A House panel Tuesday will make the case for streamlining government action in protecting transmission lines on federal lands.
With wildfire risks growing and some 90,000 miles of transmission lines crossing Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management properties nationwide, lawmakers from both parties have endorsed the notion of expediting forest-thinning and other preventive measures.
So by summoning a hefty lineup of utility professionals to testify at the Tuesday morning hearing, members of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries hope in part to nudge the Senate to act on legislation that has already passed the House.
Last year, the House passed H.R. 471, the “Fix Our Forests Act,” by a bipartisan margin of 279-141, with 64 Democrats voting in favor of the measure.
