Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - October 25, 2007)

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President. I rise to offer my wholehearted support for the bill offered by the distinguished Senator from Delaware to provide some reasonable measure of job protection for the volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel who save thousands of lives across this country every year.

This bill is a matter of simple fairness. It recognizes that volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel not only serve their own towns and offer mutual assistance to other communities on a day-to-day basis, but also that they are a key component in state and federal plans for responding to catastrophic natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

Across the Nation, our emergency planning relies on the ready availability of these brave first responders. Indeed, volunteers are absolutely critical to mounting a response to disasters, both large and small. My home state of Maine, for example, has slightly more than 10,000 firefighters in 492 departments. Because Maine is a mostly rural State, fully 88 percent of those firefighters are volunteers.

Yet, even if they are called up in a major disaster or a Presidentially declared emergency under the Stafford Act, these volunteers have no official protection for their jobs while they are answering the call to duty.

We should protect volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel who put their lives on the line.

The current lack of job protection is dangerous. If large numbers of volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel were terminated or demoted after being called away to a disaster or a series of disasters, recruitment and retention of volunteers could be devastated.

The Volunteer Firefighter and EMS Personnel Job Protection Act would correct the injustice and mitigate the danger in a measured and responsible way. It would protect the volunteer first responders against termination or demotion by employers if they are called upon to respond to a Presidentially declared emergency or a major disaster for up to 14 workdays.

The bill imposes no unreasonable burdens on employers. They are not obliged to pay the volunteers during their absence, and they are entitled to receive official documentation that an absent employee was in fact summoned to and served in a disaster response.

Finally, I would note that the bill would facilitate the work of emergency managers. Having this job protection in force would allow them to make operational and contingency plans with greater confidence, knowing that volunteer responders would not be forced to withdraw in short order for fear of losing their jobs.

The Volunteer Firefighter and EMS Personnel Job Protection Act is a straightforward matter of simple justice and sound policy. By extending some protection to these brave men and women, we can strengthen the protection and life-saving response that they provide to many millions of Americans. I believe this bill merits the support of every Senator, and I am proud to be an original co-sponsor.

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