Page 18 - In Command Volume 18 - Ohio Fire Chiefs Association

The Big Picture
By Ken LaSala
Director of Government Relations International Association of Fire Chiefs
This really is the year
to get to Capitol Hill
(or your federal legislators’ state offices) and educate them about your programs.
If you’re still deciding whether We need your input because these
to attend the National Fire and
Emergency Services Dinner on April 6, I really encourage you to do so. This really is the year to get to Capitol Hill (or your federal legislators’ state offices) and educate them about your programs.
As you know, we have a new President and a Republican Congress. They are focused on a number of big priorities: health care, tax reform and immigration issues. They also are look- ing for ways to pay for these projects, especially construction of a wall on the southern border which will cost billions of dollars. Unless local fire and EMS chiefs are actively meeting with their members of Congress, we really could be looking at serious cuts to our programs.
Our number one goal this year is
to reauthorize the FIRE and SAFER grant programs. The funding for these programs is authorized until September 30, 2017. More importantly, there is a “sunset date” in statute. That means that if we do nothing, the programs will be terminated in early January 2018.
The IAFC and OFCA are working
to reauthorize these programs. We do not want to make any major changes to them, just reauthorize funding for the programs for another five years (until the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022) and get rid of the sunset date.
That will be hard enough. Some DC organizations, like the Heritage Foundation, argue that the FIRE and SAFER grant programs are ineffective. They also argue that local governments should pay for local fire departments’ staffing, equipment and training. In addition, they argue that FIRE and SAFER funding should be consolidated into larger homeland security grants managed by the states.
organizations are influential on Capitol Hill. As Fire Chiefs, it is important for you to meet with your Senators and Representative and explain how FIRE and SAFER grants have improved your ability to protect your communities.
If you are applying for a FIRE or
SAFER grant, please let your Members of Congress know because they may want to write letters in support of your applications. Also, if you receive an award, please invite your Senators and Representative or their staff to attend the grant award presentation ceremony, so that they can see that the funds are being well-spent.
Also, please explain to your Members of Congress how the FIRE and SAFER grants help improve the nation’s preparedness as a whole. Many elected officials do not realize that the fire apparatus, equipment and personnel that respond to a national emergency
are from local fire departments. If your department has assisted in the response to a major interstate disaster, please let your Senators and Representative know. They also need to be made aware that the FIRE and SAFER grants require local matches and go through a competi- tive peer-review process. These programs are not pork-barrel spending!
As an example of the challenges we face, Congress never passed final appro- priations bills for FY 2017. Instead,
the federal government is funded by a continuing resolution. For FY 2016, Congress increased funding for the FIRE and SAFER grant programs to $345 million each. For FY 2017, the House proposed maintaining that funding level. The Senate, however, proposes cutting each program by $5 million.
18 InCommand APRIL/MAY/JUNE 2017 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org