A Santa Barbara congressman is one of the leaders of a bipartisan effort to expand the nation’s aerial firefighting fleet.
The bill would reauthorize the sale of surplus military aircraft and parts for firefighting.
A 1996 law allowed the sale of excess military equipment for firefighting use, but it expired in 2017.
The legislation would allow the Department of Defense to sell surplus planes and parts at fair market value to agencies or businesses contracted by the government to fight fires.
Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara joined with other Democratic and Republican lawmakers to sponsor the bill. Carbajal says the recent Southern California wildfires illustrate the need to have as much aerial firefighting support available as possible.
