Congress Lets Western States Burn, Fails to Find Funding to Combat Wildfires

[madokie]

Recess begins without lawmakers acting on legislation to fund firefighting efforts in Oregon, Washington and California.

Congress is heading home for summer vacation, failing to act on emergency funding to combat the wildfires that are raging in the West.

President Obama had requested $615 million in emergency funding to help the U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department pay for firefighting efforts, and the Democratic-controlled Senate proposed a $2.7 billion spending bill to deal with both the wildfires and the influx of unaccompanied minors along the Southwest border. But Senate Republicans used a procedural objection to block its consideration.The House did not introduce a bill to combat wildfires.

Although Congress returns next month, the fire season in some states will have passed its peak.

Ironically, without emergency funding from Congress, the Forest Service and Interior Department will need to transfer money from elsewhere in their budgets, including funds earmarked to remove flammable vegetation from forests, projects that help prevent such fires from raging in the first place.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/congress-lets-western-states-burn-fails-find-funding-combat-wildfires

This ultimately will be blamed by the republiCONs and our so called free Press on Obama just as sure as I'm typing this is true. MO

[JDPriestly]

1. The Western-most states, Washington, Oregon and California are all Democratic.

Is this yet another partisan play by Republicans?

Certainly this report will be very useful in Western states in campaigning to get Republicans out of Congress in November.