Page 18 - Volume 19

The Big Picture
By Ken LaSala
Director of Government Relations International Association of Fire Chiefs
The IAFC and OCFA
will keep fighting to get our legislative
and funding priorities passed on Capitol Hill...
Despite the noise and tumult in were concerns for some serious cuts to
our nation’s capital this spring
and summer, the nation’s fire and emergency service has accomplished
a lot of important work. We’ve seen preliminary success on several issues, but there is still a lot of work ahead. Those Fire Chiefs who attended this year’s National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner should know that their participa- tion directly helped move legislation forward on Capitol Hill. In addition, President Trump appointed former IAFC President G. Keith Bryant to be the U.S. Fire Administrator. Here is a summary of what happened in the first part of this year.
Appropriations
On May 5, President Trump signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-31). In general, the federal fire and emergency service programs were spared any cuts. The U.S. Fire Administration received $44 million (including $1.5 million for improvements to the National Fire Academy). In addition, funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG; also known as the FIRE grant) and SAFER grant programs were preserved at $345 million for each program.
The State Homeland Security Grant Program also received level funding ($467 million), while the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) received a slight increase to $605 million. Congress directed that UASI funding be allocated to cities that represent 85% of the cumulative national terrorism risk to urban areas. The Urban Search and Rescue system also received a small increase to $38.28 million.
In late May, President Trump released his FY 2018 budget. There
some programs. For example, there was discussion of a $667 million decrease to FEMA’s Grant programs. The OFCA and IAFC will keep you informed about developments with the President’s FY 2018 budget.
S. 829, the AFG and
SAFER Program
Reauthorization Act
In conjunction with the National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner in early April, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced legislation to reauthorize the AFG and SAFER grant programs. The AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act (S. 829) would eliminate the January 2, 2018 sunset date and authorize funding for the programs through FY 2023. The legislation also would allow the FIRE grants to be used to train fire and EMS personnel to respond to individuals with mental illness.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee con- sidered and unanimously voted to report S. 829 on May 17. Senator Portman is
a member of this committee and voted for the bill. The substitute amendment included web-based training to help FIRE and SAFER grantees better administer their grants and directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop a framework to reduce fraud, waste and mismanagement of funds. During the mark-up, Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced an amendment to allow SAFER grantees
to convert part-time or paid-per-call firefighters into full-time positions. This amendment passed during the mark-up.
The next step is for the full Senate to consider S. 829. The bill has 11 cospon-
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