D R A F T WHITE PAPER
THE AMERICAN FIRE SERVICE POSITION PAPER ON THE ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS
GRANT PROGRAM
FY 2004
How Far We’ve Come
We, the major fire service organizations that represent the interest of one million firefighters and rescue personnel in
this nation are committed to addressing the needs of our nation’s first responders with both ends of Pennsylvania
Avenue. We represent the men and women who form the front lines of our country’s response to acts of terrorism.
Our members are highly skilled, trained and educated individuals, willing to assume the risks inherent in their
profession. Our job is to serve as their voice, speaking out on critical issues, including the need for the federal
government to provide more advanced training and technology to allow them to perform their duties safely and
effectively.
For many years, the federal government has fallen short in meeting the needs of our nation’s first responders. While
it has delivered billions in federal dollars to law enforcement programs, it has appropriated far less amounts to the
fire service. Rather than faulting our friends from the law enforcement community, this inequity made our
organizations more aggressive and determined to lobby Congress and Administrations, both past and present, for
greater support. In recent years, we have seen some positive steps reflecting a greater awareness by the federal
government to shore up its support for the fire and emergency services. But there is more work to do.
Late last year, we authored a white paper enumerating our priorities for the new Department of Homeland Security.
The paper was distributed to members of Congress directly involved in the authorizing legislation, as well as
Administration officials. It formed the basis for our legislative agenda, an agenda that addressed the needs of career
and volunteer personnel, chiefs, instructors, investigators -- the entire cadre of fire and rescue personnel. All the
major fire service organizes are aligned with agenda.
The first priority listed in the paper was the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. In its third year, the grant
program distributes funding to fire departments in dire need of federal support. There are over 26,000 fire
departments in this nation; many of which are understaffed and lack basic equipment such as turn-out gear and
communication equipment. (see “A Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service: A Cooperative Study Authorized by
U.S. Public Law 106-398”). The FIRE Grant Program was designed to address these needs.
For Fiscal Year 2003, Congress approved $750 million for the grant program, a two-fold increase in funding from
the previous year. After having spent two years developing and refining the program, the United States Fire
Administration has demonstrated the capability to efficiently distribute these funds to local fire departments. They
have not done it alone. Our organizations have met regularly with USFA officials to review the progress of the
program, offering recommendations to improve the delivery of the program. We have also provided over 200
firefighters to review the grant applications. These individuals spend one week of their personal time in Emittsburg,
Maryland reviewing and evaluating over 20,000 applications.
In his budget proposal submitted to Congress for Fiscal Year 2004, the President included $500 million for the
FIRE Grant program. While it is less than the amount approved for Fiscal Year 2003, it marks the first time that an
Administration has budgeted funds for this program. On one level, we declared this a victory for our first
responders. However, our goal is to fully fund the program at $900 million.
While we can all take credit for the progress being made to improve the readiness of the fire and emergency services,
the tragic events of September 11th and the actions undertaken by the fire fighters that day was the wake-up call that
compelled Washington to act. Moreover, we credit certain members of Congress (both Republicans and
Democrats, alike) and Administration officials who have waged many battles on our behalf over the years. These
are the leaders who can proudly wear that moniker that reads “Champion of the fire service.”
2004: Future of the FIRE Grant Program
The United States Fire Administration should have little trouble adjusting to its new home in the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security. Since its inception in 1974, USFA has been domiciled in three separate agencies: the U.S.
Department of Commerce, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and now the Homeland Security
Department. The fire service reacted positively to the decision to transfer FEMA into the new department. In fact,
it was one of the priorities listed in our white paper, asserting that FEMA “must be at the core of the Department of
Homeland Security.” As the lead federal agency in disaster response in this country, FEMA is a logical fit within the
new department.
With programs and agencies being shifted around to fit within the structure of the new department, many questions
are being raised about control of various programs. For the fire service, the question is, “What will be the fate of
the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program?” In our opinion, this shouldn’t be an issue. USFA should retain
control of the program. However, we have heard attempts are being made to relocate the program into a section of
the department that exercises little, if any control, over federal fire programs.
How would this change benefit our nation’s firefighters or strengthen the delivery of this program? And who within
the Department would be the voice on Capitol Hill extolling the benefits of this program?
Before any consideration is given to transferring the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program from USFA, we
would ask both lawmakers and administration officials to consider the merits of our arguments for allowing USFA
to retain control of the program.
1.
The authorizing legislation (Public Law 106-398) amended the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of
1974 to establish a grant program “for the purpose of protecting the health and safety of the public
and firefighting personnel against fire and fire-related hazards.”
2.
Enactment of the legislation was the culmination of an extraordinary partnership involving every major fire
service organization and a large bipartisan coalition of members of Congress who worked tirelessly for three
years on this measure.
3.
Language contained in the authorizing legislation for the new department explicitly gives Congress the
authority to determine changes to programs such as the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. “The
primary mission of the Department [of Homeland Security] is to…(e) ensure that the functions of the
agencies and subdivisions within the Department that are not related directly to securing the homeland are
not diminished or neglected except by a specific explicit Act of Congress.” (Public Law 107-296)
4.
Report language contained in the Omnibus Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2003 clearly expresses that
the Conferees oppose any attempts to divert the full $750 million Congress approved for other programs.
“The conferees have agreed to establish this new appropriations account [the Emergency Management
Planning and Assistance account] for firefighters assistance grants so that there will be no doubt as to the
importance of this program and to protect this program from being lost in the morass of the Department of
Homeland Security.” (Public Law 108-7)
5.
The United States Fire Administration is the lead federal agency that represents our nation’s one million
firefighters and rescue personnel. Tasked with the mission of reducing the nation’s loss of life due to fire, it
is the only federal agency that collects data, publishes public education material, provides training and
develops technology to advance life safety as its core mission. Hence, it has the institutional knowledge to
know where to best target grant funds.
6.
Because USFA is the lead agency for the fire service, the fire service inherently places its trust in USFA to
administer the grant program.
7.
Since the inception of the program, USFA has conducted a series of meetings with fire service leaders to
evaluate the success of the program and refine it for improvements. In addition, USFA reaches out to the
fire service each year to enlist 200 volunteers to evaluate the applications. This type of partnership is unique
and further illustrates the success of this program.
Final Thoughts
Something can be said for pride of ownership. The American Fire and Emergency Services takes great pride in the
passage of the legislation that established the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and the partnership that has
brought together every major fire organization and the United States Fire Administration to administer this
program. We appreciate the support we have received from both the Congress and Administration in attaining the
level of success we have achieved to date. We recognize that everybody wants to support what’s best for our
firefighters and rescue personnel, but also that different approaches exist to achieve common goals. However, we
would simply ask that as Congress and the Administration begin to consider funding for the Assistance to
Firefighters Grant program for Fiscal Year 2004, every consideration be given to the concerns and
recommendations we expressed in this paper: 1) Maintain the FIRE Act as a separate program, 2) fully fund the
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Progam at $900 million, and 3) retain administration of the FIRE Act by the United
States Fire Administration.