News
NVFC Names Congressman John Larson 2008 Legislator of the Year
 |
| NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg (left) presents Congressman John Larson with the 2008 Legislator of the Year Award. |
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) honored Congressman John Larson (D-CT) with the NVFC 2008 Legislator of the Year Award during the organization’s Spring Board Meeting on April 3. Larson sponsored H.R. 943 – the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (VRIPA) – and made passage of the legislation his top priority. VRIPA, which was signed into law in December, exempts certain benefits provided to volunteer emergency responders from federal taxation.
“I’d like to thank Congressman Larson for all of his hard work in getting this important piece of legislation passed,” said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “The compensation that some volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel receive is modest in comparison to the many hours that they spend training for and responding to emergencies. Federal taxation reduces the incentive value of these benefits, which communities use as recruitment and retention tools. Without Congressman Larson’s efforts, this landmark achievement on behalf of volunteer emergency services personnel would not have been achieved.”
Larson first introduced VRIPA in 2003 after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that property tax reductions for volunteer firefighters were subject to income taxation. Many municipalities in Larson’s home state of Connecticut provide property tax relief to their volunteer firefighters in order to make living in those communities more affordable.
In February 2007, NVFC Connecticut Alternate Director Scott Potter and Director of Government Relations Dave Finger participated in a meeting hosted by Congressman Larson in South Windsor, CT, to announce the introduction of VRIPA in the 110th Congress. Last October, NVFC Connecticut Director John McAuliffe testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, which Larson sits on, regarding VRIPA.
Past winners of the NVFC’s Legislator of the Year Award include:
2007, Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
2006, Congressman Mike Castle (R-DE)
2004, Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA)
Search
Kimberly Ettinger
Director of Communications
202-887-5700 ext. 19
David Finger
Director of Government Relations
202-887-5700 ext. 12