Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley along with Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to the Appropriations Committee asking for robust funding for the National Guard to support wildland firefighting efforts. The letter comes as Congress is finalizing its 2022 spending package.
“Year after year wildfires ravage local communities, businesses, homes and infrastructure in dry and western states,” wrote the senators. “We ask that additional resources be allocated to the National Guard in order to train these members to do the critical work of protecting our communities. The appropriate training and equipment is essential to the wildfire season and with continued funding to the National Guard the states of Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming can rest assured knowing the most appropriate measures have been taken in order to protect their communities and interests.”
July of last year, more than 12,200 firefighters and support personnel—including members of the National Guard—were battling 59 major wildfires in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Alaska, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Minnesota.
“In 2021 alone, wildfires destroyed 6.8 million acres of land,” they continued. “As state and federal agencies struggle to keep up with the annual devastation due to wildfires, support from the National Guard members has been critical. In 2021, this funding trained over 30,000 National Guard members to fight wildfires and protect communities across the country. This critical firefighting capability requires continued support from Congress to be sustained.”
Full text of the letter can be found here and below:
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Dear Chairman Leahy and Vice-Chairman Shelby:
We write to urge you to provide robust funding for the National Guard to support firefighting efforts in communities across the nation, particularly in the western states, affected by wildfires in the final Fiscal Year 2022 Defense Appropriations bill.
Year after year wildfires ravage local communities, businesses, homes and infrastructure in dry and western states. We ask that additional resources be allocated to the National Guard in order to train these members to do the critical work of protecting our communities. The appropriate training and equipment is essential to the wildfire season and with continued funding to the National Guard the states of Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming can rest assured knowing the most appropriate measures have been taken in order to protect their communities and interests.
In 2021 alone, wildfires destroyed 6.8 million acres of land. As state and federal agencies struggle to keep up with the annual devastation due to wildfires, support from the National Guard members has been critical. In 2021, this funding trained over 30,000 National Guard members to fight wildfires and protect communities across the country. This critical firefighting capability requires continued support from Congress to be sustained.
As you finalize the FY22 Defense Appropriations bill, we urge you to include robust funding for wildfire training. It is critical to the National Guard’s ability to protect communities from wildfires. Thank you for considering this request.
Sincerely,
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