IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 803 

Recognizing the longstanding partnership between the United States and 

Australia to share critical firefighting resources during times of crisis. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 16, 2020 

Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. KHANNA, 

Mr. TAKANO, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. COX of California, Mr. 

CARBAJAL, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. BERA, Mr. BOST, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. 

BROWNLEY of California, Mr. SCHRADER, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. 

TED LIEU of California, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. COOK, Ms. 

STEVENS, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. KILMER, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, 

Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. 

JOYCE of Ohio, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. STANTON, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. 

COURTNEY, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. MOONEY of West 

Virginia, Mr. CORREA, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. SWALWELL

of California, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. VELA, Mr. LARSEN of 

Washington, Mr. CASE, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. 

DESAULNIER, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. WALDEN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, 

Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mrs. 

DINGELL, Mr. COSTA, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. PHILLIPS, 

Mr. ROUDA, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. BASS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

TRONE, Mr. KIND, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. COHEN, Ms. 

FUDGE, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Ms. WATERS, Ms. 

BONAMICI, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. ROYBALALLARD, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. HECK, Ms. JUDY CHU

of California, Mr. THOMPSON of California, and Mr. MCNERNEY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the longstanding partnership between the United 


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•HRES 803 IH 

States and Australia to share critical firefighting resources during times of crisis. 

Whereas Australia and the United States have long held a 

unique relationship, marked by diplomatic, security, and 

economic cooperation; 

Whereas Australia and the United States celebrated 100 

years of mateship on July 4, 2018, marking the 100-year 

anniversary of the Battle of Hamel, which helped turn 

the tide of World War I; 

Whereas the United States and Australia have shared firefighting resources, including specialist firefighters, for 

over 15 years; 

Whereas the United States and Australia are experiencing 

some of the hottest and driest weather conditions on 

record, exacerbating the threat of wildfires and contributing to longer wildfire seasons in both nations; 

Whereas over 100 Australian firefighters traveled to the 

United States in August 2018, to assist with efforts to 

contain wildfires that threatened communities in California, Oregon, and Washington; 

Whereas over 200 American firefighters have been mobilized 

to Australia over the past month to help combat and contain devastating bushfires that have burned over 

12,500,000 acres of land; and 

Whereas multiple United States agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National 

Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Fish and 

Wildlife Services, have provided American firefighters to 

help combat Australia’s bushfires: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


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1 (1) recognizes the value of the longstanding 

2 partnership between the United States and Australia 

3 to share critical firefighting resources during times 

4 of crisis; 

5 (2) recognizes the efforts and bravery of Aus6 tralian firefighters who have not only risked their 

7 lives to fight wildfires in their own country but also 

8 helped contain several dangerous wildfires in North 

9 America; 

10 (3) recognizes the efforts and bravery of Amer11 ican firefighters who have not only risked their lives 

12 to fight wildfires in their own country but have also 

13 provided their services to combat the bushfires cur14 rently ravaging the Australian continent; 

15 (4) expresses full support for the people of Aus16 tralia during the ongoing bushfire crisis; 

17 (5) supports continued partnership between the 

18 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research 

19 Organisation and United States Federal agencies to 

20 share research, technology, and best practices re21 lated to wildfire mitigation and suppression; and 

22 (6) supports continued cooperation and greater 

23 collaboration between Australia and the United 

24 States to mitigate the underlying factors driving exVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Jan 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR803.IH HR803

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1 tended and more intense wildfire years in both coun2 tries. 

Æ 


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