Rep. Schrier Statement After House Passage of Wildfire Recovery Act

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) released the following statement after voting for the Wildfire Recovery Act that passed the House this week with bipartisan support:

“As fires become increasingly common and catastrophic because of climate change, the federal government must pursue more ways to fund and support those on the frontlines fighting wildfires. That’s why I am a proud cosponsor of the Wildfire Recovery Act, which will increase the federal government’s share of the FEMA fire response grant funding to make sure counties can recover from wildfire. It passed the House this week.

I’m glad that this legislation will ensure counties will see increased funding to properly staff and fight wildfires. But fires don’t follow county lines and many times, neighboring fire departments will come to aid areas outside of their jurisdiction, exceeding budget projections and putting an unforeseen burden on localities. We saw this happen during the Evans Canyon Fire in 2020, when Kittitas County was excluded from Fire Management Assistance Grant funding while the neighboring county saw this awarded because that is where the fire was. Much more needs to be done to address this serious shortcoming and to create smarter grants that properly compensate local departments who are good neighbors and respond to wildfires outside of their jurisdictions.”