Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015 with bipartisan support by a vote of 262-167.  Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), the chief sponsor of the legislation, supported by 175 forestry, labor, wildlife and water groups, issued the following statements upon final passage.  
 
“The verdict is in. The draconian environmental policies and litigation assaults of the past thirty years have failed our forests. Horrific wildfires are running rampant in our National Forest System. H.R. 2647 gives the Forest Service the resources it needs to suppress these devastating wildfires and gives them the tools they need to prevent fires before they start,” stated Chairman Bishop. “I am proud of Rep. Westerman and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their advancement of H.R. 2647, a bill which makes enormous progress toward restoring the health of our treasured national forests.”
 
“The Resilient Federal Forests Act protects our national forests through proper management practices. It creates healthier forests, cleaner water, cleaner air, and protects the lives and property of Americans living in or near our national forests. I was pleased to see it pass the House,” stated Rep. Westerman. “This bill came with bipartisan support in the House and the support of nearly 100 groups from California to Maine. I want to thank Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) for his support, as well as Chairman Bishop for his leadership in moving this bill through the Committee on Natural Resources.”

 
The Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015, which passed the Committee on Natural Resources on June 11, 2015, and the House Agriculture Committee on June 17, 2015, was originally introduced by Reps. Westerman, Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), and Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ). 
 
Click here to view additional information on H.R. 2647.