The Trump administration proposed a $700-million reduction in funding to fight wildfires, but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a House panel that he will press the White House for more money, said Roll Call. At a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Perdue said he would “advocate very strongly” for additional funding to prevent and manage fires.
“I look forward to working with this committee … to see if we can get that across the goal line,” said Perdue. The administration proposed $5.2 billion for the Forest Service, down from $5.6 billion for the current fiscal year, including $2.5 billion for wildfire management. Some $3.2 billion was allocated for the current year.
Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson said the agency has too little funding for many activities because it cannibalizes its funding to fight wildfires. More than half of the Forest Service’s money goes to wildfires but smaller amounts are written into the budget, forcing so-called fire borrowing from other accounts. The Obama administration proposed, without success, that the Forest Service should be allowed to tap an emergency-spending account.