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Senator presses administration official over firefighter staffing and alleged Forest Service cuts
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Summary
A senator asked an administration official during a committee exchange whether proposed budget and staffing changes would leave Western states short of Forest Service firefighters ahead of a severe wildfire season, citing an asserted loss of 1,400 firefighters and asking for a yes-or-no commitment.
A senator pressed an administration official during a committee exchange about whether proposed budget and staffing changes would leave Western states short of Forest Service firefighters as the region faces one of the toughest wildfire seasons in decades.
The senator said the administration had shifted priorities toward the war in Iraq and accused it of previously withholding funds for firefighting, which "resulted in a departure of 1,400 qualified firefighters from the forest service." The senator added that immigration enforcement agents had been empowered "to actually arrest and detain firefighters who were in the middle ... fighting a fire," and asked the official to commit that the senator's state would "have the same number of firefighters and forest service staff on hand this summer." "Will we have the same number of people?" the senator demanded, asking for a yes-or-no answer.
The administration official pushed back on several of the senator's characterizations but stopped short of a direct staffing commitment. "We fully fund all fire prevention accounts," the official said, adding the president "cares a lot about it" and that, "During firefighting season, you're gonna have the full weight of the presidency to make sure it's ... fought." When pressed again for a yes-or-no commitment, the official said, "Senator, I'm not in charge of the forest service. So how they allocate their resources in fire season is something you have to ask them."
The exchange left the question of whether the same number of Forest Service firefighters will be available in the senator's state unresolved. The senator cited past departures and alleged agency actions as the reason for pressing for an explicit commitment; the administration official described funding priorities and organizational responsibility but declined to guarantee staffing levels.
The committee moved next to questions about mental‑health and substance‑abuse funding.
