Ranking Member Johnson Reacts to Rejection of Fire Grants Amendment
Today, Ranking Member Johnson’s legislation, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2011 (H.R. 2269), was offered as an amendment by Rep. Higgins (D-NY) to the Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 during consideration of the legislation by the House Committee on Homeland Security. Unfortunately, the amendment was rejected along party-lines by a vote of 14 – 19.
H.R. 2269 reauthorizes two important programs, the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Safety and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants. Since 2001, these fire grants programs have provided valuable resources to local fire departments to help them meet their firefighting equipment, training, and staffing needs. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the SAFER program has created or saved approximately 5000 first responder jobs over the past three years. Authorization for AFG and SAFER expired in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The legislation, which was introduced on June 28, 2011 by Ranking Member Johnson and a bipartisan group of cosponsors, is supported by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Congressional Fire Services Institute.
“These programs have been an invaluable tool in helping local fire departments provide emergency response services to their communities, and are even more critical at a time when communities across America are confronting shrinking local budgets,” said Ranking Member Johnson. “We need to ensure that our firefighters and emergency medical personnel, those who are often the first ones at the scene of a homeland security emergency, have the tools that they need to protect us and keep us safe. Unfortunately, today, we missed an opportunity to reauthorize these important programs.”
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