Senate Proceeding 09-22-09 on Sep 22nd, 2009 :: 0:23:35 to 0:27:55
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0:23:34 to 0:23:55( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i wish to speak on amendment number 2471. mr. president, on f september 11th, "the washington times" ran a front-page story on an issue tiled -- titled "forest fire aid allotted to d.c. western states

0:23:35 to 0:27:55( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Barrasso

0:23:56 to 0:24:17( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: feel burned." that's about right. the story talks about the u.s. forest service plans to spen spend $2.8 million worth land fire management funds here in the district of columbia. this is ridiculous, outrageous and we should not stand for it.

0:24:18 to 0:24:38( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: mr. president, to read the paragraph, even with forest fires raging out west the u.s. forest fire determines it that it will spend $2.8 million in forest fight -- fighting forest fires in washington. where the last major fire was probably lit by british troops

0:24:39 to 0:25:00( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: in 1814. it said the vast majority of the money is going to washington parks and people which sponsors park festivals and refurbishes urban parks in the washington area. mr. president, in wyoming we have over 9 million acres of national forestland. there are seven national forests in our state. we face many management

0:25:01 to 0:25:21( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: challenges in those forests. the agency strug tolls meet its basic responsibilities. over one million acres are infested with mountain pine beetle in wyoming. that's just one species of beetle, a species that has killed over one million acres of trees. the devastation stretches well beyond the horizon in many places, and where the beetle

0:25:22 to 0:25:43( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: infestation sat its worst in the med i son bone national forest, affected acres have doubled between 2007 and 2008. the problem is severe. it is growing exponentially and we are facing extreme wildland fire in wyoming. so when the u.s. forest service recommended $500 million and

0:25:44 to 0:26:05( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: received that amount of money for wildlife fire management in the stimulus package, you would think maybe the agency would use those funds to combat threats to forest health on its lands nationwide. you'd think maybe we'd see some real results on the wyoming and in your state of colorado. instead, wyoming -- instead,

0:26:06 to 0:26:26( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: wyoming was awarded zero dollars in the first round of forest projects under the stimulus and only after the congressional delegation and the governor of wyoming appealed to the department of agriculture, were funds awarded for forest projects in wyoming. meanwhile, the agency spent -- wantwants to spend $2.8 million on

0:26:27 to 0:26:48( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: wildland fire in washington, d.c. the people in forest communities in my state deserve better and the people of america demand better. wyoming boasts incredible wildlife populations, unique ecosystems and breathtaking views. over half of the land in wyoming is public land.

0:26:49 to 0:27:10( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: you can see rangelands, alpine forests, glacial basins and desert landscapes in wyoming. we host millions of visitors every year who enjoy wyoming's wilderness. the district of columbia is not under threat of wildlife -- of wildland fire. in fact the government's

0:27:11 to 0:27:31( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: national interagency center qualifies what safire and d.c. does not qualify. clearly, the district should not receive these funds. the u.s. forest service should not spend vital funds for wildfire fighting and for prevention in washington, d.c. i've introduced this amendment with a number of other senators from the west, senator kyl,

0:27:32 to 0:27:52( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: senator ensign and senator mccain are cosponsoring. and we want to make sure that the u.s. forest service is not wasting management opportunities opportunities. we will nottand by and watch our states burn when resources are available to prevent that. and i would ask all senators t support this amendment. so, mr. president, at this time

0:27:53 to 0:28:04( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: i which are it set aside the pending business and call up