November 20, 2015
"to elevate the condition of men--to lift artificial weights from all shoulders, to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all, to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance, in the race of life." --Abraham Lincoln
Chairman's Note: The Only Clear-Eyed and Sober Response
For most Americans, the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris last week served as a troubling reminder that radical Islamic terrorism is, and will likely continue to be for the foreseeable future, one of the most serious and persistent security threats facing the United States and our allies.
As we mourned the loss of life and grieved with the families of the victims in France, we also looked inward, evaluating the strengths and vulnerabilities of the security situation in America. In Washington, D.C., on the campaign trail, and around kitchen tables across the country, everyone was asking: what can be done to ensure that a similar attack, or worse, isn’t carried out on American soil?
As well we should. In the wake of an attack like the one perpetrated in the streets of Paris, this is one of the most important questions to ask. And it is the only clear-eyed, sober response to the stated intentions of radical Islamic terrorist groups – like ISIS, which claimed to have directed the Paris attacks – whose organizing principle is the wholesale slaughter of every man, woman, and child who fails to submit to their violent, repressive authoritarian rule.
Establishing an Islamic caliphate governed by sharia law and exterminating all of those outside of it – especially those living in non-theocratic democracies, like the United States – has long been the explicit objective of groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram. And in the wake of the Paris attacks, the threats of violence against Americans within the United States have only grown more frequent and specific.
Much of the conversation this week centered around how the United States should respond to the Syrian refugee crisis. The United States has a long, admirable tradition of welcoming foreign refugees, especially those fleeing religious persecution, like many of the roughly 10 million Syrians either internally displaced or seeking asylum abroad. But at the same time, the first and most important responsibility of the U.S. government is to protect the lives and liberties of the American people – including from threats originating within sympathetic refugee populations.
This is an urgent issue that could have serious – and irreversible – national security implications. So it’s important that we proceed cautiously and cooperatively, without the name-calling and political point-scoring that too often degrades our policy discussions.
But we must be careful not to lose sight of the forest for the trees. The number of refugees fleeing the chaos and violence in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East will only continue to climb unless and until we confront the questions at the heart of the matter – like, why is there a Syrian refugee crisis to begin with? What were the policies and actions that helped create the conditions for the rise of ISIS? What, if anything, can the U.S. government and military do to defend vulnerable communities abroad from systematic religious persecution before they become refugees?
These are complicated questions to which there are no easy answers. But they are the questions we must be asking ourselves and our elected representatives – especially those aspiring to become the next commander-in-chief, who have a unique responsibility to offer more than just talking points and platitudes. With the global jihad effort spreading and metastasizing, the flow of refugees from the war-torn corners of the world steadily advancing, and the 2016 presidential campaign heating up, we can’t afford to pretend otherwise.
Issue in Focus: Our Forests are an Asset, Not a Liability
Too often the federal government’s efforts to manage national forests and protect communities from the destruction of wildfires are impeded by unnecessary regulatory red tape, prolonged legal challenges, and a lack of coordination between federal agencies and state and local fire units.
The Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2015, recently introduced in the Senate, contains several common-sense reforms aimed at resolving these problems plaguing our forest-management system.
The bill serves three primary purposes.
The first is to reduce the chances of wildfire on federal land by expediting wildfire prevention projects. The Forest Service recently determined that 58 million acres, or nearly one-third, of national forests are at high or very high risk of severe wildfire. Yet the Forest Service expects to thin less than three percent of that acreage in 2015, due, in part, to increasingly drawn-out regulatory processes. The Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act would expedite the process by cutting inefficient red tape and establishing firm deadlines for agencies to propose and finalize wildfire prevention projects.
The second objective of the bill is to enhance protections for endangered species. Currently, the Endangered Species Act constrains active forest management in many areas. This has proven to be counterproductive and dangerous, resulting in overcrowding and overgrowth that pose significant threats to the very wildlife the Endangered Species Act is meant to protect. The Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act would authorize federal agencies to undertake wildfire prevention projects with the express purpose of protecting the habitat of threatened and endangered species.
Finally, the bill would provide federal agencies with more operational flexibility by permitting and expediting the use of livestock grazing and timber harvesting as part of authorized wildfire prevention projects. These are effective tools that not only promote forest health and reduce wildfire risks, but also benefit local livestock owners and generate revenues from timber sales.
The premise of this bill is simple: our forests are an asset, not a liability. We cannot expect to solve our wildfire problem by simply throwing more money at it. We must rethink the outdated laws and regulations that have led to dangerous forest conditions and overgrowth.
By updating our regulatory framework and engaging local stakeholders, the Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act will improve forest health and provide federal agencies the flexibility they need to protect wildlife habitats and local communities.
