WASHINGTON- House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry Chair Abigail Spanberger of Virginia delivered the following statement on today's hearing on 2020 wildfires, response and recovery.

[As Prepared for Delivery]

"How we come together to help our Western states respond to, recover from, and rebuild stronger can be a defining act in these times. In addition to our important conversation today, there is much work to be done beyond the jurisdiction of this Subcommittee; including: support for community and home rebuilding, for rural development, for health care services, other emergency management and response needs in the areas devastated by wildfires, taking meaningful actions to reduce our carbon footprint across all sectors of the economy, and building a more resilient and sustainable economy

"There is also clearly more work that needs to be done by this Subcommittee and this Committee on both questions of climate solutions in the agricultural and forestry sectors. I stand ready to continue this work. As I said at the top of this hearing, we should not have to wait for the ash of the wildfires to reach the Capitol’s steps to take action.  

"I look forward to our continued work together as a Subcommittee, Committee, Congress, and Nation to support these efforts. I would like to thank USDA staff and our witness here today for their commitment to addressing this grand challenge."