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President Obama Signs Economic Stimulus Bill
Funding Included for Fire Station Construction, Other Fire Service Priorities
On Tuesday, February 17, President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly referred to as economic stimulus legislation. Among the bill’s initiatives is funding for a variety of fire service-related items, including $210 million for competitive grants for “modifying, upgrading, or constructing non-Federal fire stations.” The maximum grant size is capped at $15 million and up to five percent of the appropriated funds may be used for grant administration.
The stimulus bill also eliminates the local matching requirement under the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants for funds appropriated in FY 2009 and FY 2010. Local governments had previously been required to match hiring grants at 10 percent in the first year of the grant, 20 percent in the second, 50 in the third, and 70 in the fourth. There has never been a matching requirement for SAFER grants for recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.
Both the fire station funding and the SAFER match elimination are part of a section in the bill dealing with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) State and Local Programs. Based on the area of the bill that the fire station funding is located in, it appears likely that this grant will be administered by the same office that administers the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), SAFER, and Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grant programs.
The stimulus bill includes several line items for wildland fire-related programs, including:
- $15 million for “‘Wildland Fire Management’ hazardous fuels reduction” through the Bureau of Land Management.
- $500 million for “Wildland Fire Management” through the United States Forest Service, including $250 million for “hazardous fuels reduction, forest health protection, rehabilitation, and hazard mitigation activities on Federal lands” and $250 million for “State and private forestry activities including hazardous fuels reduction, forest health, and ecosystem improvement activities on State and private lands.”
The NVFC will monitor the implementation of the economic stimulus legislation closely and provide you with updates as warranted by events.
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Kimberly Ettinger
Director of Communications
202-887-5700 ext. 19
David Finger
Director of Government Relations
202-887-5700 ext. 12