Rep. Peters Calls Out ‘Early Dismissal’; Demands Vote for Wildfires

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) continued his week-long effort to convince Speaker John Boehner that the House of Representatives should not adjourn today. This afternoon, Rep. Peters called for a vote on H.R. 3992, the “Wildfire Disaster Funding Act,” which would allow firefighting agencies like the Forest Service to access natural disaster contingency funds when fighting catastrophic fires instead of taking from internal program funds, much of which would have been used in prevention efforts for future years.

“Wildfires are raging across thousands of acres in California right now, amplifying the urgent need for this legislative solution that ensures we can fight fires without stealing from prevention,” Rep. Peters said. “As we face longer, more intense wildfire seasons this fix will only become more necessary. This bill would pass today if given a vote – communities like mine in San Diego shouldn’t suffer because of continued Washington dysfunction.”

“Instead of sending Congress home for 7 weeks of campaigning, Speaker Boehner should allow a vote on this legislation that will allow us to fund both wildfire prevention and response.”

Rep. Peters is a cosponsor of the “Wildfire Disaster Funding Act,” and earlier this summer led his colleagues in a petition demanding a vote on the bill, which currently has 196 of the 218 necessary signatories. The “Wildfire Disaster Funding Act is truly bipartisan bill, with 75 Democratic cosponsors and 61 Republican cosponsors.

Background on the Fight Against ‘Early Dismissal’

As part of his fight against Speaker Boehner’s move to dismiss Congress early for a 7-week campaign break, Rep. Peters has highlighted legislative priorities that are awaiting action in Congress and should be addressed before the House adjourns today through mid-November. Over the last week, Congressman Peters focused on several pending pieces of legislation:

• The need to pass the “Paycheck Fairness Act” to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work
• The need to pass the “Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act” to make college more affordable and reduce the burden of lower student loan debt
• The need to pass the “Protect Women's Health from Corporate Interference Act of 2014” to protect women’s access to birth control and their ability to make their own health care decisions
• The need to pass the bipartisan “Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act” to ensure that seniors and their families are able to be reimbursed by Medicare for skilled nursing services
• The need to pass bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform that would expand the economy, secure the border, and reduce the national deficit
• The need to pass the “Pregnant Workers Fairness Act” to ensure that expecting mothers are not forced out of their jobs or denied reasonable accommodations
• The need to pass the “Homes for Heroes Act” and the “Shelter our Servicemembers Act” to reduce the number of homeless veterans, and ensure they are receiving the support we promised them

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