June 12, 2025 9:40 a.m.  

Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley claims the U.S. Forest Service is “dangerously unprepared” for wildfire season.

Merkley, the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member issued a statement after a hearing with U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz on the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the agency.

Merkley said, “Forest Service Chief Schultz’s testimony only underscores the immense, serious challenges facing communities across Oregon and the nation ahead of another deadly fire season”. Merkley said, “The Trump Administration’s funding freezes and mass firings of key Forest Service employees plunged the agency into chaos, leaving us dangerously underprepared”. Merkley said, “The Chief admitted that 1,400 fire-certified employees have left the agency and that now they are asking those people to return after realizing their mistake”.

Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the opening of the hearing can be read in full at: Merkley Remarks at Forest Service Budget Hearing with Chief Schultz – Merkley