Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Politics

Biden Pushes Climate Spending In Meeting With Western Governors

The meeting comes as a sweltering heatwave makes its way though the Pacific Northwest, leaving thousands of people without power.

President Joe Biden holds a briefing on wildfires ahead of the wildfire season with cabinet members, government officials, as well as governors of several western states, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC (PHOTO: Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a virtual meeting with Western governors on Wednesday to discuss the government’s preparation efforts amid the droughts and heat waves surging through the country.

The meeting comes as a sweltering heatwave makes its way though the Pacific Northwest, leaving thousands of people without power and much of the region dealing with wildfires in California, Nevada, and Washington.

“Right now we have to act and act fast. We’re late in the game here,” Biden said. “The truth is we’re playing catch up. This is an area that has been under resourced, but that’s going to change if we have anything to do with it.”

Democratic governors from Oregon, California, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada attended the meeting, along with the Republican governors from Wyoming and Utah.

The President said he is increasing wages for federal firefighters to $15 an hour, adding, in his view, that it is still not enough.

“Last week, I learned that some of our federal firefighters are being paid less than $13 an hour. Come on, man. That’s unacceptable,” he said.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The White House said the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was agreed on last week would invest nearly $50 billion in building resilience to wildfires and help western communities prepare for droughts.

Biden also announced he is extending seasonal hiring, adding “surge capacity” by training and equipping additional personnel. With the most frequent and severe weather disasters still coming, scientists urge immediate action to prevent severe damage.

Seattle hit 108 degrees, a new record-high, and Phoenix hit 110 degrees earlier this week, unusually hot with the July 4 holiday coming this weekend. Portland, Oregon, topped 116 degrees on Monday, marking three consecutive days of record heat.

“Climate change is driving the dangerous confluence of extreme heat and prolonged drought. We’re seeing wildfires of greater intensity that move with more speed and last well beyond traditional months, traditional months of the fire season,” Biden said. 

Stephen Anderson
Written By

Stephen Anderson is FWRD AXIS' Co-founder and Chief Political Reporter based in the United States.

You May Also Like

Climate Crisis

The United States is responsible for 20% of all cumulative greenhouse gas emissions — the largest share of human emissions.

Joe Biden

The move comes just hours before Biden departs office.

Tech

While Biden's decision means the app won't go dark on Sunday, TikTok could still decide to shut itself down that day.

White House

Speaking from the State Department, Biden praised his administration's foreign policy achievements.

Advertisement