Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Getty photos: David McNew and George Rose
Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman predicts the House-passed forest management bill has "a good chance of passing soon" in the upper chamber.
Why it matters: The Agriculture Committee has some jurisdiction on the Fix Our Forests Act, and Boozman has been coordinating with House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman on the bill.
- Westerman and House cosponsor Scott Peters have framed it as a way to mitigate the kind of fires that have ripped through the Los Angeles area.
Driving the news: Boozman said he and Westerman are trying to figure out "the best path forward" after the House passed the bill in a bipartisan vote last week.
- Peters told reporters last week that he's "socializing" it with Democrats in the Senate.
- More than 60 Democrats voted for it on the House floor, but most opposed it over concerns about making new carve-outs in environmental laws.
Zoom in: The bill would create categorical exemptions for forest thinning projects under the National Environmental Policy Act.
- It would also seek to limit endangered species consultations and litigation on fire management projects.
