TAKE ACTION NOW: Tell Congress to pass a clean fire suppression funding bill—No anti-environment riders!
Some in Congress are trying, once again, to take way our voice in decisions that affect our lives. The National Environmental Policy Act is the foundational law that gives every citizen the right to be involved in decisions that affect our environment and to stop illegal activities. But some in Congress are chipping away at that law and those rights. Backroom deals are taking place in Congress right now to allow the US Forest Service to log millions of acres of our public forests with little to no public input.
The US House of Representatives passed a very bad bill this year, HR 2647, ironically called the “Resilient Federal Forest Act.” The bill has nothing to do with making forests more resilient. This is a typical trick of the anti-conservation politicians. Those pushing HR 2647 want to use fires as an excuse to clear-cut millions of acres of our National Forests that have experienced fire and to silence critical voices. Let’s be clear: this legislation will not help with better fire management and prevention—the bill is about massive clear-cuts, and taking away our public voice.
Knowing that their extreme anti-environmental rhetoric is toxic, Big Timber is pushing politicians to sneak their bad bill in as a rider to a bill to fix the fire funding chaos. Tell Congress, “No Bad Logging Riders!” Pass a clean bill or no bill.
At the same time, there is strong bipartisan support in Congress and by citizens to fix the chaotic way we fund firefighting. It is clear that we need to find a more sustainable solution to ballooning fire suppression costs, which often far exceed the amount appropriated to the Forest Service for fire suppression. This in turn forces the Forest Service to pull money from other departments, such as recreation and forest health—a process known as “fire borrowing.”
You can stop these bad riders. The action has moved to the back rooms of the US Senate now and your Senators can help stop this.
Or contact your Representatives in Congress directly:
Senator Diane Feinstein
Northern California (San Francisco) Office: (415) 393-0707
Washington, D.C. Office: (202) 224-3841
Email: https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me
Senator Barbara Boxer
California District Office (Oakland): (510) 286-8537
Washington, D.C. Office: (202) 224-3553
Email: https://www.boxer.senate.gov/contact/shareyourviews.html
Twitter: @SenatorBoxer
Congressman Huffman (California 2nd District )
District Office (Eureka): (707) 407-3585
Washington, D.C. Office: (202) 225-5161
Email: https://huffman.house.gov/contact/email-me
Twitter: @RepHuffman
Congressman LaMalfa (California 1st District)
District Office (Redding): (530) 223-5898
Washington, D.C. Office: (202) 225-3076
Email: https://lamalfa.house.gov/contact/email-me
Twitter: @RepLaMalfa