Weekly Briefing: New bipartisan bill to address wildfires

You asked, and Congress is answering. Earlier this month, after seeing the devastating fires in Los Angeles, we sent 4,509 messages to Congress urging them to work in a bipartisan way to reduce wildfire risk.

A bipartisan pair of House Representatives (Democratic Rep. Scott Peters from California, pictured, and Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman from Arkansas) has now introduced an updated version of the Fix Our Forests Act. The bill is intended to improve forest health, increase resilience to wildfires, boost forest restoration projects, and more.

Our Government Affairs staff conducted outreach to congressional offices, urging them to advance the legislation, and the bill sponsors named CCL as an organization who supports the bill. The House quickly brought the bill to the floor last week, and passed it with a bipartisan vote of 279 to 141!

This bill is not entirely new to the scene. An earlier version of the bill was first introduced late in the 118th Congress (2023-2024), and our Government Affairs staff expressed CCL’s support to congressional offices at that time, too. With the current version of the bill now in the Senate, Citizens’ Climate is ready to mobilize our grassroots muscle and help move the needle. That starts with CCLers learning about the bill.

This Thursday at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, join us on Zoom for a training with CCL Senior Director of Government Affairs Jenn Tyler and CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli about the legislation. You’ll learn:

• What the Fix Our Forests Act would do 🌲
• Why CCL thinks it’s important to support this bill ✅
• How you can help the bill gain support in the Senate 🏛️

RSVP for Training

​​​​​​​In other news this week:

• Republicans speak up for climate measures: In a House Ways and Means Committee hearing earlier this month, eight Republican representatives urged their colleagues to preserve the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits that have brought jobs and investments to their districts. See the highlights of this story — including the names of the Republicans who spoke up — on Bluesky and X.

Take action this week

If you have a little time: Practice these Inflation Reduction Act talking points. As the fight ramps up to protect the climate measures in the Inflation Reduction Act, make sure you’ve practiced the communication exercise in CCL’s January Action Sheet. The exercise includes a sample dialogue that you can read out loud to get comfortable talking about some of the climate and economic benefits of the IRA.

If you have more time: Plan to attend CCL’s Conservative Conference — or invite someone. CCL’s 5th annual Conservative Conference and Lobby Day takes place in D.C. on March 4-5, and the registration deadline is right around the corner. If you are a right-of-center CCLer, submit your application before Feb. 18 to secure your spot. You’ll be able to build your climate communication skills with new training from CCL’s Executive Director Rachel Kerestes, as well as deepen your relationships with Republican congressional offices. (If you’re not right-of-center but know folks who are, share this opportunity with them and encourage them to attend.)

Featured chapter: CCL San Mateo County - read their feature here!

​​​​​​​Upcoming trainings

1/30: Fix Our Forests Act - Join CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli and Senior Director of Government Affairs Jennifer Tyler to learn about the science behind worsening wildfires, the new Fix Our Forests Act, and CCL's support of it. Join us!

2/4: CCL Media Basics - Learn about CCL's suite of media resources, including op-ed templates, guidance for local letters to the editor, and more. Join us!

2/11: Lobbying Basics: Planning and Practicing Your Meeting - Join CCL staff for an online training about preparing to meet with your member of Congress and what an actual meeting looks like. Join us!

To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.