Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) have recently introduced a bill (S.1875) to permit the use of emergency funding in fighting wildfires, in addition to money allocated in the Forest Service discretionary budget. Because larger fires are becoming more prevalent, agencies such as the Forest Service have had to borrow money from other places within their budget whenever their suppression funding runs out.

The Wyden-Crapo bill, officially called the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2013, is supported by Forest Service officials and the Department of the Interior. Representatives Mike Simpson (R-ID), Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water, and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) plan to introduce a companion bill in the House. 

Source: E&E Daily