Fire Grants Reauthorization Act Of 2009

Fire Grants Reauthorization Act Of 2009

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Chair, as a member of the Committee on Homeland Security and an original co-sponsor, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009, which reauthorizes for five years $1 billion per year for FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program and reauthorizes $1.2 billion for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program.

This increase in federal support for the nation's fire departments is especially important in this tough economy as local officials struggle to provide critical services--including public safety services--in the face of declining revenues and decreasing budgets.

I thank Chairman Gordon and my colleague, Congressman Mitchell of Arizona, for their hard work in shepherding this critical legislation to the floor today.

We all remember the wildfires from this summer that hit my home state of California especially hard. Over 160,000 acres were destroyed in the ``Station Fire,'' the most in the history of Los Angeles County. But not only did people lose their homes in this terrible tragedy, two firefighters lost their lives as well. Incidents like these underscore the importance of providing firefighters with the best possible equipment and training to perform their dangerous jobs. And that is probably the most important reason of all for passing H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009.

Mr. Chair, I support H.R. 3791 because it:

Provides a fairer distribution of FIRE Grant funding among fire departments by setting a 25 percent distribution of the appropriated funds among the categories of career, volunteer and combination fire departments;

Lowers matching and maintenance of expenditure requirements and authorizes the FEMA Administrator to waive or reduce such requirements for applicants facing demonstrated economic hardship;

Raises the limit on FIRE Grant awards to $9 million for jurisdictions based on population so that large urban areas with population more than 2.5 million like the one I represent.

Makes the SAFER Grant program more accessible to fire departments by making it a three-year program with a 20 percent match.

Raises the maximum amount for individual Fire Prevention and Safety Grants to $1.5 million.

Mr. Chair, in the last nine years the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, or FIRE grant program, has aided thousands of fire departments nationwide by providing more than $5 billion in federal aid for critically-needed training, equipment, health and wellness programs and other fire service needs.

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response or ``SAFER'' program has provided nearly $700 million to fire departments to help hire and retain firefighters since its creation in 2004.

Yet, despite the success of the programs, effectiveness has been curtailed by the uneven distribution of grants among jurisdictions of varying sizes. Statutory restrictions have inadvertently hampered larger fire departments that protect the majority of the population from receiving much-needed federal assistance. As a result, the majority of FIRE Grant funds currently are being spent to protect a relatively small portion of the population. H.R. 3791 corrects this imbalance by targeting more funding to larger fire departments in the more populous jurisdictions.

Mr. Chair, H.R. 3791 is the product of bipartisan cooperation and is broadly supported by the firefighting community because it strikes an equitable balance in the distribution of the grants so that the funding can benefit all types of communities and ensures that fire departments with the greatest need can apply for and receive funding in amounts sufficient to address their real needs. That is why this legislation is broadly supported by the firefighting and fire prevention community, including the following major organizations: the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Fire Protection Association, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the International Association of Arson Investigators, and the Congressional Fire Services Institute.

Mr. Chair, H.R. 3791 is good for our firefighters. It is good for our local governments. It is good for the nation and good for my district. I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of the critical legislation and urge my colleagues to join me in voting for its passage.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source