Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is cosponsoring the bipartisan Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act to help ensure quick response times to wildfires in Georgia and across the nation.
The bill was first introduced by Senators Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Andy Kim (D-NJ) and would establish a 30-minute national standard response time for wildfires on Federal land.
For Georgia, this new standard aims to improve wildfire response time for Federal forest land across the state.
Sen. Ossoff took action on this bill because of Georgia’s recent experience with wildfire activity. To him, this is about equipping first responders with clear and necessary standards.
“In recent years, the State of Georgia has seen unprecedented wildfire activity threatening lives and property,” Sen. Ossoff said. “This bipartisan bill will ensure that firefighters and first responders are able to quickly respond to these emergencies and keep our communities safe.”
Sen. Sheehy also commented on this bill, describing it as an ‘America First’ solution necessary for mitigating wildfire damage.
He stated, “The [Wildfire Response and Preparedness Act] will help our brave firefighters put out wildfires while they are small and dramatically reduce catastrophic wildfire damage. This bill will save lives and prevent hundreds of billions of dollars in future property damage.”
The Bill
To clarify, the bill's core objective is to require the Departments of Agriculture and Interior to establish standardized response times for wildfire incidents on federal land.
Also known as S 902, the bill defines "response time" as the exact window of time between the ignition of a wildland fire and its evaluation for suppression efforts. These evaluations are conducted by public safety officers or volunteers.
The Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture must comply with the bill’s standards within 90 days of enactment. The bill stresses the importance of its new standards but allows for some flexibility depending on the practicability of enacting them.
Within one year of enactment, the Secretaries must jointly submit a thorough strategic report to the Agriculture, Energy, and Natural Resources Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives.
