Statement on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Markup
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) commends Chairman Manchin, Ranking Member Barrasso, and the entire Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for clearing a historic 75 pieces of legislation, including multiple crucial bills to confront the wildfire crisis.
FAS urges the Senate to consider and support the following legislation, which is critical to confronting and addressing the wildfire crisis:
- S. 1764, a bill to improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, and for other purposes (Sen. Cortez Masto).
- S. 2132, a bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a pilot program for the establishment and use of a pre-fire-suppression stand density index, and for other purposes (Sen. Lee).
- S. 2169, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out watershed pilots, and for other purposes (Sen. Wyden).
- S. 2867, a bill to address the forest health crisis on the National Forest System and public lands, and for other purposes (Ranking Member Barrasso).
- S. 2991, a bill to improve revegetation and carbon sequestration activities in the United States, and for other purposes (Chairman Manchin).
- S. 4424, a bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage and expand the use of prescribed fire on land managed by the Department of the Interior or the Forest Service, with an emphasis on units of the National Forest System in the western United States, to acknowledge and support the long-standing use of cultural burning by Tribes and Indigenous practitioners, and for other purposes (Sen. Wyden).
“FAS is looking forward to working with Members of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to continue advancing this bipartisan package of bills as it moves through the legislative process,” said James Campbell, a wildfire policy specialist at the Federation of American Scientists. “We appreciate the thorough consideration of this legislation and urge leadership to pass these bipartisan bills before the end of the year.”
We are encouraged that the Administration and Congress are recognizing the severity of the wildfire crisis and elevating it as a national priority. Yet the devil is in the details when it comes to making real-world progress.
The good news is that even when the mercury climbs, heat illness, injury, and death are preventable. The bad news is that over the past five months, the Trump administration has dismantled essential preventative capabilities.
The Federation of American Scientists supports H.Res. 446, which would recognize July 3rd through July 10th as “National Extreme Heat Awareness Week”.
The Federation of American Scientists supports H.R. 3738 of the 119th Congress, titled the “Heat Management Assistance Grant Act of 2025.”