U.S. House Democrats passed wildfire and drought legislation earlier this month over the strong objections of a longtime congressman from wildfire-plagued California.
U.S. House Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), who represents California's 42nd Congressional District, joined almost all other GOP congressional representatives who cast a vote on Aug. 2 against the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, House Resolution 5118. Calvert said the Democrat legislation was more about politics than doing anything about wildfires and drought, in a news release issued by his office four days earlier.
U.S. House Rep. Ken Calvert, left, with then Vice President Mike Pence during a federal wildfire response meeting in 2017
| facebook.com/RepKenCalvert
"As House Democrats grasp at straws to boost their electoral fortunes ahead of a November election, they put a bill on the House floor that is more likely to increase the frequency and intensity of catastrophic wildfire while doing nothing to alleviate California's historic drought," Calvert said in his news release. "This legislation would be more aptly titled the More Fires, Less Water Act."
The legislation would double down on the California Coastal Commission's "authority to baselessly deny environmentally friendly desalination projects" and force the U.S. Forest Service to lay off hundreds of wildland firefighters, Calvert said. H.R. 5118 also wouldn't protect "California's iconic giant sequoia groves" and would worsen "the West’s regulatory-induced wildfire crisis" right in the middles of wildfire season, according to Calvert.
Calvert added that he tried to improve the legislation.
"I offered six amendments to this legislation that would undo just a few of the detrimental policies this bill proposed, but Democrats blocked any of them from so much as an up or down vote on the floor," he said. "This legislation is an unserious solution to some of the West’s most serious problems. When Congress legislates on existential issues like fire and drought, we need a bipartisan approach that gives Members a seat at the table."
California's 42nd Congressional District, when Calvert was elected, was entirely within Riverside County and included Corona, Eastvale, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Norco, Murrieta and Wildomar, along with portions of Temecula and Riverside.
Calvert, who resides in Corona and is one of the longest-serving members in Congress, is seeking reelection in California's 41st congressional district thanks to the state's redistricting last year. The new district includes most cities in Coachella Valley, including Palm Springs, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert, as well as Menifee, Norco and Corona in western Riverside County.
Calvert took more than 48% of the vote during his primary run for the seat in June. He faces Democrat Will Rollins of Torrance, a former federal prosecutor, in November's General Elections.
H.R. 5118 would authorize projects aimed at mitigating drought and wildfire risk, including the conservation, desalination and recycling of water, protection for ecosystems and communities, electrical grid protection and improvement. H.R. 5118 would provide $50 million in grants for disadvantaged communities to spend on environmental education, volunteerism opportunities and other activities, none of which will help prevent wildfire, according to Calvert's news release.
H.R. 5118 would "give zero wildland firefighters a pay raise, as all currently make above $20 per hour," the news release said. "In the long-term, this would result in layoffs of more than 610 wildland firefighters, a critical blow to workforce morale and fire preparedness."
HR 5118 was introduced into the House almost a year ago by its primary sponsor, House Rep. Joseph Neguse (D-Colorado), but didn't pass the House until Aug. 2's 218 - 199 roll call vote that was almost entirely on party lines. The lone Republican yea vote was from House Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma. Republican House reps Rick W. Allen and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Michael C. Burgess of Texas, Jeff Duncan and Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Bob Good of Virginia, Vicky Hartzler and Billy Long of Missouri, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Kevin McCarthy of California and Steve Scalise of Louisiana did not take part in the vote.
The lone Democrat nay vote was cast by Kurt Schrader of Oregon, while Democrats Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania and Bill Pascrell Jr. of New Jersey did not take part in the vote.
The legislation is now in the U.S. Senate.