News

As Congress returns from its August recess, the NVFC would like to give you an overview on the status of some of the most important legislative issues facing the fire and emergency services in the 110th Congress.

Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG)
The AFG program provides funding directly to fire departments to purchase equipment, training, and apparatus. The grants are distributed based on need, and fire service professionals are involved in setting grant criteria as well as reviewing and ranking grant applications.

In FY 2007, AFG was funded at $547 million. The House-passed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations legislation for FY 2008 (H.R. 2638) would provide $570 million. A Senate-passed version of the bill provides $560 million. H.R. 2638 is expected to be considered by a conference committee of representatives appointed by House and Senate leadership to resolve differences between the House- and Senate-passed versions of the bill.

Round one of the FY 2007 AFG award announcements came on July 27 this year. Last year the award announcements didn’t begin until October, the latest in the history of the program. The NVFC expressed concerns over the delay and other issues surrounding administration of the program in a letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff. The NVFC is pleased that the award announcements began earlier this year and will continue to work with the administration, members of Congress, and other fire service organizations to ensure that the program continues to run as effectively as possible.

Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (H.R. 943, S. 1466)

The NVFC strongly supports the passage of the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act, which would prevent the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from taxing the nominal compensation awarded to local volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders for service to their communities. It would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude property tax rebates and other benefits provided to volunteer responders from taxable income and employment taxes and wage withholding. The NVFC recently developed a document explaining in detail what the bill does and why it is important, not just for volunteer emergency responders but for communities and taxpayers as well.

House sponsor John Larson (D-CT) has made this bill, H.R. 943, his top priority in the 110th Congress. As of June 27, H.R. 943 had 150 cosponsors, including 15 on the Ways and Means Committee which has jurisdiction over the bill. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced Senate companion legislation (S. 1466) along with original cosponsor Gordon Smith (R-OR) on May 23.

Volunteer Firefighter and EMS Personnel Job Protection Act (H.R. 1643)
The NVFC strongly supports the passage of the Volunteer Firefighter and EMS Personnel Job Protection Act, which would protect the jobs of volunteer emergency services personnel responding to a Presidentially-declared national disaster for up to 14 days. Currently, volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services personnel are not protected from termination or demotion by their employers should they miss work when asked to respond to a national emergency. This protection is similar to that provided to members of the National Guard.

On March 22, Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ) introduced the bill (H.R. 1643) along with original co-sponsors Mike Castle (R-DE), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Randy Kuhl (R-NY). Language exactly the same as H.R. 1643 was inserted into H.R. 1684, which passed the House on May 9. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) is planning to introduce a Senate companion bill soon.

Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefits Act Implementation
On December 15th, 2003, President Bush signed into law the Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefits Act, which was designed to expand the Public Safety Officers Benefit (PSOB) program to cover public safety officers who die of heart attacks or strokes in the line of duty. Passage of this legislation had been a top priority for the NVFC during the 108th Congress.

It took the Department of Justice (DoJ), which administers PSOB, almost two years to develop a draft rule for implementing Hometown Heroes and another year after receiving comments on the draft rule from stakeholder organizations like the NVFC to publish a final rule. The final rule went into effect on September 11, 2006 and as of July 13, 2007, seven awards have been made, 47 denials have been issued, and 199 cases are still pending.

In April, the NVFC signed onto a letter to President Bush expressing concern over delays in processing applications and the low number of awards that had been made. In May, the NVFC developed a document designed to assist volunteer emergency response agencies in submitting Hometown Heroes applications. The document expanded on a checklist developed by DoJ to identify mistakes commonly made on Hometown Heroes applications that can lead to delays or a denial of benefits.

On July 11, NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg spoke at a press conference in the Russell Senate Office Building and called for DoJ to begin making awards and for Congress to investigate the process by which DoJ has been making determinations. The NVFC will continue to work to rectify this situation for the families of fallen public safety officers.

Rural Fire Assistance (RFA) and Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Programs
The RFA and VFA programs provide funding to volunteer fire departments that protect fewer than 10,000 people, assisting them in purchasing equipment and providing training to make them better prepared to suppress wildland fires. With RFA, departments are required to provide 10 percent in matching funds and must enter into an agreement with the Department of Interior to protect federal land. VFA grants require a 50 percent match, but there is no requirement to protect federal land.

In FY 2006, RFA was funded at $10 million and VFA at $13.8 million. In FY 2007, Congress did not explicitly fund either program. This allowed the administration to eliminate RFA funding and flat fund VFA at $13.8 million. The NVFC has been working with House and Senate Appropriators as well as other fire service groups to have funding for RFA and VFA restored to at least FY 2006 levels.

The House-passed Department of Interior Appropriations Act for FY 2008 (H.R. 2643) provides $20 million for VFA but no funding for RFA. Corresponding Senate legislation (S. 1696) would provide $13.8 million for VFA and $8 million for RFA. S. 1696 has not yet passed the Senate, and the NVFC will continue working to increase RFA funding to its FY 2006 level of $10 million. The NVFC will continue to advocate on behalf of RFA and VFA.

Other NVFC Legislative Activities
The NVFC Legislative Report, containing all of the NVFC legislative priorities and monitored items, is always available at www.nvfc.org. The most recent report  includes status reports on all of the priorities and monitored items.