Political parties need to put people first

Recently the House Agriculture Committee took up three amendments presented by Rep. LaMalfa to the multitrillion-dollar reconciliation budget bill. All had to do with the current wildfire crisis. All three were rejected on a party line vote.

As someone who has been a wildland firefighter and is concerned about our way forward, I looked at all three amendments. I had questions about two and would need further explanation. The first dealt with moving funds into prevention efforts vs putting out the fires. Prevention is always less expensive than treatment.

Does the other side have alternative plans to deal with this crisis we are experiencing each fire season? If so, let us know!

I am not a backer of Rep. LaMalfa, but if he has some good ideas, I certainly wouldn’t vote against him because he is from a different political party. It is time for members of each political party to step up and make a cooperative plan that will serve the North State.

The 2022 fire season will be worse than we have had this year. The US government, our governors, our representatives, and our senators do not grasp the wildfire situation we have. Where are they? We burn, they sit.

All I hear is asking for more large, multi-engine air tankers. How about getting more single-engine air tankers at a fraction of the price. We can get six small air tankers for the price of a single DC-10.

Should we apply for foreign aid?

— Chuck Sheley, Chico