On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing that included Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act of 2020 (S. 4431). The bipartisan bill, introduced by Senator Feinstein and Senator Steve Daines (R-Montana), would help protect communities from catastrophic wildfires by implementing wildfire mitigation projects, sustaining healthier forests that are more resilient to climate change and providing important energy and retrofitting assistance to businesses and residences to mitigate future risks from wildfire. During the Committee hearing, Senator Daines stressed the importance of passing the bill, stating “we are at a critical time. The West is burning. People are dying. And our way of life as we know it is in danger… My bill with Senator Feinstein offers 53 pages worth of solutions." Senator Daines also thanked first responders, law enforcement, fire officials and more for their work battling the fires across the West, and he held a moment of silence for those who lost their lives because of the fires. RCRC has indicated its strong support for Senator Feinstein’s legislation. The RCRC support letter can be viewed here.
