MALDEN Act legislation introduced

MALDEN — The Making Aid for Local Disasters Equal Now, the MALDEN Act was introduced into legislation by Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers on Friday, Nov. 17, to improve the coordination between federal, state, and local agencies in deploying resources to rural communities impacted by natural disaster.

McMorris Rodgers said that the legislation is named after the town of Malden, which was devastated by the Babb Fire in 2020, and rural communities such as Malden in Eastern Washington are at a disadvantage regarding wildfire recovery. “Especially when it takes weeks, or som...