President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2016-17 Budget proposal to Congress once again included a policy provision to change the way the nation Budgets for wildfire suppression activities. This is the third year in a row the President has included the proposal in his annual request.
The proposal would move 30 percent of the previous 10 years suppression cost average from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) annual budget into a disaster account within the Disaster Relief Fund. The requested policy would allow the USFS to access disaster funds in a similar manner to other natural disaster response activities. Supporters of the policy believe it will give the USFS the budgetary certainty it needs to conduct prevention and restoration work in national forests year round without having to raid those accounts to pay for suppression activities. Support for the policy on Capitol Hill remains split on the issue.
The House of Representatives have already passed a bill with a similar provision but refuse to take up the President’s language. The Senate has yet to act on any forest management provisions thus far in the 114th Congress.