On October 21, 2025, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry convened a markup to consider the Fix Our Forests Act (S.1462 | one pager). The measure passed out of committee on a vote of 18 to 5, with Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Michael Bennet (D-CO) voting in opposition.
During the markup, Chairman Boozman emphasized the urgency of addressing the nation’s wildfire crisis. Ranking Member Klobuchar supported the bill’s passage, though she also called for greater funding and continued work on transparency and judicial process reforms, citing recent Forest Service workforce reductions as a key challenge to implementation.
While the bill advanced out of committee with broad bipartisan support, several Democratic Members raised concerns about the bill’s procedural and judicial provisions. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) led the opposition, warning that the bill’s expedited procedures could constrain public participation and weaken environmental oversight. Senator Bennet specifically cautioned that accelerated project timelines risk limiting community engagement and local input, while Senators Booker and Schiff criticized Section 121, which restricts judicial discretion and shortens the review period for legal challenges from six years to 150 days. All three Senators commended the bill’s bipartisan intent but maintained that without additional amendments to restore community input and procedural safeguards, they could not support final passage.
RCRC’s most recent letter of support for this measure is available here. See here for a list of provisions in the Act that are particularly impactful for California. For more information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, Staci Heaton.