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IAFF LEGISLATIVE FACT SHEET
FUNDING FOR SAFER
The IAFF supports increased funding for the SAFER grant program.
BACKGROUND
To address the critical staffing shortages facing fire
departments across the nation, Congress enacted the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency
Response (SAFER) Fire Fighters Act in 2003. This law authorizes funds to hire up
to 75,000 new fire fighters over a seven-year period. Under SAFER, fire
departments can apply for federal grants to help pay the costs associated with
hiring new staff over a four-year period, with the local community contributing
a gradually increasing match. In its second year of implementation, the law
provided staffing grants in forty-three states to help address fire
fighter shortages in local departments across the country. The critical
importance of adequate fire department staffing has been well documented by
independent studies. Both the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the
consensus standards making body of the fire service, and the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) promulgated standards for the minimum number of
fire fighters needed to respond safely and effectively to emergencies. An
estimated two-thirds of all jurisdictions do not currently meet these safe
staffing levels.
A study conducted by the U.S. Fire Administration found most
fire departments unable to respond to many common emergencies with existing
staff. A study by the Boston Globe found that fire departments are no longer
meeting national standards for response times, and the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health has identified lack of staffing as a key cause of
fire fighter fatalities on the fireground.
While funding for the SAFER program has grown since it was
created in 2003, the $190 million appropriated in Fiscal Year 2008 is less than
1/5 of the more than $1 billion needed to fully fund the program.
CURRENT LEGISLATION
Funding for SAFER in Fiscal Year 2009 is addressed as part of
the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations
Act, 2009.
U.S. House:
H.R. 2638, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance and Continuing Appropriations
Act, 2009
Sponsor: Representative David Price (D-NC)
Summary: The
Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance and Continuing Appropriations Act
includes funding for disaster assistance, Defense, Homeland Security and
Military
Construction. The bill also includes stopgap funding for other federal
agencies through
March 6, 2009. As passed, the bill contains $210 million for SAFER and
$565 million for
FIRE.
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
On February 5,
2007, the President released his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2009. The
proposal eliminates all funding for the SAFER grant program. Read
IAFF General President
Harold Schaitberger's statement on the President's proposal.
On June 11, 2008,
the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security approved its version
of the
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2009.
As approved, the bill contains $230 million for SAFER and $570 million for FIRE.
Read More...
On June 19, 2008,
the Senate Appropriations Committee approved S. 3181, it version of the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2009. As approved, the bill contains
$190 million for SAFER and $560 million for FIRE.
On June 24, 2008,
the House Appropriations Committee approved the House version of the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2009.
On September 24,
2008, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment to provide funding
for the Department of Homeland Security for Fiscal Year 2009 to H.R. 2638 by a
vote of 370-58-1. As
approved, the amendment contains $210 million for SAFER and $565 million for
FIRE.
On September 27,
2008, the U.S. Senate approved H.R. 2638 by a vote of 78-12.
On September 30,
2008, the President signed H.R. 2638 into law: Public Law 110-329.
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