ICYMI: Senator Murray Hosts Wildfire Briefing in Leavenworth, Hears From Chelan County Firefighters and U.S. Forest Service on Wildfire Landscape in WA – MORE HERE
Senator Murray: “People are hurting right now, but they are also coming together to support survivors, gather donations, and rebuild our communities. We need Congress to come together too… when there’s a fire, you don’t ask what someone’s politics are—you just grab a bucket and get to work.”
***VIDEO OF FLOOR SPEECH HERE***
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke on the Senate floor about the devastating Gray and Oregon Road wildfires that began on August 18th and have burned more than 21,000 acres in Eastern Washington. In her speech, Murray emphasized the need for Congress to come together to build on recent investments in wildfire prevention and mitigation, pass a supplemental funding bill to ensure the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has the resources it needs to help communities recover from natural disasters, take action so that federal wildland firefighters don’t face a pay cut at the end of this month, and address the climate crisis that is making wildfires more frequent and more severe.
“Last month, the Gray and Oregon Road wildfires in Eastern Washington state caused serious devastation and forced thousands of people to evacuate, including members of my family and members of my staff. While folks on the ground are still assessing the awful scope of the damage and what resources our communities need to recover and rebuild in the aftermath, we already know these fires burned tens of thousands of acres, destroyed hundreds of buildings—including over 350 homes—and tragically, the fires were responsible for two deaths,” Senator Murray said on the Senate floor today.
“We are all relieved these fires are now under control—thanks to the heroic efforts of so many firefighters. But communities in Eastern Washington have a long way to go on the road to recovery. So, I will absolutely be staying in close touch with folks in my state, and on the frontlines, and making sure our families and communities have the support they need to get through this,” Murray continued. “That has to include more action on climate change… Because it is painfully clear—and it has been for a while now—that the climate crisis continues to make wildfires like this more common and more severe.”
Murray also noted that, with FEMA’s disaster relief fund running dry—and the agency is already being forced to begin prioritizing immediate response efforts over longer-term recovery projects—Congress must work in a bipartisan way to provide critical emergency supplemental funding as soon as possible. The White House is seeking $16 billion in additional funding from Congress for FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which helps with rescue, relief, and recovery efforts from natural disasters. Murray also spoke about her commitment to ensuring that federal wildland firefighters do not see their pay cut at the end of this month, when temporary additional funding for firefighter pay from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Senator Murray helped pass is set to run out.
“I know there is bipartisan support for providing the resources FEMA desperately needs, and making sure wildland firefighters don’t face a pay cut. And I am talking with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle about how we can make sure we get this done by the end of the month,” Murray said.
“People are hurting right now, but they are also coming together to support survivors, gather donations, and rebuild our communities,” Murray concluded. “We need Congress to come together too—so we can tackle the climate crisis, support our wildland firefighters, continue to build on our investments in wildfire prevention and mitigation in a big way, and make sure FEMA has the resources it needs to support our communities. Because when there’s a fire, you don’t ask what someone’s politics are—you just grab a bucket and get to work.”
Senator Murray is working to protect and expand investments in wildfire suppression and mitigation—and in our firefighters—as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Senate Interior and Environment appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2024 that Senator Murray helped write and unanimously pass out of Committee as Chair protects essential investments in wildfire preparedness and suppression, providing $4.045 billion, and creates a $2 million health and wellness program for federal firefighters to provide support to combat the real danger of injury and fatigue.
Senator Murray was a leader in passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which invested more than $14 billion in programs to help state and local governments, public lands managers, homeowners, and private landowners mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires, including $3.3 billion for wildfire risk reduction efforts, $5 billion for utilities and grid operators to bury power lines and install fire-resistant technologies to reduce wildfires, $2 billion for the Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service to carry out ecological restoration projects on public and private lands in order to remove the fuel that feeds wildfires, $3.5 billion to help homeowners fireproof their homes, and $600 million to increase salaries for firefighters. Murray also helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act—the largest-ever investment in climate action in U.S. history—which included $5 billion in grants to support healthy, fire-resilient forests, forest conservation, and drought and fire-resilient agricultural practices.
Senator Murray also secured key investments in wildfire prevention and mitigation in last year’s government funding package, and earlier this year, Senator Murray announced nearly $25 million in funding for wildfire mitigation projects across Washington state funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Last month, Senator Murray met with Chelan County firefighters, U.S. Forest Service representatives, and others for a briefing on wildfire activity in the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest and across Washington state.
Senator Murray’s full remarks as delivered:
“Mr. President, last month, the Gray and Oregon Road wildfires in Eastern Washington caused serious devastation and forced thousands of people to evacuate—including members of my family, and members of my staff.
“While folks on the ground are still assessing the awful scope of the damage and what resources our communities need to recover and rebuild in the aftermath, we already know that these fires burned tens of thousands of acres, destroyed hundreds of buildings—including over 350 homes, and tragically, the fires were responsible for two deaths.
“My heart goes out to the many families whose lives have been upended by these horrific fires, including our selfless firefighters—some of whom lost their homes to the flames while they were working hard to defend others.
“I am incredibly grateful to all of our firefighters who have worked around the clock for weeks to get these fires under control.
“And I’m also grateful to so many other first responders who helped keep our families safe from the blazes: law enforcement officers who raced door to door warning people as the fires approached, dispatchers who worked so quickly to coordinate emergency response efforts, and everyone who helped those in danger—from evacuating families, to conducting boat and helicopter rescues, to all of the volunteers who chipped in for the recovery effort.
“We are all relieved that those fires are now under control, thanks to the heroic efforts of so many firefighters. But communities in Eastern Washington have a long way to go on the road to recovery.
“So I will absolutely be staying in close touch with folks in my state, and on the frontlines, and making sure that our families and communities have the support they need to get through this.
“And I am also going to continue to push to bolster our national efforts to prevent, and mitigate, and respond to wildfires and other extreme weather events.
“And, Mr. President, that has to include more action on climate change.
“Because it’s painfully clear—and it has been for awhile now—the climate crisis continues to make wildfires like this more common and more severe. Beyond the recent fires in Eastern Washington, my state has seen devastating fires in the Sourdough fire in the North Cascades, fires on our Olympic Peninsula, on tribal lands, in the Columbia River Gorge, and we have seen high risks for catastrophic fires in literally every corner of my state.
“Over the last few years, Washington state has seen drier and hotter summers, which means longer and more dangerous fire seasons. And we are not alone.
“My heart breaks for the communities in Hawaii, where the presiding officer has seen the impacts firsthand. They were hit hard by devastating, unprecedented wildfires last month, and are still suffering from that damage.
“We must do more to address the climate crisis that is driving increasingly severe disasters.
“And on another important note, we absolutely must provide more resources for the critical work being done by FEMA, and our federal wildland firefighters to respond to fires across the country.
“FEMA’s disaster relief fund is running dry. The agency has already been forced to begin prioritizing immediate response efforts over longer-term recovery projects. So it’s absolutely essential that we deliver the additional resources FEMA needs—as soon as possible.
“Because leaving behind communities struck by disaster is simply not an option.
“And we absolutely cannot let federal inaction result in a salary cut for federal wildland firefighters at the end of this month.
“After all they do for our communities, the last thing our firefighters need is to see their pay slashed.
“I know there is bipartisan support for providing the resources FEMA desperately needs and making sure wildland firefighters do not face a pay cut. I am talking with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle about how we can make sure we get this done by the end of the month.
“But Mr. President, as you know, people are hurting right now. But they are also coming together to support survivors, and gather donations, and rebuild our communities.
“We need Congress to come together as well—so we can tackle the climate crisis, support our wildland firefighters, continue to build on our investments in wildfire prevention and mitigation in a big way, and make sure FEMA has the resources it needs to help our communities.
“As you well know, when there’s a fire, you don’t ask what someone’s politics are—you grab a bucket and go to work. That’s what we need to do.”
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