Wildfire costs have grown so fast that they now take up 48% of the U.S. Forest Service's budget. This has squeezed funding for other federal programs, including activities aimed at preventing forest fires. Thursday, on a vote of 412 to 3, the House passed legislation to create a special fund for firefighting. The bill is known as the "Flame Fund," named after the bill's full title: the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act.
The amount of money in the fund would be up to appropriators, but the bill calls for at least the average amount federal agencies spent on emergency wildfire suppression over the past five fiscal years. When he introduced the bill Representative Nick Rahall, D-W.V., said fighting these fires is turning the Forest Service into the Fire Service. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.
The bill would require the Agriculture and Interior departments to develop wildfire management strategies, and would establish a grant program within each department designed to assist communities in preparing for wildfires.
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