Continental Divide Trail Completion Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman from Colorado for his leadership on this issue.

Climate change has brought the most severe drought to the West in hundreds and hundreds of years, and it has created an environment where wildfires are roaring through the West.

In fact, seven of the worst wildfires in California history have occurred in the last 4 years. They are destroying homes, farms, infrastructure. They cause injury. That is why this bill is so important.

I am proud that four of my bills are incorporated in the legislation that will allow firefighters to get overtime they have earned and allow for FEMA to predeploy assets and, yes, to use science in the fight against wildfires.

I am proud of the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Science who have turned their attention to the things that can be done to advance funding for the critical research that is happening at places like San Jose State University in their Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center.

We can't prevent all disasters, Madam Chair, but we can use our power and use our science to better prepare, to better counter these disasters, and, yes, to make sure that those who are victimized by the disasters are treated fairly. They are our neighbors. We need to help them in their time of loss.

Madam Chair, I thank the Speaker for making this a priority.

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