Position on H.R. 9908 – Strengthening Wildfire Resiliency Through Satellites Act
The Federation of American Scientists supports H.R. 9908, the Strengthening Wildfire Resiliency Through Satellites Act.
The Strengthening Wildfire Resilience Through Satellites Act would help combat wildfires through advanced early detection using satellite technology. The bill creates a three-year grant program under the United States Geological Survey encouraging states to use satellite technology for wildfire detection, active fire monitoring, and post-disaster recovery.
“Rep. Pettersen and Rep. Obernolte are leading the way to ensure states have access to cutting edge satellite technology to modernize the way wildland fires are detected, monitored, managed, and recovered from. The Federation of American Scientists is proud to support this bill to better equip our states and first responders to tackle severe wildfires” said James Campbell, Wildfire Policy Specialist at the Federation of American Scientists.
The Fix Our Forests Act provides an opportunity to speed up the planning and implementation of wildfire risk reduction projects on federal lands while expanding collaborative tools to bring more partners into this vital work.
Public health insurance programs, especially Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), are more likely to cover populations at increased risk from extreme heat, including low-income individuals, people with chronic illnesses, older adults, disabled adults, and children.
Of course badly designed regulatory approaches can block progress or dry up the supply of public goods. But a theory of the whole regulatory world can’t be neatly extrapolated from urban zoning errors.
Congress should design strategic insurance solutions, enhance research and data, and protect farmworkers through on-farm adaptation measures.