Washington – As congressional leaders wrestle with whether to add conditions to federal aid in response to the Los Angeles County wildfires, Republicans and Democrats have introduced a first wave of bills to respond to the disaster.
These measures come as President Biden promised 100% federal support Even with President-elect Donald Trump taking office next week to provide disaster relief for the next six months, the fund's future is not entirely secure.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that while he wants to help Californians in need after the fires, he is debating with his Republican colleagues whether to tie aid to a deep political debate over raising the debt ceiling. House Democrats, including many Southern Californians, said they would not accept a conditional deal on disaster aid.
The measures announced so far in Congress are among the first to address topics including forest management, disaster funding and the powers of the California Coastal Commission.
Check out some bills:
Forest Management
The Fixing Our Forests Act is a major step toward streamlining environmental regulations to speed up forest management, prevent “frivolous” lawsuits by environmental groups, and prioritize community prevention efforts.
“Decades of mismanagement and climate change have created unnatural conditions,” said Rep. Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) said the environmental reviews required by the Forest Service could be delayed. projects, sometimes for years. “We're wasting a lot of time on a process that we don't have – we don't have time for. Meanwhile, forests are burning.
The bill was introduced Thursday with bipartisan support and may be the most far-reaching of all early legislation.
Its supporters hope the Fix Our Forests Act will change the national conversation about forestry and fires, said Matt Weiner, chief executive and founder of MegaFire Action, an advocacy organization that pushed the bill.
“We keep getting overwhelmed. And then our solution set is to look back at the exact systems that keep failing us,” Weiner said. “It's clear that those systems have failed us, and I think we need to create new ones.”
The bill proposes creating a center where federal, tribal, state and local agencies can coordinate fire prevention and monitor wildfire-prone areas. The law empowers leaders to use new scientific methods to assess wildfire-prone areas and use a variety of forest management tools, including tree thinning, prescribed burning, timber harvesting, fire breaks and dead brush removal.
“What we're trying to do is use proven scientific methods and common sense to reduce fuel burdens to make communities safer,” said House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rep. said Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). and a forester. “I always say that forest management is like the old saying: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
The legislation provides an update on a measure that passed the House last year with the support of all Republicans and 55 Democrats, including prominent Californians such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands). ) Senate did not vote on the bill.
Despite gaining bipartisan support last year, the bill drew the ire of many Environmental groupsIt said it would undermine key environmental laws and have devastating effects on forests, endangered species and community oversight of federal land management.
“Our institutions recognize the challenge of addressing the threats posed by climate change, including fire risks. Unfortunately, much of this bill will harm forests, communities, climate, water and biodiversity,” it read. A letter Signed by more than 85 groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club.
The Fix Our Forests Act includes political lightning rods for both parties. Reforming “forest management,” especially in California, has been a frequent battle cry for Trump and his allies. Meanwhile, progressives have long called for a return to ancient tribal practices of prescriptive burns, and the proposed bill would codify cultural burns.
“Everybody's saying the same thing, maybe saying it in different ways,” Westerman said.
Peters and Westerman hope the national attention surrounding the fires in the Los Angeles area will help their bill garner enough support this time. While the Palisades and Eaton fires were mostly concentrated in densely populated areas, not in the wild, Wiener said the bill would prevent similar disasters in the future.
The Pacific Palisades, for example, is “considered a very high fire risk severity zone,” Weiner said — a priority for funding and preparedness under the law to restore our forests, he said.
“Around Los Angeles, it's a different ecosystem than the big timberlands of northern California or Canada, but the principle of treatment and reducing the fuel burden is the same,” said co-sponsor George Whitesides (D-Agua Dulce). Bill and co-founder of Megafire Action.
Firefighter Recruitment
Representative. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall) on Wednesday introduced Direct Hire to Fight Fires legislation to regulate the hiring of federal firefighters, citing the L.A. County fires as the impetus for the move.
“Today's unacceptably slow hiring process leaves critical positions used to fight fires unfilled and fires burn longer,” Issa said in a statement. “We need this common-sense federal hiring process to bring every available resource to where it's needed most.”
FEMA funding
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) introduced a measure Tuesday to increase funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Our next Natural Disaster Prevention Act calls for changes in how FEMA prepares for disasters, by increasing funding and prioritizing applicants in hard-hit communities. A central database will also be needed to integrate information collected from all levels of government during disaster responses.
“From coastal flooding to catastrophic wildfires, California is among many states seeing an increase in natural disasters due to climate change,” Swalwell said in a statement. “This bill will provide funding to help communities most vulnerable to natural disasters better prepare for these increasing threats.”
Coastal Commission Changes
Rep. Kevin Kile (R-Rocklin) said Tuesday Plans to introduce legislation California Coastal Commission to regulate. Kiley linked his legislation to a recent decision by the regulatory agency Deny SpaceXElon Musk's company is allowed to increase rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The Musk Company It had sought to raise the limit of 36 rocket launches per year to 50, but the commission rejected the request. The board cited Musk's political influence — he is a close Trump ally and owner of the social media site X — as part of its reasoning.
Kiley said the commission's decision shows “how the politicization of government agency decisions can delay programs critical to national security.”
“Its history of irrational decision-making threatens rebuilding efforts in the Los Angeles area,” Kiley said in a statement. “My legislation will ensure that important projects are not held hostage by unnecessary red tape or political bias.”
Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Sunday Raise some environmental requirements Rehabilitation work should be expedited in areas affected by forest fires.