September 02, 2021

Merkley, Wyden Urge Funding for Wildfire and Drought Prevention, Mitigation, and Relief Efforts in Upcoming Reconciliation Bill

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are working alongside their colleagues from western states to urge the Senate Committee chairs tasked with drafting the upcoming budget reconciliation legislation to include funding for wildfire and drought prevention, mitigation, and relief measures in their respective sections of the bill.

“In the West, climate change has increased the severity and frequency of wildfires and caused record high temperatures and drought conditions. In order to adequately address the climate crisis and support Western communities, the reconciliation legislation must build on the success of the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill and expand investments in wildfire and drought programs,” wrote the senators. “As you know, wildfires continue to worsen each year and pose a threat to human health, personal property, wildlife, and our public lands. In 2020, nearly 60,000 wildfires burned more than 10.3 million acres and destroyed more than 17,000 structures.”

“Over 90% of the West is currently experiencing drought, with the majority of areas subject to significantly below-average precipitation and extended dry periods. Unfortunately, this means that this wildfire season will likely once again be catastrophic,” the senators’ letter continued. “We urge you to provide robust funding for programs across the federal government that will enable our communities to mitigate, respond, and recover from the wildfires and drought we are currently fighting.”

The letter comes on the heels of the unveiling of five bills introduced by Merkley and supported by Wyden to battle wildfires, protect workers, and help the public, businesses, and agricultural operators combat the effects of extreme heat and wildfire smoke. Merkley, the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Department of Interior and U.S. Forest Service, and Wyden, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, also won historic funding for wildfire prevention in the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill. Wyden has introduced legislation that would support prescribed burns in the cooler, wetter months to reduce wildfire risks and to establish a 21st Century Civilian Climate Corps—which Merkley supports—to bolster wildfire prevention and preparedness.

In addition to Merkley and Wyden, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Michael Bennett (D-CO), and John Hickenlooper (D-CO).

Full text of the letter is available here and follows below.

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Dear Chairs:

As you develop budget reconciliation legislation, we request that you include dedicated funding to address the wildfires and drought afflicting Western states in the U.S. Each of your Committees received instructions from the Senate Budget Committee to fund programs for climate change mitigation, resilience, and/or research. In the West, climate change has increased the severity and frequency of wildfires and caused record high temperatures and drought conditions. In order to adequately address the climate crisis and support Western communities, the reconciliation legislation must build on the success of the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure bill and expand investments in wildfire and drought programs.

As you know, wildfires continue to worsen each year and pose a threat to human health, personal property, wildlife, and our public lands. In 2020, nearly 60,000 wildfires burned more than 10.3 million acres and destroyed more than 17,000 structures. Over 90% of the West is currently experiencing drought, with the majority of areas subject to significantly below-average precipitation and extended dry periods. Unfortunately, this means that this wildfire season will likely once again be catastrophic.

Each of your committees has the opportunity to address the growing threat of wildfires and drought. Within your respective committee jurisdictions, we ask you to include the following provisions in reconciliation legislation:

  • Funding for land management agencies to respond to and prevent further wildfires;
  • Emergency support for state, local, and Tribal governments, and to assist water districts

and other units of local government with emergency drought response needs;

  • Wildfire and drought research and development of technologies, including desalination

research and snowpack and evapotranspiration monitoring; and

  • Funding to combat air and water pollution from wildfire smoke, and environmental

drought funding.

We urge you to provide robust funding for programs across the federal government that will enable our communities to mitigate, respond, and recover from the wildfires and drought we are currently fighting.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,