Republican and Democratic senators advanced legislation that would accelerate federal forest management projects by streamlining environmental reviews, which critics claim have slowed efforts to prevent the wildfires increasingly threatening California and other states in the West.

The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee on Tuesday voted 18-5 to pass the “Fix Our Forest Act” out of committee, sending it to the Senate floor. The bill has support from business groups but is opposed by several environmentalist groups, who argue that it would remove too many guardrails on logging.