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NVFC Urges House and Senate Appropriators to Provide $420 Million for AFG and SAFER in FY 2011

Published Date: 10.13.2010

On October 5, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) along with a coalition of other fire service organizations sent letters to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the  House and  Senate Subcommittees on Homeland Security Appropriations asking them to fund the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program at $420 million each. In FY 2010, Congress appropriated $390 million for  AFG and $420 million for SAFER. The President included $305 million each for AFG and SAFER in his FY 2011 budget request.
 
The letter reiterates the funding requests made by the same coalition in a February letter to House and Senate appropriators, emphasizing the importance of AFG (referred to in the letter as FIRE) and SAFER, while acknowledging the difficult budget situation that Congress is facing this year.
 
The House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee has approved draft legislation funding AFG and SAFER at $420 million each, consistent with the funding level requested by the fire service. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved legislation flat funding both AFG and SAFER at $390 million and $420 million, respectively. Congress is in recess until after the upcoming election and neither the House or the Senate have passed a Homeland Security Appropriations bill.
 
The NVFC will continue to advocate for adequate funding levels for AFG and SAFER and will keep you informed about developments as they occur through the E-update, our Twitter and Facebook accounts, and special news alerts as necessary.

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