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IAFF LEGISLATIVE FACT SHEET
FIRE / SAFER Reauthorization
The IAFF supports legislation reauthorizing and
improving the FIRE and SAFER grant programs to assure that federal
assistance is used more effectively to protect the public safety,
and to distribute grants more equitably among fire departments.
BACKGROUND
The
Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, commonly referred to
as the FIRE grant program, is due to be reauthorized in 2009. Since
2001, the FIRE grant program has aided thousands of fire departments
nationwide by providing more than $4 billion in federal
aid for critically-needed training, equipment, health and wellness
programs and other fire service needs. Yet, despite the program’s
overwhelming success, its effectiveness has been curtailed by the
uneven distribution of grants among jurisdictions of varying sizes. Statutory
restrictions inadvertently hamper larger fire departments that
protect the majority of the population from receiving much-needed
federal assistance. As a result, the majority of
funds under AFG are currently being spent to protect a relatively
small portion of the population.
AFG's sister
program, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant
program, while crucial to increasing the number of fire fighters nationwide,
also faces a number of significant restrictions under the law that threaten the
program’s mission. Specifically, the SAFER Act contains a number of budgetary
restrictions that have complicated the ability of many jurisdictions to apply
for and maintain a grant, and prevented many jurisdictions from seeking a grant
at all. These difficulties have only been exacerbated by the current economic
crisis. Although not due for reauthorization until 2010, it is crucial that
SAFER be reauthorized concurrent with FIRE to address these issues and enable
the program to carry out its original mission to increase the number of fire
fighters in local communities nationwide.
To address these
and other concerns, the IAFF has proposed a series of amendments to the FIRE and
SAFER grant programs as part of the upcoming reauthorization.
CURRENT LEGISLATION
House:
H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009
Sponsor: Representative Harry Mitchell (D-AZ)
Summary: H.R. 3791
reauthorizes and makes improvements to the AFG and SAFER grant
programs. Amendments to AFG include guaranteeing professional fire
departments
a minimum percentage of funding, increasing the amount of funding for which
larger
departments may apply and reducing the local match from 20% to 10%. The
bill
also simplifies the rules surrounding SAFER by shortening the grant period from
three to five years, implementing an across-the-board 20% local match and
eliminating the current funding cap.
Cosponsors H.R. 3791
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
The
House of Representatives and the Senate are expected to consider
legislation to reauthorize the FIRE and SAFER grant programs in the
111th Congress.
On July 8, 2009, the House Subcommittee on Technology and
Innovation held a hearing on reauthorizing the FIRE and SAFER grant programs.
Read More...
On October 13, 2009, H.R. 3791 was introduced in the U.S.
House of Representatives and referred to the Committee on Science and
Technology.
On October 14, 2009, the House Subcommittee on Technology
and Innovation approved H.R. 3791 with an amendment by voice vote.
On October 21, 2009, the House Committee on Science and
Technology approved H.R. 3791 with an amendment by voice vote.
On November 18, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives
adopted H.R. 1499, the Firefighter Fatality Reduction Act, as an amendment to
H.R. 3791 by a vote of 358-75. Learn more about
the Firefighter Fatality Reduction Act.
On November 18, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives
approved H.R. 3791 by a vote of 395-31.
Read More...
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