AFG and SAFER Funding Reduced in FY 2024 Funding Legislation
April 9, 2024
On March 23, President Biden signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 118-47). This law provides funding to portions of the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2024, including fire related programs and agencies. Below is a summary of how much this law provides each of the National Volunteer Fire Council’s (NVFC) funding priorities.
- The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs received $324 million each, $36 million (or 10%) LESS than each of these programs received last year.
- The U.S. Fire Administration received $59.975 million in base funding, approximately $1.7 million more than it received last year.
- The Volunteer Fire Assistance (Rural Fire Capacity) grants received $21 million, the same amount as last year.
- The National Firefighter Registry for Cancer received $5.5 million, the same amount as last year.
- The Supporting and Improving Rural Emergency Medical Service’s Needs (SIREN) grants received $11.5 million, a $1 million increase from last year.
The NVFC views the 10% cut in AFG and SAFER funding as unacceptable. These cuts occurred despite each of these programs receiving over $2 billion in funding requests annually. It is important that Congress be reminded of the importance of these programs.
The NVFC and other national organizations will be heading to Capitol Hill on April 29 as part of the Congressional Fire Services Institute’s annual dinner and symposium; for more information on this event, click here. For assistance with scheduling a Congressional meeting or for information on the NVFC’s policy priorities, email the NVFC’s chief of legislative and regulatory affairs, Ryan Woodward, at Ryan@nvfc.org.
