WASHINGTON – Blaming a lack of commitment by the Bush administration, the president of the International Association of Fire Fighters warned a House Appropriations subcommittee today that the United States is “not much better prepared to respond” than in was before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on America.

IAFF President Harold A. Schaitberger urged members of the subcommittee on homeland security to demand that grants are allocated on the basis of risk, as recommended by the 9/11 Commission, and to fully fund programs designed to ensure baseline capabilities for local fire departments, which are understaffed and not getting the necessary training.

Schaitberger said the allocation formula for state homeland security grants encourage misuse of funds by requiring localities with little homeland security need to “use or lose” appropriations. “The result is such infamous purchases as the seven security cameras to protect a remote Alaskan fishing village.” Another program, the Urban Area Security Initiative has been tainted by politics, with high-profile urban areas slighted in favor of smaller communities that don’t need the terrorism security investment, he said.

However, “the single most effective thing the federal government can do to enhance local preparedness and protect Americans against all hazards – natural and manmade – is to fully fund the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants and the Assistance to Fire Fighter grants,” Schaitberger said. The SAFER program is only funded at 11 percent of its authorized level.

Schaitberger also urged full funding for the 28 Urban Search and Rescue Teams, which respond to major disasters around the nation and throughout the world. “When local communities are forced to assume an ever-increasing share of the costs of maintaining a US&R Team, the extra funds inevitably come from existing public safety budget accounts, which weakens local emergency preparedness,” he said.

Schaitberger pointed to the Hurricane Katrina aftermath along the Gulf Coast as a prime example of the failure of federal emergency response. He pointed out that 23 of the 32 firehouses in New Orleans remain uninhabitable 18 months after the hurricane.

He urged Congress to amend the Stafford Act, requiring local matches to receive federal funds, to allow such devastated areas as St. Bernard’s Parish to rebuild emergency service infrastructure. All 10 of the St. Bernard firehouses were destroyed. “Because more than two-thirds of St. Bernard residents have not returned to their homes, the parish does not have the tax base to provide the local match for funds, which are sitting idle,” Schaitberger said.

“My members in the Gulf area are working out of fire stations with leaking roofs, and in many cases with no roofs,” he said. “Mold is widespread, and open sewage common. This is unacceptable and failure of our government to address this issue, 18 months after the storms, is a national disgrace.”
 

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