Senator Wyden Urges Wildfire Funding Fix

With warm weather around the corner, wildfire season won't be far behind.

Senator Ron Wyden says now is the time to change the way funding is done for fighting wildfires.

This, he says, will allow for better forest management.

"There are not a lot of certainties in life, but the fire season is one of them and the Congress simply cannot let this problem continue,” Wyden said in a speech on the Senate floor. “It is time for the Congress to find a solution to ensure, one, that wildfires can be fought, and two, to control the costs of fighting these wildfires by better preparing our forests and making them healthier.”

Wyden says that the current system underfunds fire suppression efforts and forces agencies to "steal" from fire prevention efforts to fight fires.

The administration has included a similar proposal to the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act in its last two budget requests to Congress.

The bill now has 20 other bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate, 145 bipartisan cosponsors in the House of Representatives and has been endorsed by more than 260 groups representing hunters and fishers, timber companies and conservationists.