IAFF LEGISLATIVE FACT SHEET

FUNDING FOR SAFER

The IAFF supports increased funding for the SAFER grant program and urges Members of Congress to oppose the Administration's proposal to abolish the 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 86 percent of the 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 only a fraction of the more than $1 billion authorized for the program each year.  Independent experts estimate that the program needs to be fully funded to achieve safe fire fighter staffing levels. 

CURRENT LEGISLATION

Funding for SAFER will be addressed as part of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2009.

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.

The House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Homeland Security will consider the Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations bills in the spring of 2008.