Rep. Cisneros Statement on Fix Our Forests Bill
Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. released the following statement after voting against H.R. 471, the so called “Fix Our Forests Act”:
“The devastation caused by the Los Angeles wildfires is tragic, and I’ve called on House Leadership to immediately bring a supplemental spending bill to make our communities and families whole. However, today’s bill does not meet the needs of affected Angelenos. It provides no funding for federal land management agencies to do the work of making our forests more resilient and safe, nor does it provide any funding to Los Angeles to implement projects to protect itself from future wildfires. Moreover, this bill undercuts important environmental regulations and would allow commercial logging projects to wipe away our forests. We need to inoculate our communities from the dangers of climate change, but that doesn’t mean we should mortgage the health of our forests and communities.”
H.R. 471 codifies sweeping forest-wide “alternative” arrangements that would risk shortcutting the environmental review and public participation process that improves project design and makes sure agencies are doing the right projects, in the right way, in the right locations. The climate crisis requires that we not only reduce the risk to communities from catastrophic wildfires but also promote healthy forests that sequester carbon and sustain biodiversity. In addition, climate change is causing an increasingly long and more severe wildfire season, further stretching the resources of already underfunded agencies and underpaid wildland firefighters. H.R. 471 fails to meet the moment, offering no additional funding or support and ignoring countless demands for a permanent federal wildland firefighter pay increase, a critical component of any comprehensive wildfire bill.
Rep. Cisneros previously spoke on the House floor regarding the Los Angeles wildfires. He thanked first responders and urged House leadership to immediately bring a supplemental spending bill to aid California’s efforts to combat this fire. He also condemned Speaker Johnson statements indicating any wildfire aid could be conditional or tied to a separate political deal.
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