Senator introduces bill to speed air tanker contracting

UPDATE at 9:57 a.m. MT, June 8, 2012: When we wrote this article yesterday the text of the bill was not available. Now it is and we included it below (We added the link to the solicitation):

Notwithstanding the last sentence of section 3903(d) of title 41, United States Code, the Chief of the Forest Service may award contracts pursuant to Solicitation Number AG-024B-S-11-9009 for large air tankers earlier than the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date of the notification required under the first sentence of section 3903(d) of that title.

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UPDATE at 7:46 p.m. MT, June 7, 2012: the Associated Press is reporting that the Senate passed the bill today. The U.S. Forest Service told Congress that they have made a decision about new air tanker contracts but have to wait until late June to award them. It is very surprising a body of Congress can pass this bill three days after it was introduced. The bill now goes over to the House of Representatives.

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Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico introduced a bill on June 4 that would speed the contracting of air tankers. Currently there is a requirement that Congress be notified 30 days before certain contracts are awarded. This bill, S. 3261, would partially waive that requirement, making it possible for the U.S. Forest Service to issue federal contracts for at least seven large air tankers before the end of that 30-day period.

Below is video of Senator Wyden speaking on the Senate floor on June 5, in which he addresses the Tanker 11 fatalities, the crash of Tanker 55, the shortage of air tankers, and the bill he just introduced. The text of his remarks as prepared can be found HERE.

If Senator Wyden’s legislative record during this term in the Senate is any indication, it is unlikely the bill will be passed. He has sponsored 73 bills, none of which were made into law. Of the 209 bills he co-sponsored, one became law.

Some would say the U.S. Forest Service’s Fire and Aviation Management staff, instead of looking for ways to speed up the air tanker contracting process, is instead, searching desperately for ways to slow the process to a crawl, so they don’t have to actually make a decision.

Colorado Senator Mark Udall has been vocal on the issues of bark beetles and air tankers, and on April 12 wrote a letter to Chief of the U.S. Forest Service Tom Tidwell expressing his concerns about the state of the aging fleet of air tankers. In the letter he said:

Though air tankers are only one part of the wildfire-response effort, they play a critical role in the initial attack. With an aging fleet that has dwindled from 44 air tankers in 2002 to 11 this year, and will continue to decline in the years to come, I am unconvinced the USFS’s current air tanker fleet is prepared to adequately address an immense wildfire or even what is sure to be a long fire season…

Talk is cheap. Introducing a bill, asking questions, or writing a letter, is easy, but turning it into action is another story. Several Senators talk tough in hearings about the air tanker fiasco, but they don’t pass bills funding any changes that would benefit the program. Other Senators that have questioned the U.S. Forest Service’s management of the air tanker program include Jon Kyl, AZ; Lisa Murkowski, AK; Jeff Bingaman, NM; Ron Wyden, OR; Mark Udall, CO; Jon Tester, MT; and Dianne Feinstein, CA.

The only way the air tanker program will see any long term meaningful changes will be if Congress forces it upon the U.S. Forest Service. These Senators should know that talking tough, issuing press releases, and writing letters to Tom Tidwell is not adequate. A successful strategy in wars and for initial attack on wildfires is overwhelming force. That is what it will take in this case.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

13 thoughts on “Senator introduces bill to speed air tanker contracting”

  1. The elected politicians (House and Senate) act fast when it’s an election year and smoke is in the air.

    Hopefully the momentum and movement will stay on their radar.

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    1. Not sure what you’re getting at Larry. Your link provides information about Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) grants administered by FEMA, which is within the DHS.

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  2. Over the past few months multiple articles have been written about the air tanker fleet and the USFS’s mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. What I’m getting out of all these articles is that maybe we need to push for a change within the management of the USFS and other federal agencies. I’ve been on many fires where we had air tankers forced upon us to help put a stop on them when in all actuality there was no threat to lives or property and the area needed to burn. Something needs to be done like using the studies on resource management. We have 5 Federal agencies providing the same service (wildland fire fighting) and in a lot of cases not working together. But when you get out on the ground we are all doing the same job. We could do a lot better job with less overhead if a single fire service was incharge of fighting fires.

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  3. North of the border, Canadian provinces and commercial operators have invested $500 million since about 2005 in new firefighting aircraft, aircraft refurbishment and the conversion of commercial airliners to air tankers. Most jurisdictions have gone all turboprop which cuts down the expense of having avgas in remote northern areas in case a fire occurs. Natural resources in Canada are owned and managed by the Provinces and Territories. The Federal initial attack role is limited to protecting the National Parks.

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  4. Either way……….

    USFS asking for contracts before 30 days or Senators introducing bills waiving requirements shows plenty of us one major thing…

    USFS is afraid and motioning more CYA activities so it “looks good” in front of the Senate and House that they “might be doing something.”

    Hopefully the talk turn to direct pressure and INSTRUCTS the USFS that the rest of their 2012 -2013 budget WILL be for airtanker funding only..

    Wouldn’t that chap some peoples fannies IF that could actually happen.

    Maybe with enough Congressional pressure and more citizen pressure this could be a possibility.

    Let the FUN begin….50+ yrs too late!!

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  5. Bill – I have to wonder if the Legislative Record of Senator Wyden is a reflection of the Bills that he has introduced and co-sponsored, or rather is indicative of the gridlock and “Super Majority” now needed to get anything through this disfunctional body we call our Senate?? Maybe Wyden would have more success if he just stuck to sponsoring names for Post Offices? Let’s hope the Reds and Blues get together on this one.

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  6. Bill,

    The number of bills that you reference in your article (73 sponsored, 209 co-sponsored) is for THIS current session in the Senate, 2011-2016.

    Senator Ron Wyden is currently Chairman, Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests.

    Senator Wyden was very active in the early 2000’s during the period of Forest Service advances under the “Healthy Forests Restoration Act” (HFRA), as well as various other bills funding the buildup of firefighting resources under the National Fire Plan.

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  7. He should get his facts right before addressing congress. According to my sources Tanker 55 sustained little to know damage and Minden Air expects to have 55 back in the air in a few months.

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      1. Little to no damage, but out of action for several months? Wonder how long the down period would be if it had just “minor” damage?

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