Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) testified before the House Committee on Rules in support of H.R. 471, the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act.

Below are Westerman's full remarks, as prepared.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. There are few topics more urgent for the House to take up than catastrophic wildfire and the “Fix Our Forests Act.” 

I’d like to begin by saying our prayers are with the people of California right now as they battle fires that have delivered unthinkable devastation. These fires have claimed the lives of 28 people and destroyed over 15,000 structures, causing an estimated $250 billion in damages.  

This week, Congress has a rare opportunity. Unlike hurricanes or tornadoes, proper forest management can prevent wildfires. We can save a pound of cure by investing a penny in prevention. 

The Fix Our Forests Act is a comprehensive, bipartisan package that offers real solutions that will help prevent future catastrophic wildfires like the ones affecting southern California. 

FOFA uses state-of-the-art science to identify the top 20 percent of firesheds and prioritize treatments near communities at high risk of fires that could threaten lives and properties. 

The emergency actions occurring now in LA, like clearing brush and cutting fuel breaks, are the same treatments that would take place under this legislation. The bill ensures land managers do the work when the sky is blue, not when it’s orange, and fire is on the doorstep. 

FOFA codifies emergency authorities used by both Democrat and Republican administrations to increase the pace and scale of management. Without these tools, completing a single forest management project takes 3 to 5 years. With them, land managers can act immediately. 

FOFA also expands existing categorical exclusions to meet the scale of this crisis. For example, if agencies wanted to treat an area roughly the size of the Palisades Fire, they would need 8 separate CEs. Under FOFA, they would only need 2.

FOFA doesn’t waive a single environmental law. We’re just making existing tools more flexible and efficient, so the work that needs to be done can happen. 

FOFA also contains several provisions to clear flammable vegetation and hazard trees in utility rights-of-way, the cause of the fires that have devastated communities like Lahaina and Paradise, California. 

Additionally, FOFA creates a new interagency Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program to streamline fragmented federal programs and standardize applications for existing community wildfire defense grants, making it easier for communities to access the assistance they need. 

FOFA also encourages technological innovations in wildland firefighting, so we can detect fires faster and put them out before they spread to communities. 

Finally, we’ve added new provisions to standardize repayment timelines between local fire departments and the federal government to support the local first responders who battle fires that cross jurisdictional boundaries alongside federal firefighters. 

We know what needs to be done, and make no mistake—there is a price for continued inaction. Since FOFA passed the House on September 24th, 2024, an additional 1.5 million acres have burned across the United States. We don’t have the luxury of sitting around and doing nothing any longer. 

My good friend from California, Representative Scott Peters, and I have negotiated this legislation in good faith for more than a year, continually incorporating ideas from Members on both sides of the aisle. 

We added several Democrat amendments during a Natural Resources Committee markup last year, where the bill passed by voice vote. On the floor, we accepted Republican and Democrat amendments that helped improve the bill. 

Forest management shouldn’t be a partisan issue, and last year, this bill passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support. 

I urge the Committee to report an appropriate rule so that the Fix Our Forests Act can be considered in the House.

Thank you, and I yield back.

Background

The Fix Our Forests Act is a historic and comprehensive package that will encourage active forest management and support community resiliency to wildfires by expediting environmental analyses, reducing frivolous lawsuits and increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration projects. 

The bill will:

• Simplify and expedite environmental reviews for forest management projects
• Make communities more resilient to wildfires by better coordinating existing grant programs and promoting new research
• Promote federal, state, tribal and local collaboration
• Deter frivolous litigation that delays essential projects
• Create a framework for prioritizing treatments in the forests at the highest risk of wildfire and near vulnerable communities
• Encourage the adoption of state-of-the-art science and techniques for federal land managers
• Encourage active management to improve the safety of powerlines and other infrastructure
• Strengthen tools like Good Neighbor Authority and Stewardship Contracting
• Support wildland firefighters and their families by ensuring continuity in casualty assistance programs

In September 2024, the Fix Our Forests Act passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support and is expected to be considered on the House floor this week.

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