How Bureaucracy Kills Our Forests (And How We Fix It) | Matt Weiner & Rep. Scott Peters

Why does it take six years to get a permit to prevent catastrophic wildfires? On this episode of 72 & Sunny, Congressman Scott Peters sits down with Matt Weiner, founder and CEO of Megafire Action and former head of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation. They dive deep into the legislative gap between passing bills in the House and getting them through the Senate—focusing on the Save Our Sequoias Act and the Fix Our Forests Act. Together, they break down why 50-year-old environmental process laws are delaying urgent forest restoration, how mega fires undo decades of climate progress, and what needs to happen during the lame-duck session to protect our communities. Plus, Congressman Peters answers Constituent Mailbag questions covering: • How Congress can address the $40 Trillion national debt through bipartisan fiscal reform. • The foreign policy and financial costs of unauthorized military actions. • Protecting San Diego’s power grid, water supply, and utility rates from data center expansion. 00:00 - Intro: The Crisis Facing California's Giant Sequoias 01:03 - Welcome Matt Weiner (Megafire Action) 02:00 - Why Wildfire Bills Get Stuck in the Senate 05:07 - The Save Our Sequoias Act & Environmental Law Obstacles 08:00 - Timber History vs. Modern Fire Threats: Smoke & Carbon Emissions 10:44 - Forest Management vs. Chaparral Defensible Space in San Diego 11:48 - What Caused California’s Forest Management Crisis? 13:03 - Breaking Down the Fix Our Forests Act: Streamlining Permits & Planning 16:35 - How to Pass Fire Legislation in the Lame Duck Session 21:45 - Episode Takeaways: Actionable Bipartisan Governance 22:50 - Mailbag: Tackling the $40 Trillion National Debt & Fiscal Reform 24:30 - Mailbag: Military Strategy, Defense Budgets, and Foreign Policy 26:50 - Mailbag: Protecting the Energy Grid and Water Supply from Data Centers 28:15 - Constituent Services & Closing #WildfirePrevention #SaveOurSequoias #FixOurForests #ScottPeters #72AndSunny #SanDiego #CaliforniaFires #ForestManagement #BipartisanSolutions #NationalDebt #Congress #MegafireAction