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July 12, 2005

Standing With America's Firefighters

On Tuesday, Senator Byrd offered an amendment to provide $100 million for efforts to train and equip local firefighters across the country. The Senate Homeland Security Appropriations bill cuts $100 million from the program, even though local departments have applied for more than $2.7 billion in grant assistance. The bipartisan Byrd amendment is cosponsored by Senators Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., Michael DeWine, R-Ohio, Jon Corzine, D-N.J., Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and Barbara Mikulski, R-Md.

Across this land, there are men and women who put their lives on the line every day fighting fires. Over a million firefighters, and over three-fourths of them are volunteers. When one reads a list of the responsibilities that firefighters bear each day, it reads like a litany of good public service. Fire suppression, wildland firefighting, hazardous materials response, code enforcement, fire prevention and education, explosives response and investigation, industrial fire prevention and safety, and counterterrorism. In this high technology, post-9/11 world, it’s not your father’s fire service. Firefighters require the latest equipment and training to cope with changing threats.

When our nation fell under attack on September 11, 2001, firefighters raced into buildings engulfed in flames to save people. Today, over 8,000 firefighters are battling wildfires in eight states that threaten our environment and property. When a house is on fire, firefighters arrive quickly on the scene to rescue people and their pets. They rush into burning buildings to pull people from the mayhem. When vehicles spill hazardous, even toxic, materials, firefighters clean up the spill, thereby protecting nearby populations.

They do all of this, Mr. President, often without proper equipment, training, and staffing. BUT, BUT, they do it anyway. Yes, they do it anyway, and we are all better off for their bravery.

I could go on and on about these heroes, but words are meaningless without action. That is why I rise to offer an amendment that will restore funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, a program that provides equipment and training for these courageous public servants.

I say restore funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, because the bill that is before the Senate reduces funding for firefighter grants by $100 million compared to last year. There is no justification for this cut. Applications for Fiscal Year 2005 totaled $2.7 billion. With the funding that Congress approved, the Department of Homeland Security funded less than one-quarter of the eligible applications. Instead of responding to this significant demand for firefighter equipment and training, the Administration proposed to cut firefighting grants for Fiscal Year 2006 from $715 million to $500 million, a reduction of thirty percent.

Our fearless leader, Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Gregg, has done all he can to address the greatest needs in this Homeland Security Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2006. But, Mr. President, our bank account was pilfered by a budget proposal from the White House. The White House proposed that the Appropriations Committee raise $1.68 billion in fees by raising airline passenger fees. The Appropriations Committee does not have authority to increase such fees. This left the Committee with a deep hole to fill. As a result, our firefighters are $100 million short.

I received a letter on June 10th of this year from Chief Robert DiPoli (Retired), President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. I ask unanimous consent, Mr. President, that this letter be made a part of the record.

In the letter, Chief DiPoli tells me that the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters or SAFER Program, are the highest priorities of the members of the Association. He goes on to state that, although fire departments are locally funded and operated, they do provide a national service in times of crisis, whether natural or man-made. Chief DiPoli has said that the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is the “greatest program to ever hit the streets because fire departments cannot fund all of their needs through bean suppers and bingo games.”

Well, I agree. According to a recent study by the U. S. Fire Administration entitled, “A Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service,” only 13 percent of fire departments have the equipment and training to handle an incident involving chemical or biological agents, and half of all fire engines are at least fifteen years old. Ten percent of fire departments in cities with at least one building over four stories high, or higher, do not have adequate ladders or aerial apparatus. Overall, fire departments in the United States do not have enough portable radios to equip half of the responders on a shift, and the percentage is even higher in small communities. One-third of firefighters per shift are not equipped with self-contained breathing apparatus.

This equipment is not cheap. A portable radio costs $950. A chemical agent detector costs $8,585. An air pack costs $4,424. A defibrillator costs $1,695. Night vision goggles cost $3,210. Uniforms and other basic gear cost $1,000. It is no surprise to me that the demand for this program has grown from $2.1 billion for FY 2003 to $2.3 billion in FY 2004 to $2.7 billion for this year. What does surprise me, what disappoints me, is that, in the face of documented needs for better equipment and growing demand for this program, the bill cuts the funding for equipping and training our firefighters.

I am pleased that the bill provides an increase for the SAFER firefighter hiring program, and I commend Chairman Gregg for his support for the program. However, overall, firefighter grants are cut by $100 million. Firefighters in both big cities and small towns across this land face new challenges, while maintaining their traditional missions. They should not rely on bean suppers and bingo games to raise funds to pay for their needs on the job.

Individually and collectively, we are safer with properly equipped and trained firefighters. As a nation, we rely on their capabilities. Therefore, Mr. President Federal dollars are wisely invested in the effort.

So, I offer this amendment to provide $100 million to the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. By approving this amendment, the United States Senate will be answering the call from our firefighters.

This is a modest amendment. It simply restores firefighter grants funding to the FY 2005 level of $715 million. Even if this amendment is adopted, the firefighting program will be almost $300 million below the level authorized by Congress. I wish that we could do more, but this is the least we can do.

I urge adoption of the amendment.

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