Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this legislation to reauthorize the Assistance to Firefighters Grants, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants, and the United States Fire Administration.

It is hard to imagine now, but 25 years ago, Federal support for our fire services was nearly nonexistent, very little equity, but then funding for firefighting was primarily the responsibility of the State and local governments.

During budget shortfalls, fire departments were often the very first to get cut. When a department needed equipment or personnel, they resorted to bake sales and pancake breakfasts, although there is nothing wrong with those. That is a heck of a way to bring responsibility of protecting the citizens.

Working with local fire departments, national advocates, retirees, partners in Congress, and the White House, we passed the FIRE Act into law after getting volunteers and career firefighters here to Washington, D.C., to follow every Congressman and get on their case. That is what we did.

While we will take credit for this legislation, it is really the firefighters that did this. They came to Washington. It seems like a lifetime away.

Career firefighters, fire chiefs, volunteers, everyone came together to make sure our fire groups were no longer the forgotten piece of the public safety equation.

Our law delivered Federal dollars to local departments for the very first time. In 2003, we created the SAFER program so departments could meet their staffing needs.

The success of these programs speaks for itself. Since its inception, AFG has delivered more than $9 billion to equip and train firefighters.

When we were looking at this legislation out in the West, there were some departments that had to push the equipment to the fire. That is the case, and that existed over 25 years ago.

I am proud to say that SAFER has awarded more than $5 billion. This has been called one of the most efficient programs.

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Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that SAFER awarded more than $5 billion to departments to hire, recruit, and retain firefighters.

These grants are amongst the most effective in the entire Federal budget. Fire departments rely on the Fire Administration for fire data collection, public safety education, and service training. Without reauthorization, these programs would all go kaput September 30.

Thank you to my fire service co-chairs, Representatives Hoyer, Bost, and Fitzpatrick, as well as the House cosponsor, Congressman Kean from New Jersey, for joining us in our bipartisan quest.

This is truly, Mr. Speaker, a bipartisan piece of legislation that worked.

Mr. KEAN of New Jersey.

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