And oregon senator widen came to the senate floor to remind the nation while the Natural Disaster focus is on hurricane affected areas at the moment. There continues to be a serious wildfire problem in the west. Mr. President , the images and stories weve witnessed in the aftermath of harvey and irma are devastating. I want to thank every american, every montanaen who has pitched in, donated to the Recovery Efforts in texas and florida, but i rise today to remind the country that theres another devastating and ongoing Natural Disaster that is impacting thousands of families, costing taxpayers billions of dollars and draining local economies. As the eyes of the nation were on florida this last weekend and rightly so. Montana wildfires consumed another 150,000 acres. Today, weve seen over 1. 1 million acres burned in montana this summer. If this is more than three times the 10year average and nearly the size of the state of delaware. The impact is widespread. Wildfires have burned farming and grazing land that was used to help feed this country as well as valuable timber in good mills across the cistate. The 1. 1 million acres including hiking, fishing, and grandparents can take kids to the fishing poles. And the fires consumed hiking trails that helped to drive our state. Its over 70,000 jobs in montana alone. And the smoke from these fires has put our health at risk, the health of our kids and our neighbors. I suppose to the smoke, that covered the state of montana. In addition to burning nearly 2000 square miles, these fires are burning a hole in our budget. As of this morning, tapes have paid nearly 350 million to fight the wires in montana alone. Across the west thats 2 billion. And the Forest Service is forced to rob peter to pay paul. Money that should be used to prevent fire seasons and maintain the Forest Trails and roads, research development. And to make our force more resilient, thinning, cutting, moving debris, the forest a using this to fight fire. Weve taken money from the wildfire mitt grayings and preparedness accounts to pay for the finding of wildfires in existence. Each year we spend more money to fight wildfires, use less money to prevent firefighters. This is nothing new. Its a tend weve seen in the last 20 years. Each passing year, fires are more intense, our fire borrowing leaves an entire agency with know he no reserve to complete its coil mission. Theyve paid 300 additional dollars to fight fire, but i think were going to blow well past that now, too. And that might be enough for montana alone, but we need to be able to help the firefighters in california and oregon, washington, idaho and across the west. In the meantime force management on the ground is ham strung and we have no longterm fix to the problem. As a result were investing less in active force management which leaves our forest even more vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires. Frankly, the forestry is becoming a Firefighting Agency not fire angment. When our season ends, the work begins. I have concern without immediate action, congress on budget will provide adequate resources to restore and prepare for spring. If it leaves workers handcuffed this fall, our clean water along with our blue river trout streams will be put at risk. That isnt all. The impact of this season has been far beyond. Devastating fire season has undercut montanas economy and put jobs at risk. Ive heard from Small Business owners who are seeing it slashed. It results in empty beaths in the Family Restaurants and on down, empty booths. And school recesses have been canceled, High School Football and soccer games have been moved hundreds had of miles away and folks wear breathing mavericks when they get their mail. It turned a promising spring into an underwhelming harvest. These impacts are real and unfortunately, theyre not temporary. Folks in montana will be dealing with the impacts of this recordbreaking fire season for many months and in some cases, many years to come. So, as progress works, again, to give florida and texas the help they deserve, im here to ensure that montanans get the resources this he need. Here is what the senate and Congress Must be. The Forest Service must fully reimburse f reimburse for fighting wildfires. The Forest Service must be fully reimbursed. Every dime removed for maintenance, mitigation, restoration and wildfires. Why . We cannot leave the Forest Service without a much cleaned out budget. They have to be able to recover from catastrophic process. We can cut dead and dying debris and what is ruling the fire. Congress must have some legislation so we can treat wildfire funding just like the Natural Disaster that it is. The third thing is that every Small Business and family warmer, ranch in montanya suffered lost related to wildfires must have urgent access to available resources at the Small Business administration and usda. I contacted the administration and resources are for montana, they dont end after the wildfires are put out. The fourth thing is, senate must provide fast track. Im working on a bill with other western senators to assure that states like montana and other states impacted by devastating wildfires, have access to adequate recovery resources. And finally, after a month of recordbreaking hurricanes and historic wildfires, its beyond time to have a discussion. In montana there are still 21 fire burning and many monday mondays that need help. Over the coming weeks and months, as we take steps for other Natural Disasters around the country. We need to Work Together to not only help those in desperate need, but move forward with longterm solutions. Solutions that will help us deal with the ka catastrophes, whether its floods, hurricanes, droughts or wildfires. If we get that done we will have done our job in the United States senate