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Washington, D.C. - The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources has cleared H.R. 5541, the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act, or the FLAME Act. Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson cosponsored this legislation that is extremely important to Idaho.
“Congress needs to begin to take these wildfires seriously,” said Simpson. “Each year the fires in the West get worse and each year we scramble to adequately fund the suppression of these blazes.”
Introduced by Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV), this legislation will establish a federal FLAME fund for wildfire suppression above and beyond the funds already budgeted for wildfires. FLAME funding would be set aside specifically for catastrophic, emergency wildfires.
“I am pleased to see the Committee on Natural Resources has taken such an important step to address this issue, and I am hopeful Congress will continue reassess current land management policies to improve wildfire suppression,” Simpson added.
The FLAME Act is still under consideration in the House Committee on Agriculture. As of today, a vote has not yet been scheduled.
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