WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 26, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The U.S. House of Representatives adopted an amendment offered by Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) that would redirect $20 million from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) administrative account to the Wildland Fire Management Fund to be used for hazardous fuels reduction projects and proactive forest management activities. The amendment was adopted by voice vote and attached to the FY2016 Interior and Environmental Appropriations Act (H.R. 2822), which is expected to receive a vote in the House during the second week in July.
Watch Tipton speak in support of the amendment on the House Floor HERE
“With limited resources available, we must prioritize spending to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used in the most impactful and efficient way possible. This amendment takes money from an administrative expense account at EPA and uses it to help address the most pressing environmental crisis facing the United States—catastrophic wildfire,” said Tipton. “Hazardous fuels reduction is desperately needed in forests across the Western United States to reduce the occurrence and severity of wildland fires. Proactive management efforts pay tremendous dividends in the long run, and are far more cost-effective than having to combat a wildfire once it’s burning. By doing more today to proactively manage forests on federal public lands we can save property and lives, while protecting watersheds and habitats from future destruction.”
See the amendment HERE.
Tipton has fought for proactive healthy forest management since first coming to Congress. He is the sponsor of the Healthy Forest Management and Wildfire Prevention Act, which seeks to increase local control over hazardous fuels reduction project decisions on federal public lands. It passed in the 113th Congress with bipartisan support. Learn more HERE.
