A wildfire-destroyed building in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Rep. Bruce Westerman plans to reintroduce his bipartisan forest management legislation this week amid devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
Why it matters: Westerman said his bill with Rep. Scott Peters would prevent and mitigate the worst of the wildfires.
- The Fix Our Forests Act would allow firefighters to "treat defensible areas so that, when these fires happen, it gives you a place to get the fire under control and get some firefighters in place to go in and create a line to stop the fire as best as possible," Westerman told reporters Monday.
Between the lines: The legislation passed the House in September with 55 Democrats joining all Republicans.
- But the bill was never brought up in the Senate for a vote, and environmental groups oppose the bill as a rollback of NEPA and ESA protections.
- Westerman told Axios he has had conversations with senators about the proposal, but not Majority Leader John Thune.
What's next: House Republicans have discussed tying wildfire aid for California to either a debt ceiling increase or resource management policy conditions for the state.
- But Westerman said he wasn't necessarily looking for his measure to be attached to a wildfire relief bill.
- "I think this will happen way faster than any disaster relief bill," Westerman said. "It should've happened last year."
