Merkley Remarks at FY27 Forest Service Budget Hearing with Chief Schultz

Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley-the Ranking Member of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee-delivered the following remarks as prepared for delivery at the hearing reviewing the President's Fiscal Year 2027 budget request for the U.S. Forest Service with Chief Tom Schultz:

Senator Merkley's remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:

"Chief Schultz, thank you for appearing before us today.

"I believe you and I share a fundamental commitment to the health of our forests, and the rural and urban communities across this country that depend on them for their livelihoods and well-being.

"These values transcend boundaries-no matter if those lands are managed by the federal government, states, Tribes, or are privately owned.

"And we share the goals of: reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, restoring forest resiliency, and ensuring the American people have access to our public lands.

"In Oregon, we treasure our public lands as places to camp, hunt, fish, hike, and just to be in the wilderness to restore our souls.

"But when I look at the budget proposal before us, it doesn't reflect those shared values.

"It pulls back on state and Tribal partnerships. It backs away from a foundation of research and science. It doesn't use all the tools in your toolbox for better management. And it projects a loss of 40 percent of your non-fire workforce.

"The very people in Forest Service green who are the key to making any of these goals a reality.

"Chief, the Department's recently launched reorganization for the Forest Service has generated a significant stir.

"You have been working to assure stakeholders that the reorganization plan won't: shutter research activities, reduce the workforce, or take a step toward transferring federal lands or selling them off.

"However, when viewed alongside the President's budget, those concerns remain significant.

"Now that we can look at both the Reorganization Plan and the Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal together, the optics are hard to ignore: the reorganization is shrinking agency capacity just as the budget proposal envisions.

"This isn't a bright vision for the future of our nation's forests that I know many of us strive for.

"Instead, these changes would weaken an agency that has been the global benchmark for integrating forestry research and stewardship for over a century.

"The budget request instead suggests a dimmer vision-

"It zeroes out federal forest research.

"It eliminates state and Tribal grants that support private landowners and the volunteer fire departments who are often the first responders to wildfires.

"It stops funding for collaborative landscape-scale restoration, which, in Oregon, is a successful approach to reaching consensus on projects that restore forest health across large landscapes and supply sawlogs to local mills.

"It cuts recreation management by one-third.

"And it projects a reduction of more than 7,000 Forest Service staff positions.

"So, I think it's understandable that folks are alarmed and worried that relocation notices may be a prelude to job losses.

"The budget projects a cut of 7,000 positions in the same month that 6,500 staff received notices of relocation and reassignment.

"Those seem closely connected.

"I also want to point out that the prior budget request for Fiscal Year 2026 looked very similar, but Congress rejected that proposal.

"It is clear that Congress, on a bipartisan basis, does not share that vision.

"Finally, the budget once again proposes moving Forest Service wildfire management into Interior, which puts the Forest Service in the back seat when it comes to the final say on decisions about fire and fuels work on the lands you manage.

"So, I appreciate that you are undertaking the study this Committee has required on the potential issues with that proposal. However, I am concerned that there have not been consultations with Congress and the public.

"I have heard from forestry experts that fire management is integral to forest management and should never be separated.

"As always, there is so much more to discuss.

"As I noted at the outset, I believe we share a commitment to our forests and to the communities who rely on them.

"But securing the resources to realize that commitment is critical.

"I hope that, together, we can find a way to fulfill that vision.

"I look forward to our discussion."

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