Congresswoman Lee Votes to Pass Bipartisan Legislation to Confront Wildfires, Improve Forest Management

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) voted to pass the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act out of the House of Representatives to improve forest management and confront the wildfire crisis. She is an original cosponsor of the bill. 

In 2024, wildfires in the United States burned nearly 9 million acres of land. Most recently, wildfires have devastated southern California — so much so that southern Nevada’s own Clark County Fire Department, Las Vegas Fire Department, and Henderson Fire Department have sent firefighters to assist in containment efforts. There is scientific consensus on the solution to this crisis: active and science-based forest management, increased interagency and state-federal-tribal collaboration, and continued research and development on next-generation technologies and solutions. 

The Fix Our Forests Act is comprehensive, bipartisan legislation that aims to reduce the intensity of catastrophic wildfires, build fire-safety defenses for communities in high-risk areas, and restore forest health — including through increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration projects.  

Lee proposed adding a bipartisan amendment to the Fix Our Forest Act to lock in a long-overdue permanent pay fix for federal wildland firefighters. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Lee helped negotiate and pass in 2021 provided a much-needed, but temporary, boost to federal wildland firefighter pay, bringing it closer to industry standards. Without additional congressional action, these firefighters — hundreds of whom have been deployed to the frontlines of the historic fires in the Los Angeles area this month — will soon face a cut of 50% of their income, up to $20,000. The Republican-led House Rules Committee did not make her amendment “in order” — denying it the opportunity for an up-or-down vote on the House Floor. 

“The Fix Our Forests Act allows federal agencies to more effectively manage forests on public lands to prevent fires. Last year, wildfires in the U.S. burned nearly 9 million acres, but with better prevention and maintenance, that number could’ve been smaller,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee. “Additionally, I will continue fighting every day to get our wildland firefighters the pay they deserve for the incredibly dangerous — and too-often thankless — work they do to keep us safe.” 

The Fix Our Forests Act is endorsed by stakeholders ranging from the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters and the Western Fire Chiefs Association to the National Association of Counties and National Congress of American Indians. 

Specifically, the Fix Our Forests Act will: 

• Simplify and expedite environmental reviews to reduce costs and planning times for critical forest management projects while maintaining rigorous environmental standards. 
• Create an interagency Fireshed Center to help states, local governments, and communities. The Center will: 
  • Assess and help predict fire in high-risk areas near communities through data integration; 
  • Help pre-position wildfire suppression assets based on real-time risk; 
  • Support post-fire recovery activities, including ecosystem recovery; and 
  • Provide publicly accessible data, models, technologies, assessments, and fire weather forecasts. 
• Create a new Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Program and Community Wildfire Defense Research Program, which will help communities and Tribes in high-risk areas by investing in innovative fire detection and suppressant technologies and modernizing construction standards and building codes. 
• Provide a holistic framework — which does not exist today — for local communities to participate early and often in project planning and implementation. 
• Ensure local fire departments are fairly and quickly compensated for fighting fires on federal lands. 

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