Senators Dodd, Collins Urge the Budget Committee to Fully Fund the FIRE and SAFER Acts
Senators Dodd, Collins Urge the Budget Committee to Fully Fund the FIRE and SAFER Acts
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) sent a letter today to Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Judd Gregg (R-NH), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Budget Committee, to recommend that the Committee include full funding for the Fire Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Act in the fiscal year (FY) 2008 Budget Resolution.
Senators Dodd has a long history of supporting the nation's firefighters and advocating for fire safety. In 2000, Dodd authored the FIRE Act, which gives local fire departments the ability to purchase new equipment and initiate education and training programs. In 2003, Dodd authored the SAFER Act, a law that gives local fire departments the ability to alleviate critical shortfalls in professional and volunteer personnel. Since the SAFER and FIRE Acts were enacted, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), now part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has distributed 359 grants in Connecticut for a total of more than $35 million to help fire departments strengthen their response capabilities.
Since its initial authorization in FY 2001, the FIRE Act has enabled more than 33,000 fire departments to obtain critical firefighting equipment and improve firefighter training, while funds under the SAFER program have sought to increase the ranks of professional and volunteer firefighters across the country.
"It's time to provide our first responders with the resources and staffing they need to do their job safely and effectively," said Dodd. "I am hopeful that my colleagues on the Budget Committee share my concern about the welfare of our nation's fire departments and firefighters, and will push for more support for these two worthy initiatives."
The full text of the letter is below:
The Honorable Kent Conrad The Honorable Judd Gregg
Chairman Ranking Member
Committee on the Budget Committee on the Budget
United States Senate United States Senate
Dear Chairman Conrad and Senator Gregg:
As the Budget Committee considers the fiscal year (FY) 2008 Budget Resolution, we respectfully request that you include full funding for two critical homeland security initiatives: the Fire Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Act.
Initially authorized in FY 2001, the FIRE Act is the first Congressional initiative specifically designed to help meet the needs of fire departments and firefighters. Over the past five years, the FIRE Act has provided almost $2.8 billion in assistance to over 33,000 fire departments in all fifty states. These resources have enabled fire departments to obtain updated firefighting equipment and improve firefighter training so that they are able to fulfill expanded responsibilities in this post-9/11 world.
The SAFER Act, which was first authorized in FY 2005, provides assistance to fire departments in hiring new firefighters - both paid and volunteer. According to the most recent needs assessment released by the National Fire Protection Association, a majority of fire departments - large and small - lack the number of personnel necessary to fight fires and to respond to other emergencies effectively. To date, the SAFER Act has sought to mitigate this shortage by providing over $158 million to 398 departments for hiring and recruiting new paid and volunteer firefighters.
In FY 2007, Congress provided $662 million in support for the FIRE Act and SAFER Act. This year, President Bush has recommended allocating $300 million to the FIRE Act and no resources to the SAFER Act. These recommended levels of funding are clearly inadequate to meet the current demand for assistance, which is approximately $4 billion each year. Therefore, we are writing respectfully to request that the Budget Committee support the FIRE and SAFER Acts at their full FY 2008 authorization levels of $1 billion and $1.126 billion respectively.
We thank you for your consideration of this request.
http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/3753