Fix Our Forests Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in respectful opposition to H.R. 471, the so-called Fix Our Forests Act.

Right now, as we all have seen, tens of thousands of families are without homes. Our knowledge right now is that 28 people have died. The scale of the devastation in Los Angeles is just unthinkable.

Mr. Chair, I represent a district just to the south of this catastrophe. Thankfully, we have not been affected, but we are subject to the same dynamics year after year.

In recent years, we had the Santiago Canyon fire, the Laguna fire, the Canyon fire, and a number of others. When you compile 80- to 100- mile-an-hour winds, made worse because of climate change and the annual Santa Ana winds, with dry conditions, that combination is basically creating tinder conditions. That is why we are having this fire.

I just want to note that this particular bill has done nothing to prevent the Los Angeles fires and would do nothing to prevent similar wildfires going forward.

Mr. Chair, firefighters will say that when you have 80- to 100-mile- an-hour winds, little embers can turn into massive fires, and there is nothing that we can do to stop that. Firefighters cannot be deployed and water or other resources cannot be deployed until the wind dies down.

Unfortunately, there has been a lot of misinformation about these L.A. fires, that there is not enough water or that somehow our water systems are inadequate. Many have described these fires as blowtorches, trying to fight a fire that is like a blowtorch.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues who are believing these conspiracy theories to talk to actual firefighters about how they might fight fires like this because I have talked to firefighters, and they have told me that measures like this would not have prevented the L.A. fires.

This particular bill has some important provisions that I support. Some of these have been mentioned in opposition by people on my side of the aisle, but I would note that it lacks the funding mechanisms to actually make these implementable.

It also fails to include any permanent pay increase for Federal wildland firefighters who continue to be underpaid and overworked.

This bill is, at best, a messaging bill, an unfunded mandate. I note that it is wrapped up in this inextricable question of: Will Californians get the aid that our families so desperately need? Unfortunately, that seems to be a question that increasingly looks like the answer is going to be: Only with grossly political conditions.

I note that I introduced an amendment to make clear that Federal disaster assistance to the Los Angeles fire victims needs to be prioritized and must come with no political strings attached. This is something we have done for every other disaster out there in America. When we have had hurricanes in the Southeast, when we have had flooding in parts of the country, California has stepped up. We get 60 cents back for every dollar we pay in tax funding.

I am disappointed that we are politicizing aid to California now that we need it. I was disappointed that my amendment was blocked from even basic consideration. I am disheartened to know that House and Senate Republicans continue to threaten conditions on the basic aid that Californians need right now.

This is un-American and inconsistent with every other Federal disaster response.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

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