The Fire Ready Nation Act Includes Two of Rosen’s Amendments to Prioritize Wildfire and Smoke Monitoring and Direct NOAA to Assess Utility of Fire Data
Watch Senator Rosen’s Remarks HERE.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology advanced bipartisan wildfire preparedness legislation, the Fire Ready Nation Act, which is co-sponsored by Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and includes two of her amendments to codify and strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) authority and capacity to help prevent, forecast and fight wildfires.
“In Nevada and across the American Southwest, we know the dangers and destruction from wildfire emergencies all too well,” said Senator Rosen. “This bill includes several provisions I championed to strengthen our response to wildfires at the federal level, including two amendments adopted today to improve wildfire data collection and enhance wildfire and smoke monitoring. I’m proud to see us move forward in a bipartisan way to protect our communities against this growing threat, and I look forward to continuing to work on this issue in the Senate.”
Senator Rosen’s amendments will direct NOAA to assess the data collected from fire response and aircrafts, and will place an emphasis on wildfire and smoke monitoring. The bipartisan bill passed through committee today also includes several provisions based on the bipartisan Fire Information and Reaction Enhancement (FIRE) Act, which Senator Rosen and Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced earlier this year to direct NOAA to establish a new program to improve wildfire forecasting and detection. Additionally, this bill includes provisions based on a Rosen-led amendment from the Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act, which would waive annual premium caps for National Weather Service incident meteorologists – specialists dispatched to wildland fires alongside firefighting crews to provide accurate up-to-date information critical to combating fires – when they work overtime during wildfire emergencies.
###
