Wildfires May Spur FY2016 Funding Changes While Leaving Policy Issues for Another Day

摘要

The severe fire season in western U.S. forests has intensified calls for funding changes so that the U.S. Forest Service does not have to borrow money from other accounts to finish out a fiscal year of wildfire suppression. The situation has revived the question of whether a solution can be accomplished through fiscal changes alone or whether a stepped-up level of active forest management is needed, with legal changes to reduce litigation and the time it takes to get projects approved. One possibility is a continuing resolution for fiscal year 2016 appropriations that would include a provision to halt, at least for one fiscal year, what is called "fire borrowing."