California Burns and Bush Basks in Glow

President Cuts Funding for Fire Fighters, First Response, Rushes to Wildfire Front to Show Support

Washington – Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, issued the following statement on the situation in southern California and President Bush’s visit there today:

“It is unfortunate that President Bush has decided to inject himself into the California wildfire fight even while he has been resisting efforts to fund national programs that provide equipment, staffing and training to communities most vulnerable to natural and manmade disasters.

“Fire fighters will respond no matter what. Our brave members put themselves in harm’s way because it is their duty. President Bush’s duty is to ensure that we have the right number of fire fighters and the appropriate resources to protect our communities. He hasn’t lived up to his part of the bargain.

“Earlier this year, President Bush proposed slashing funding for the first responder grants – the FIRE and SAFER programs. His 2008 budget proposal slashed funding for the FIRE Act by 45 percent and eliminated the SAFER program altogether. FIRE and SAFER both are authorized for $1 billion a year, but FIRE now receives about half of its full funding, and SAFER gets only 10 percent of its authorized level of funding.

“To their credit, the House and Senate passed higher 2008 appropriations to fund the SAFER grants, which go directly to local fire departments to recruit and train new fire fighters. The IAFF supports the House funding level of $235 million, which is twice the 2007 appropriation.

“This president has failed America’s fire fighters by seeking to slash funding they need to protect our communities, to eliminate the SAFER program altogether. He is demonstrating with the wildfire disaster in California, as he did in response to Hurricane Katrina, that he is satisfied with showing his face at the height of a disaster, rather than preparing for it beforehand.”

The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, represents more than 281,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics who protect 80 percent of the nation’s population. More information is available at www.iaff.org.

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