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On April 24, the NVFC sent a letter to members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security requesting that they not alter the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program to distribute funding using a risk-based formula. NVFC Executive Committee member and Cherryville, NC, Fire Chief Jeff Cash testified before the Subcommittee in March when the issue was raised, and Cash followed up with the letter to address the issue in greater detail.

"The AFG program was created prior to September 11, 2001, and was originally administered by the United States Fire Administration (USFA)," Cash wrote. "The focus of the program from the start has been to bring all fire departments up to a baseline level of readiness. Grants are awarded based on need, as demonstrated by applicants and assessed by panels of fire service professionals that review the applications. This process ensures that the grants go where they are needed most and that the funding is distributed without political consideration."

For several years the administration has proposed converting AFG into a formula-based program, similar to the bulk of DHS' first responder grant programs that use factors like population size and density, risk of terrorist attack, and economic impact to distribute funding. These factors decidedly favor large urban and suburban areas. AFG has traditionally been distinct from the formula-based programs because it distributes funds based on need. Large departments have received hundreds of millions of dollars through AFG, but small, rural departments, where studies have found need to be the greatest, also have access to funds.

"The NVFC believes that the AFG is the premier federal grant program providing assistance to fire departments with the most need," Cash wrote. "I strongly urge members of this Committee to oppose converting the AFG into a program that distributes money based on risk."