Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 8790 - Fix Our Forests Act

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House Rules)
(Rep. Westerman, R-AR, and 23 cosponsors)

The Administration is working aggressively to reduce the risks of wildfires to communities, and to restore and improve the health and resilience of our nation's forests. With the help of historic investments that Congress made in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, the Administration is conducting record-levels of hazardous fuel reduction projects and has accelerated forest restoration efforts across the country. Thanks to the President's Permitting Action Plan, the Administration is improving the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental reviews and accelerating permitting for projects that can help reduce wildfire risk and improve resiliency. The Administration's bold actions to combat climate change are also critical to addressing a major driver of the longer, more severe, and more dangerous wildfire seasons that the U.S. is experiencing.

The Administration appreciates that several provisions of H.R. 8790 align with recommendations released last year from the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission, which was co-chaired by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. H.R. 8790, however, also contains a number of provisions that would undermine basic protections for communities, lands, waters, and wildlife; reduce opportunities for public input; and heighten the likelihood for conflict, litigation, and delay on needed forest restoration and resilience work. The Administration therefore strongly opposes this bill.