Taos Counties.

When I visited the burn scar, Brandon Bustos, a third grader evacuated from his beloved village, said: ``Mora will be back. I guarantee it.'' He has not given up on his future. Neither have I, and neither have any of us who will vote for this bill because this bill will help Mora rebuild.

It will pay firefighters a minimum wage that is necessary because they risk their lives for us. It will invest in burn centers of excellence and the science, technology, and data sharing we need to build resiliency and make every precious drop of water count because agua es vida.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote for the bill today.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I would say first, we are glad that we got Mr. LaMalfa's H.R. 4505 into this bill, and I am looking forward to supporting it today. I have to, again, respond to this argument that has been made about the 10-year plan.

I would hope that my colleagues and I could agree to argue the merits of the bill based on the text of the bill. The bill makes clear that the activities that the Forest Service is mandated to implement include the Wildfire Crisis Landscape Investments plan titled: ``Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: Initial Landscape Investments to Protect Communities and Improve Resilience in American's Forests'' dated April 2002. What is that document? That is the 10-year plan that the Forest Service authorized that we voted for back last November. So this codifies that and builds upon it by giving the Forest Service more resources to do even more landscape restoration and forest management across the country.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Ruiz).

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta), who has become a real leader here in our caucus and in the Congress on forestry and forest management.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Chair, I thank the distinguished gentleman from Colorado for yielding, and I thank this body for recognizing the cruciality of where we are today as it relates to fires.

I know the gentleman's territory, but many people might not know that Texas also is impacted by wildfires. So, I rise in strong support for H.R. 5118, the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act for many reasons.

One, I support my firefighters. As anyone has seen firefighters who fight these fires being interviewed, they are in the midst of the fire. As anyone has heard the families that look and say there is nothing here; but for firefighters, I would not be here.

So Houston is no stranger to these weather conditions. Fifty-one trillion gallons of water fell from Hurricane Harvey, yet wildfires are another type of extreme weather that imperils our community, and it is attributable to climate change, as Hurricane Harvey was.

Wildfires are often unplanned fires, which burn in a natural area such as a forest. Along with the destruction and loss of forests caused by blazes, there are immediate and long-term environmental impacts that dramatically affect vital resources. Expanded areas of high-severity fire can impact tree regeneration, soil erosion, and water quality, and, yes, the quality of life. It can cause major destruction of property and loss of life, and this legislation is a recognition of attempting to address this question and address it now.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Chair, this bill would boost pay and benefits for firefighters, help the U.S. Forest Service fill gaps in fire management staff, expand forest management projects, and reduce hazardous fuels.

I ask my colleagues to support the underlying bill.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 5118, also known as the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act.

Climate change is the most important existential challenge of our lifetime. It is not simply an issue, but a threat with credible and uncompromising dangers to our world.

Climate change degrades living conditions, human security, and our government's ability to meet the basic needs of their populations.

For too many years, we have heard warnings from scientists regarding the danger to people if nothing is done to reverse the amounts of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

One of the most devastating consequences of climate change is the frequency and intensity of extreme weather disasters.

Houston is no stranger to these intense weather incidents. On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm hit Texas, causing $125 billion in damages and affecting over 13 million people from Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

Climatologists agree that global warming contributed to Hurricane Harvey's impact. Studies found the amount of rainfall was between 15 to 38 percent higher because of global warming.

Rising sea levels as a result of climate change also made flooding more likely near Gulf Coast cities. The sea levels around Houston were six inches higher than 20 years ago. This is partly because warmer global temperatures have been melting the ice caps in Antarctica. They have been shrinking at 1.6 meters per year, compared to 3.8 centimeters annually before 1992.

Global warming also stalled weather patterns in the region. That allowed Harvey to hover over Houston instead of moving back out into the ocean.

Wildfires are another type of extreme weather event that imperils many regions of the country. Wildfires are often unplanned fires which burn in a natural area such as a forest, grassland or prairie. They have devastating consequences on a region by decimating an environment, while weakening a community's health and economy.

Along with the destruction and loss of forest caused by blazes, there are immediate and long-term environmental impacts that dramatically affect vital resources. Expanded areas of high-severity fire can impact tree regeneration, soil erosion, and water quality.

Wildfires can affect the physical, chemical, and biological quality of streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs. These changes are noticeable for years and even decades after a fire.

The smoke from wildfires can cause eye and respiratory tract irritation and in more severe cases, reduced lung function, bronchitis, and an exacerbation of asthma and heart failure. Air pollution can spread up to thousands of miles away, not just in the surrounding region.

Property loss and damage is another consequence of wildfires. In 2020 alone, fires in the U.S. caused $21.9 billion in property damage. What's more, eight of the 10 costliest wildfires ever in the U.S. have taken place in the past five years.

Climate change exacerbates these conditions. Long periods of record high temperatures as a result of climate change intensify droughts that contribute to dry conditions and drive wildfires, which, in turn, reinforce the cycle of environmental peril.

Wildfire risk depends on a number of factors such as temperature, soil moisture, and the presence of trees, shrubs, and other potential fuel. All these factors have strong direct or indirect ties to climate variability and climate change.

Climate change enhances the drying of organic matter in forests (the material that burns and spreads wildfire) and has doubled the number of large fires between 1984 and 2015 in the western United States.

The stress that extreme weather is placing on the nation cannot be understated.

H.R. 5118 would boost pay and benefits for firefighters, help the U.S. Forest Service fill gaps in fire management staff, and expand forest management projects to reduce hazardous fuels.

The provisions and purpose of this bill are not new. Historically, Congress has made numerous investments to fight drought, wildfire and the climate crisis.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, passed in November 2021, dedicated $7.81 billion under Title VIII to the DOI and the Forest Service to reduce wildfire risk and support ecosystem restoration. In total, the bill allotted $3.369 billion aimed at reducing wildfire risks. This amount was allocated to supporting firefighters, research dedicated to risk mapping, satellite wildfire detection, etc.

The measure would provide $1.6 billion in annual spending on firefighter salaries and expenses at the Forest Service, and just under $2.4 billion annually for salaries and expenses for forest stewardship and management in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

Forest management projects, which mainly involve reducing hazardous fuels such as dead trees, are part of the bill, authorizing $500 million annually for that purpose. The Department of Agriculture would select up to 20 large, landscape-scale restoration projects over five years.

H.R. 5118 represents a continuation of bipartisan efforts to support the reduction of wildfire risk. It is essential in order to protect communities from the devastating consequences of wildfires and to actively fight against the impending climate crisis. The provisions within H.R. 5118 are essential to the protection of our ecosystems and to the brave first responders who are tasked with wildfire recovery efforts.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5118.

I include in the Record ``North Texas wildfire continues to grow amid high heat'' and ``Bottle-magnified sunlight ignited paper and started a 500-acre Texas wildfire, officials say.'' [From ABC News, July 19, 2022)] North Texas Wildfire Continues To Grow Amid High Heat

Graford, Texas.--A North Texas wildfire continued to grow Tuesday amid sweltering temperatures and dry conditions after burning at least a dozen structures, officials said.

The Chalk Mountain Fire about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Fort Worth was the largest active Texas wildfire as of Tuesday afternoon after blackening 6,000 acres (2,400 hectares), an increase from 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares) Tuesday morning, the Texas A&M Forest Service said. The fire, which began Monday afternoon, was just 10% contained, and crews using bulldozers were digging containment lines while fire trucks and aircraft worked to extinguish the flames, the Forest Service said.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Hood County Judge Ron Massingill ordered the mandatory evacuation of a rural area south of Tolar, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southwest of Fort Worth.

It was not yet clear how many, if any, of the 12 structures lost as of Tuesday afternoon were residences or businesses, Forest Service spokeswoman Mary Leathers said.

Meanwhile, crews continued to battle a wildfire that has burned at least 10 structures, five of them homes, around a lake in North Texas, authorities said.

The fire at Possum Kingdom Lake about 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of Fort Worth, which began Monday afternoon, had burned about 500 acres (202 hectares) and was 10% contained Tuesday, Forest Service spokesman Adam Turner said. Firefighting crews were working around the clock, focusing on protecting threatened homes in resort subdivisions along the lake's western shore.

The area remained under a voluntary evacuation notice, the Forest Service said.

No injuries have been reported from the fires, and their causes were under investigation. A combination of near- record- and record-high temperatures approaching 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) combined with breezes gusting as high as 30 mph (40-50 kph) and drought conditions leave the region ripe for fire, the forest service said.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag fire warning for northern and central Texas and western and eastern Oklahoma for Tuesday.

``We are experiencing dry fuels to a level that we haven't seen in the past 10 years,'' Turner said. ``Any spark that lands in tall grass or even lands in some short grass right now is liable to spark.''

Wildfires and intense heat in Texas and some other parts of the United States come as unusually hot, dry weather has gripped large swaths of Europe since last week, triggering wildfires from Portugal to the Balkans and leading to hundreds of heat-related deaths. ____ [From the Associated Press, July 28, 2022] Bottle-Magnified Sunlight Ignited Paper and Started a 5oo-Acre Texas Wildfire, Officials Say

Sunlight magnified by glass bottles in an open garbage can ignite paper trash, starting a 500-acre North Texas wildfire that destroyed five homes, fire officials said Thursday.

The July 18 fire on Possum Kingdom Lake's western shore, about 70 miles west of Fort Worth, took eight days to fully contain.

Chief Bonnie Watkins of the Possum Kingdom West Side Volunteer Fire Department found a trash can packed with party trash that included paper goods, food and numerous glass bottles, according to a department statement Thursday.

Watkins concluded that a wind gust opened the can lid, allowing sunlight magnified by the glass bottles to ignite the paper. The fire built rapidly until the fire spilled from the can and spread to nearby cedar trees, the statement said.

Rich Johnson, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas, a nonprofit insurance industry association, said he had never heard of such a freakish cause for a wildfire.

``A fire started in a trash can is one thing, but one caused by sunlight magnified by glass bottles? That's a new one,'' Johnson said.

North Texas has been plagued by numerous explosive wildfires fostered by extreme drought conditions combined with temperatures topping 100 degrees and wind gusts.

Another fire that began the same day as the Possum Kingdom Lake fire continued to burn Thursday about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth. However, a multi-agency firefighting team continued to make slow by steady progress in containing the Chalk Mountain Fire that has blackened 10 1/2 square miles, destroyed 16 homes and damaged five others.

In a statement, team officials said crews had improved containment from 50% to 53% from Wednesday to Thursday and crews suppressed a particularly stubborn portion of the fire with bulldozers Thursday. However, they also continued to strengthen fire lines and attack hotspots as conditions remained critically conducive to ignitions and spreading.

The cause of the Chalk Mountain Fire has not yet been determined. ____ [From the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, July 2, 2022] Wildfires and Climate Change

Climate change has been a key factor in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the Western United States. Wildfire risk depends on a number of factors, including temperature, soil moisture, and the presence of trees, shrubs, and other potential fuel. All these factors have strong direct or indirect ties to climate variability and climate change. Climate change enhances the drying of organic matter in forests (the material that burns and spreads wildfire), and has doubled the number of large fires between 1984 and 2015 in the western United States.

Research shows that changes in climate create warmer, drier conditions. Increased drought, and a longer fire season are boosting these increases in wildfire risk. For much of the U.S. West, projections show that an average annual 1 degree C temperature increase would increase the median burned area per year as much as 600 percent in some types of forests. In the Southeastern United States modeling suggests increased fire risk and a longer fire season, with at least a 30 percent increase from 2011 in the area burned by lightning- ignited wildfire by 2060.

Once a fire starts--more than 80 percent of U.S. wildfires are caused by people--warmer temperatures and drier conditions can help fires spread and make them harder to put out. Warmer, drier conditions also contribute to the spread of the mountain pine beetle and other insects that can weaken or kill trees, building up the fuels in a forest.

Land use and forest management also affect wildfire risk. Changes in climate add to these factors and are expected to continue to increase the area affected by wildfires in the United States.

Since 2000, 15 forest fires in the United States have caused at least $1 billion in damages each, mainly from the loss of homes and infrastructure, along with firefighting costs. The 2017 wildfire season was well above average, with deadly fires in California and throughout the West, including Montana, Oregon, and Washington state. The 2018 wildfire season went on to also break records as the deadliest and most destructive season on record in California. NOAA estimates the total costs of wildfires in 2017 and 2018 to be more than $40 billion. In 2019, wildfires caused an estimated $4.5 billion in damages in California and Alaska. Alaska's record-breaking heat and dry conditions over the summer months set the conditions for the state's historic wildfire season. In 2020, five of the six largest fires on record burned in California and Oregon saw historic levels of wildfire spread and damage. Wildfires across the West led to weeks-long periods of unhealthy air quality levels for millions of people.

Wildfire can affect:

Federal and State Budgets:

U.S. Forest Service fire suppression expenditures had increased from about 15 percent of the agency's appropriated budget to more than 50 percent in 2017. Nationwide suppression costs in 2017 and 2018 ballooned to $2.9 billion and $3.1 billion respectively, while state wildfire expenditures have also increased substantially.

Public Health:

The growing number of people in wild lands is increasing the risk to life, property and public health. Smoke reduces air quality and can cause eye and respiratory illness, especially among children and the elderly. Wildfires that burn in residential areas can melt plastic water pipes and cause contamination of water systems with a known carcinogen.

Natural Environment:

Wildfires are a natural part of many ecosystems. Although wildfires produce a number of greenhouse gases and aerosols including carbon dioxide, methane, and black carbon, the plants that re-colonize burned areas remove carbon from the atmosphere, generally leading to a net neutral effect on climate. However, when fires burn more frequently and consume larger areas, as they are doing with climate change, the released greenhouse gases may not be completely removed from the atmosphere if plants can't grow to maturity before burning, or if the plants that re-colonize are less efficient at carbon uptake. How to Build Resilience

Communities, builders, homeowners, and forest managers can reduce the likelihood and impacts of wildfires by:

Discouraging developments (especially residential) near fire-prone forests through smart zoning rules.

Increasing the space between structures and nearby trees and brush, and clearing space between neighboring houses.

Incorporating fire-resistant design features and materials in buildings.

Increasing resources allocated to firefighting and fire prevention.

Removing fuels, such as dead trees, from forests that are at risk.

Developing recovery plans before a fire hits, and implementing plans quickly after a fire to reduce erosion, limit flooding, and minimize habitat damage.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the majority leader.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, I heard with great interest my colleague from California's remarks. I have to say I did take umbrage with his characterization of the bills within this omnibus package, as I think he put it, as ``political messaging bills.''

I don't think that Mr. LaMalfa, a Republican from California, would characterize his bill, the Tribal Biochar Promotion Act, as a political messaging bill. His bill is in this bill.

I don't think that Mr. Moore, a Republican of Utah, would characterize his bill, the Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act, as a political messaging bill. His bill is in this bill.

I don't think that Ms. Lofgren would characterize her bill, the Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act, as a political messaging bill. That bill is before the House today.

That is probably the best place for me to begin to close.

We have heard a lot from the other side about various mischaracterization's of firefighter pay and wildland firefighter pay and what this bill does and does not do. For the benefit of every American watching, I would encourage you to read the bill.

This body approved a pay increase for wildland firefighters a year ago. All but 13 of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle voted against it. You can check the Record. That pay increase expires a year from now. This bill seeks to make that pay increase permanent.

One could only hope that my colleagues who have made much about appropriating language will join me. I look forward to asking the ranking member after this vote to join me on the bill to appropriate the firefighter pay increase that this bill will authorize.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, how much time do I have remaining.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I have great respect for the ranking member. We work together and have had rigorous and robust debates about forest management. We have partnered on some bills, and we have opposed each other's respective positions on others. But the signs that the other side have been using during this debate about firefighter pay and the like are simply not true.

I understand if my colleagues on the other side believe that the firefighter pay increase that is authorized by this bill and that makes the pay increases that were authorized last year permanent, I understand if they believe that it is too expensive. They are welcome to make that argument. I disagree.

But I hope that every Member of this Chamber can, again, adhere to substantive debate on the text of the bill that is before the House, and the text of this bill authorizes an increase for wildland firefighters who are bravely sacrificing so much for our country. It authorizes additional dollars for the Forest Service to do incredibly important forest management work to prevent the next fire in Colorado, in Utah, in New Mexico, and in Arizona. The bill authorizes significant investments to ensure that the drought we are experiencing at record levels in the West can be addressed.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. NEGUSE. I would simply say, Madam Chair, in the spirit of bipartisanship--which I think has been reflective of so many of the bills that are included within this important and critical package that has been brought to the floor today--that I appreciate the arguments that were made with respect to this particular amendment. I imagine that Members are going to consider it thoughtfully and make a judgment that is in the best interests of their constituents and their respective States on this particular amendment.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Chair, I certainly appreciate the gentlewoman's support, her attention, and her description about the need for funding to help rural communities recover from natural disasters and emergencies. I certainly share the desire to ensure that rural communities have access to clean and reliable drinking water.

I am looking forward to the House considering Mr. McCarthy's amendment as well as the many Republican bills and bipartisan bills that are included within this Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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