Congresswoman Stansbury Welcomes President Biden's Wildfire Funding Announcement

Statement

U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) welcomed President Joe Biden's announcement that the federal government would waive cost-share requirements for Categories A and B under the Major Disaster Declaration assistance wildfire response, fully fund the state's recovery efforts, and authorize an initial $22 million to begin watershed restoration during a visit to New Mexico this afternoon.

Rep. Stansbury joined the full New Mexico delegation in requesting the cost-share waiver on May 4. New Mexico is currently experiencing the most extreme wildfires in the state's history, the largest caused by a U.S. Forest Service prescribed burn.

"I am grateful for President Biden's leadership and for his announcement today that the federal government will assume the full cost of responding to and recovering from the largest fire in New Mexico's history. There is more work to be done, but we are grateful for this relief as we work to get legislative relief passed in Congress. I thank Governor Lujan Grisham for her incredible leadership in leading state's response and in caring and advocating for our communities. The federal government bears a special responsibility to make our state and families whole again.

"Though New Mexicans are resilient, we will need federal support to rebuild and are grateful for President Biden's announcement at this critical time. I will be working alongside our Congressional delegation to pass our Hermits Peak legislation and comprehensive fire and drought legislation in the coming weeks. As we respond to the changing conditions caused by the climate crisis and a millennial drought, we must double down on our investments in long term solutions for land stewardship, community resilience, and water security to prevent even more severe impacts for our communities."

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