H.R. 4107, Reauthorization of the Assistance to Firefighters
Testimony Before the House Committee on Science on H.R. 4107, The Assistance To Firefighters Grant Reauthorization Act,
May 12, 2004
by
Chief Philip C. Stittleburg
Chairman
National Volunteer Fire Council
by
Chief Philip C. Stittleburg
Chairman
National Volunteer Fire Council
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my name is Chief Phil Stittleburg and I am Chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). The NVFC represents the interests of the more than 800,000 members of America's volunteer fire and emergency services community, who staff nearly 90% of America's fire departments. I have served in the volunteer fire service for over 30 years and have been the Chief of the LaFarge Volunteer Fire Department in Wisconsin for the last 27 years. I have had experiences in all phases of the first responder community, including chemical and hazardous materials incidents, EMS, rescue and fire.
In addition to serving as NVFC Chairman, I have represented the NVFC on a variety of standards-making committees, including ones that set industry standards on firefighter health and safety. I also serve on the National Fire Protection Association and National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Board of Directors and I am an adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy. I earn my livelihood as an attorney, which includes serving as an Assistant District Attorney on a half-time basis for the last 28 years. These positions give me an excellent opportunity to serve in a wide array of professions in the public safety arena.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), nearly 75% of all firefighters are volunteers. In most years, more than half of the firefighters that are killed in the line of duty are volunteers. In addition to the obvious contribution that volunteer firefighters lend to their communities as the first arriving domestic defenders, these brave men and women represent a significant cost saving to taxpayers, a savings sometimes estimated to be as much as $40 billion annually.
On behalf our membership, I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the needs of America's volunteer fire service. More specifically, I would like to express our strong support for H.R. 4107, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Reauthorization Act of 2004, which will reauthorize the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, also known as the FIRE Act, through fiscal year 2007. In addition, this bipartisan legislation will make some changes to the program, which will build upon its tremendous effectiveness and success.
The events of September 11, 2001 made it clear to all Americans that the fire service is the first responder to all terrorist attacks this country may face. As America's domestic first responders, the fire service will be on the front lines of any incident and must be prepared to respond to and defend our citizens from the aftermath of a terrorist attack involving conventional weapons or weapons of mass destruction.
However, we cannot lose sight of the 21 million calls the fire service responds to annually involving structural fire suppression, emergency medical response, hazardous materials incidents, clandestine drug labs, search and rescue, wildland fire protection, and natural disasters. Many of these emergencies occur at federal facilities and buildings and on federal lands. In addition, these incidents can damage America's critical infrastructure, including our interstate highways, railroads, bridges, tunnels, financial and agriculture centers, power plants, refineries, and chemical manufacturing and storage facilities. We as a fire service are sworn to protect these critical facilities and infrastructure.
Often, local governments are unable to afford the extensive training and equipment that these challenges require. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program assists local fire departments by providing a percentage of the needed funds to pay for these necessities, while not supplanting local responsibility to provide adequate fire and emergency medical services.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program has proven to be the most effective program to date in providing all fire departments - both large and small, volunteer, career and combination - not only with the tools they need to perform their day-to-day duties, but it has also enhanced their ability to respond to large disasters as well. As we move to prepare for terrorist incidents at home, we must first ensure that local fire departments have the basic tools they need to do their jobs on a daily basis.
This legislation will address these concerns by continuing to ensure that the program will meet the basic firefighting and emergency response needs of our fire departments, rather than becoming an additional anti-terrorism grant program. The federal government must not forgo its commitment to the basic needs of America's fire service in the name of Homeland Security.
The program has been successful because it is the only federal program that provides funding directly to fire departments. In addition, the program's success is directly attributed to the fact that members of the fire service have been involved in nearly every aspect of the program to ensure that it addresses our current needs. We have helped to set the criteria for each funding category, and have staffed panels to grade the applications through an excellent peer-review process.
Program Reauthorization
As I stated earlier, passage of H.R. 4107, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Reauthorization Act of 2004, is a top priority for our organization. As written, the bill codifies many of the current program regulations that have made it so successful. The legislation would mandate the current peer-review process, guarantee national fire service organizations are represented in setting the criteria, and ensure that the program continues to address basic fire department needs.
The legislation also includes important volunteer non-discrimination language prohibiting a fire department that receives grant funds from discriminating against, or prohibiting its members from engaging in volunteer activities in another jurisdiction during off-duty hours. This clause, similar to language was included in the SAFER Bill that passed Congress last year, begins to address the growing concern we have about an individual's right to volunteer. Cities such as Hartford, West Hartford, East Hartford, Waterbury, Fairfield, New Britain, Connecticut and Ft. Wayne, Indiana currently prohibit their firefighters from volunteering.
We feel that these types of provisions are a violation of the basic First Amendment right of free association. It is very alarming that any city would try to a tell a firefighter how they should or should not spend their off-duty time, which is their own time, especially when they are spending that time doing good in their community. This comes at the same time there is a revived push for volunteerism across our country.
Moreover, many career firefighters who work in larger cities often live in smaller communities and belong to their local volunteer fire departments. These individuals should be able to provide their invaluable skills, knowledge and expertise to their local department, which are responsible for protecting their own homes and family, without harassment and retribution from employers.
Some proponents of this type of prohibition contend that it is a health and safety issue and that firefighters must be given time off to recoup and relax. However, we have not heard anything about fire departments that bar their firefighters from strenuous second jobs in construction and other trades. In addition, there appears to be no fire departments that prohibit their firefighters from partaking in potentially dangerous hobbies like skiing or skydiving. Volunteer fire and EMS are the only activities that appear to be singled out.
I would like to also stress that this clause does not affect any local unions who may attempt to prevent their members from volunteering. It simply would give incentives to municipalities to allow their employees to volunteer in their hometown fire departments.
This bill not only protects volunteers, it will ensure increased access to funds for larger fire departments as well. While leaving the match for smaller departments unchanged, it lowers the non-federal matching requirement for fire departments that serve 50,000 people or more from 30% to 20%. In addition, the bill raises the cap on individual grants to $1 million for all departments, $2 million for departments that serve 500,000-1,000,000 people, and $3 million for departments that serve more that 1 million people. These clauses will clearly result in a shift of funds from smaller departments to larger ones.
In addition, the legislation would begin to make non-profit, non-hospital emergency medical service providers eligible to apply for grants. Many jurisdictions maintain separate fire and EMS departments. However, under current law, only emergency medical services that are part of fire departments are eligible for funding. To ensure that these agencies do not siphon off too much funding, the legislation caps the amount these entities may collectively receive to four percent of appropriated funds.
The bill will also direct the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to administer the program. The USFA, under the leadership of Chief R. David Paulison, has spent the last four years developing and refining the program and has clearly demonstrated the capability to efficiently distribute these funds to local fire departments. This is no surprise to us because the personnel at USFA know the fire service like no other agency and many of their personnel come from emergency services backgrounds themselves.
Finally, the legislation will commission a follow-up needs assessment to better track the programs benefits and authorize $900 million per year for the program through 2007. We urge the entire Congress to support this legislation so we can quickly pass it through Congress.
FY 2005 Program
I would also like to take this time to encourage Congress to support the program in the current fiscal year. On February 2, 2004 President Bush sent Congress a $2.4 trillion spending plan, which requests $500 million for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program in FY 2005. Although this is the same amount the administration requested in the FY 2004 budget, it is a cut of $250 million (33 percent) from the final amount that was appropriated by Congress.
While the budget calls for the grants to continue to be made directly to fire departments and awarded through a competitive, peer-review process, it calls for priority to be given to applications that enhance terrorism preparedness. It also only requests funding for the training, apparatus, and equipment sections of the FIRE Act, which leaves out funding initiatives for fire prevention and education, EMS, firefighter wellness/fitness, and station renovation.
The NVFC is not only concerned about the proposed cut from FY 2004 funding levels, but we are also worried about the potential shift in focus of the program exclusively to terrorism. This program was created before September 11, 2001 and is about bringing every fire department up to a base-line level of readiness, which in turn will prepare them for large-scale incidents. This budget request only strengthens our argument that Congress needs to take action to ensure the program is protected.
Considering that nearly $3 billion in applications were submitted for the current program year and also taking into account a variety of recent reports outlining the tremendous needs of America's emergency services, including the NFPA Needs Assessment Survey, the NVFC requests that Congress fully fund the program at the $900 million level.
A History of Success
After this current grant cycle (FY 2004), the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program will have distributed nearly $2 billion to almost 16,000 fire departments across the country for apparatus, personal protective equipment, hazmat detection devices, improved breathing apparatus, wellness and fitness programs, fire prevention and education programs and interoperable communication systems. This is the basic equipment our fire departments need to effectively respond to all hazards. In fact, fire service personnel from across the country are reviewing applications as we speak at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
In FY 2003, the program received $750 million and awarded nearly 8,700 grants to fire departments. Mr. Chairman, as you know, your home state of New York received 354 grants totaling over $34.3 million. Ranking Member Gordon, Tennessee received 268 grants totaling nearly $20 million. There are no discrepancies as to the location of this funding. It is all in the hands of local fire departments. The federal government is not blaming the state government. The state government is not blaming the county and local governments. The program works.
Many of these departments who are receiving aid are rural volunteer fire departments that struggle the most to provide their members with adequate protective gear, safety devices and training to protect their communities. In these difficult times, while volunteer fire departments are already struggling to handle their own needs and finances, they are now forced to provide more services.
The funding problems in America's volunteer fire service are not just limited to rural areas. As suburbs continue to grow, so does the burden on the local fire and EMS department. Even though many of these departments have the essentials, they are unable to gain access to new technologies. At no other time have advances been greater in equipment to protect them and make their jobs safer. Yet because the newer technology is so expensive, many volunteer fire departments are forced to forgo the purchase of the new technology or use outdated equipment.
Conclusion
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program is one of the most effective programs in the Federal government because it provides local fire departments with the tools they need to respond to any incident they may encounter, no matter the origin of the emergency. It ensures local support through a matching requirement and allows firefighters themselves to play a large role in the process.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you Chairman Boehlert, Ranking Member Gordon and the leadership of the Congressional Fire Service caucus including Representatives Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Curt Weldon (R-PA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Nick Smith (R-MI), Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Chris Cox (R-CA), and Jim Turner (D-TX) for their strong leadership on this issue.
Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your time and your attention to the views of America's fire service, and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
In addition to serving as NVFC Chairman, I have represented the NVFC on a variety of standards-making committees, including ones that set industry standards on firefighter health and safety. I also serve on the National Fire Protection Association and National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Board of Directors and I am an adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy. I earn my livelihood as an attorney, which includes serving as an Assistant District Attorney on a half-time basis for the last 28 years. These positions give me an excellent opportunity to serve in a wide array of professions in the public safety arena.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), nearly 75% of all firefighters are volunteers. In most years, more than half of the firefighters that are killed in the line of duty are volunteers. In addition to the obvious contribution that volunteer firefighters lend to their communities as the first arriving domestic defenders, these brave men and women represent a significant cost saving to taxpayers, a savings sometimes estimated to be as much as $40 billion annually.
On behalf our membership, I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the needs of America's volunteer fire service. More specifically, I would like to express our strong support for H.R. 4107, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Reauthorization Act of 2004, which will reauthorize the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, also known as the FIRE Act, through fiscal year 2007. In addition, this bipartisan legislation will make some changes to the program, which will build upon its tremendous effectiveness and success.
The events of September 11, 2001 made it clear to all Americans that the fire service is the first responder to all terrorist attacks this country may face. As America's domestic first responders, the fire service will be on the front lines of any incident and must be prepared to respond to and defend our citizens from the aftermath of a terrorist attack involving conventional weapons or weapons of mass destruction.
However, we cannot lose sight of the 21 million calls the fire service responds to annually involving structural fire suppression, emergency medical response, hazardous materials incidents, clandestine drug labs, search and rescue, wildland fire protection, and natural disasters. Many of these emergencies occur at federal facilities and buildings and on federal lands. In addition, these incidents can damage America's critical infrastructure, including our interstate highways, railroads, bridges, tunnels, financial and agriculture centers, power plants, refineries, and chemical manufacturing and storage facilities. We as a fire service are sworn to protect these critical facilities and infrastructure.
Often, local governments are unable to afford the extensive training and equipment that these challenges require. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program assists local fire departments by providing a percentage of the needed funds to pay for these necessities, while not supplanting local responsibility to provide adequate fire and emergency medical services.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program has proven to be the most effective program to date in providing all fire departments - both large and small, volunteer, career and combination - not only with the tools they need to perform their day-to-day duties, but it has also enhanced their ability to respond to large disasters as well. As we move to prepare for terrorist incidents at home, we must first ensure that local fire departments have the basic tools they need to do their jobs on a daily basis.
This legislation will address these concerns by continuing to ensure that the program will meet the basic firefighting and emergency response needs of our fire departments, rather than becoming an additional anti-terrorism grant program. The federal government must not forgo its commitment to the basic needs of America's fire service in the name of Homeland Security.
The program has been successful because it is the only federal program that provides funding directly to fire departments. In addition, the program's success is directly attributed to the fact that members of the fire service have been involved in nearly every aspect of the program to ensure that it addresses our current needs. We have helped to set the criteria for each funding category, and have staffed panels to grade the applications through an excellent peer-review process.
Program Reauthorization
As I stated earlier, passage of H.R. 4107, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Reauthorization Act of 2004, is a top priority for our organization. As written, the bill codifies many of the current program regulations that have made it so successful. The legislation would mandate the current peer-review process, guarantee national fire service organizations are represented in setting the criteria, and ensure that the program continues to address basic fire department needs.
The legislation also includes important volunteer non-discrimination language prohibiting a fire department that receives grant funds from discriminating against, or prohibiting its members from engaging in volunteer activities in another jurisdiction during off-duty hours. This clause, similar to language was included in the SAFER Bill that passed Congress last year, begins to address the growing concern we have about an individual's right to volunteer. Cities such as Hartford, West Hartford, East Hartford, Waterbury, Fairfield, New Britain, Connecticut and Ft. Wayne, Indiana currently prohibit their firefighters from volunteering.
We feel that these types of provisions are a violation of the basic First Amendment right of free association. It is very alarming that any city would try to a tell a firefighter how they should or should not spend their off-duty time, which is their own time, especially when they are spending that time doing good in their community. This comes at the same time there is a revived push for volunteerism across our country.
Moreover, many career firefighters who work in larger cities often live in smaller communities and belong to their local volunteer fire departments. These individuals should be able to provide their invaluable skills, knowledge and expertise to their local department, which are responsible for protecting their own homes and family, without harassment and retribution from employers.
Some proponents of this type of prohibition contend that it is a health and safety issue and that firefighters must be given time off to recoup and relax. However, we have not heard anything about fire departments that bar their firefighters from strenuous second jobs in construction and other trades. In addition, there appears to be no fire departments that prohibit their firefighters from partaking in potentially dangerous hobbies like skiing or skydiving. Volunteer fire and EMS are the only activities that appear to be singled out.
I would like to also stress that this clause does not affect any local unions who may attempt to prevent their members from volunteering. It simply would give incentives to municipalities to allow their employees to volunteer in their hometown fire departments.
This bill not only protects volunteers, it will ensure increased access to funds for larger fire departments as well. While leaving the match for smaller departments unchanged, it lowers the non-federal matching requirement for fire departments that serve 50,000 people or more from 30% to 20%. In addition, the bill raises the cap on individual grants to $1 million for all departments, $2 million for departments that serve 500,000-1,000,000 people, and $3 million for departments that serve more that 1 million people. These clauses will clearly result in a shift of funds from smaller departments to larger ones.
In addition, the legislation would begin to make non-profit, non-hospital emergency medical service providers eligible to apply for grants. Many jurisdictions maintain separate fire and EMS departments. However, under current law, only emergency medical services that are part of fire departments are eligible for funding. To ensure that these agencies do not siphon off too much funding, the legislation caps the amount these entities may collectively receive to four percent of appropriated funds.
The bill will also direct the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to administer the program. The USFA, under the leadership of Chief R. David Paulison, has spent the last four years developing and refining the program and has clearly demonstrated the capability to efficiently distribute these funds to local fire departments. This is no surprise to us because the personnel at USFA know the fire service like no other agency and many of their personnel come from emergency services backgrounds themselves.
Finally, the legislation will commission a follow-up needs assessment to better track the programs benefits and authorize $900 million per year for the program through 2007. We urge the entire Congress to support this legislation so we can quickly pass it through Congress.
FY 2005 Program
I would also like to take this time to encourage Congress to support the program in the current fiscal year. On February 2, 2004 President Bush sent Congress a $2.4 trillion spending plan, which requests $500 million for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program in FY 2005. Although this is the same amount the administration requested in the FY 2004 budget, it is a cut of $250 million (33 percent) from the final amount that was appropriated by Congress.
While the budget calls for the grants to continue to be made directly to fire departments and awarded through a competitive, peer-review process, it calls for priority to be given to applications that enhance terrorism preparedness. It also only requests funding for the training, apparatus, and equipment sections of the FIRE Act, which leaves out funding initiatives for fire prevention and education, EMS, firefighter wellness/fitness, and station renovation.
The NVFC is not only concerned about the proposed cut from FY 2004 funding levels, but we are also worried about the potential shift in focus of the program exclusively to terrorism. This program was created before September 11, 2001 and is about bringing every fire department up to a base-line level of readiness, which in turn will prepare them for large-scale incidents. This budget request only strengthens our argument that Congress needs to take action to ensure the program is protected.
Considering that nearly $3 billion in applications were submitted for the current program year and also taking into account a variety of recent reports outlining the tremendous needs of America's emergency services, including the NFPA Needs Assessment Survey, the NVFC requests that Congress fully fund the program at the $900 million level.
A History of Success
After this current grant cycle (FY 2004), the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program will have distributed nearly $2 billion to almost 16,000 fire departments across the country for apparatus, personal protective equipment, hazmat detection devices, improved breathing apparatus, wellness and fitness programs, fire prevention and education programs and interoperable communication systems. This is the basic equipment our fire departments need to effectively respond to all hazards. In fact, fire service personnel from across the country are reviewing applications as we speak at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
In FY 2003, the program received $750 million and awarded nearly 8,700 grants to fire departments. Mr. Chairman, as you know, your home state of New York received 354 grants totaling over $34.3 million. Ranking Member Gordon, Tennessee received 268 grants totaling nearly $20 million. There are no discrepancies as to the location of this funding. It is all in the hands of local fire departments. The federal government is not blaming the state government. The state government is not blaming the county and local governments. The program works.
Many of these departments who are receiving aid are rural volunteer fire departments that struggle the most to provide their members with adequate protective gear, safety devices and training to protect their communities. In these difficult times, while volunteer fire departments are already struggling to handle their own needs and finances, they are now forced to provide more services.
The funding problems in America's volunteer fire service are not just limited to rural areas. As suburbs continue to grow, so does the burden on the local fire and EMS department. Even though many of these departments have the essentials, they are unable to gain access to new technologies. At no other time have advances been greater in equipment to protect them and make their jobs safer. Yet because the newer technology is so expensive, many volunteer fire departments are forced to forgo the purchase of the new technology or use outdated equipment.
Conclusion
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program is one of the most effective programs in the Federal government because it provides local fire departments with the tools they need to respond to any incident they may encounter, no matter the origin of the emergency. It ensures local support through a matching requirement and allows firefighters themselves to play a large role in the process.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you Chairman Boehlert, Ranking Member Gordon and the leadership of the Congressional Fire Service caucus including Representatives Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Curt Weldon (R-PA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Nick Smith (R-MI), Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Chris Cox (R-CA), and Jim Turner (D-TX) for their strong leadership on this issue.
Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your time and your attention to the views of America's fire service, and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
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