WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in pushing Senate Appropriations Committee leaders to increase National Guard funding for wildland firefighting efforts in fifteen states, including Minnesota.

“Year after year wildfires ravage local communities, businesses, homes and infrastructure in dry and western states,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Vice Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL).  “We ask that additional resources be allocated to the National Guard in order to train these members to do the critical work of protecting our communities. The appropriate training and equipment is essential to the wildfire season and with continued funding to the National Guard the states of Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming can rest assured knowing the most appropriate measures have been taken in order to protect their communities and interests."

Last July, more than 12,200 firefighters and support personnel—including members of the National Guard—were battling 59 major wildfires in Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Alaska, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Montana. 

As Minnesota suffered from unprecedented wildfires last summer, Klobuchar joined Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN) in September to urge the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure Ely Airport had the necessary infrastructure to combat wildfires. Last August, Klobuchar also pushed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to deploy Air Resource Advisors (ARAs) to areas in Minnesota affected by wildfires  for technical support and troubleshooting.

In addition to Klobuchar, the letter was also sent by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Alex Padilla (D-CA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The full text of the letter is available HERE and below: 

Dear Chairman Leahy and Vice-Chairman Shelby: 

We write to urge you to provide robust funding for the National Guard to support firefighting efforts in communities across the nation, particularly in the western states, affected by wildfires in the final Fiscal Year 2022 Defense Appropriations bill. 

Year after year wildfires ravage local communities, businesses, homes and infrastructure in dry and western states. We ask that additional resources be allocated to the National Guard in order to train these members to do the critical work of protecting our communities. The appropriate training and equipment is essential to the wildfire season and with continued funding to the National Guard the states of Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming can rest assured knowing the most appropriate measures have been taken in order to protect their communities and interests.

 In 2021 alone, wildfires destroyed 6.8 million acres of land. As state and federal agencies struggle to keep up with the annual devastation due to wildfires, support from the National Guard members has been critical. In 2021, this funding trained over 30,000 National Guard members to fight wildfires and protect communities across the country. This critical firefighting capability requires continued support from Congress to be sustained. 

As you finalize the FY22 Defense Appropriations bill, we urge you to include robust funding for wildfire training. It is critical to the National Guard’s ability to protect communities from wildfires. Thank you for considering this request. 

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