United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2008

Floor Speech

UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - September 22, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in strong support of S. 2606, the U.S. Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2008. This bill is a companion bill to H.R. 4847 that passed out of the House last April.

The U.S. Fire Administration is an invaluable resource for our Nation's firefighters and for the communities they protect. Through training, data collection, fire education for the public, and for the support for fire-related research and development, the USFA provides critical tools and leadership. To the fire service from small-scale individual tragedies such as house fires and car accidents to the community- and region-wide disasters of terrorist attacks or floods, firefighters are often the first to arrive on the scene and are the last to leave.

We depend on our firefighters, but firefighters also depend on us. They depend on the public and on their elected officials to make sure that they have the resources, the equipment and the training they need to do their job. If they are not properly equipped, we are all at risk.

Congress saw the need to create the USFA in 1973 when the America Burning report called attention to over 6,000 Americans each year who died in fires and to the 100,000 who were injured. Through the leadership of the USFA and others, the number of people killed in fires each year has dropped by 50 percent down to approximately 3,000, and injuries have dropped by 84 percent. While impressive, 3,000 deaths are still far too many, especially when so many of these deaths and injuries are from our most vulnerable populations--children and the elderly.

S. 2606 is nearly identical to the House bill that passed unanimously on this floor in April. The bill reauthorizes this important agency for 4 years at funding levels that will enable the USFA to fully carry out its mission.

I want to highlight that S. 2606 reflects the priorities for this agency as expressed by members of the fire service community at a Science and Technology Committee meeting held last year.

S. 2606 authorizes the USFA to focus on the pressing challenges of fighting fires in the wildland-urban interface. As communities spread deeper into fire-prone wildlands, local fire departments are faced with the daunting challenge of fighting fires that differ significantly from those they are trained to tackle. The bill also authorizes the USFA to offer training for fires involving hazardous materials as well as advanced topics on emergency medical services.

Firefighters today are called upon to respond to an ever broader array of emergencies. This authorization bill gives the USFA the authority to make sure its training program keeps pace with the increasing challenges to the fire service.

S. 2606 is the product of bipartisan and bicameral collaboration, and it is supported by major fire service organizations, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Firefighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Congressional Fire Services Institute.

The resources and leadership of USFA are an essential part of the ability of the fire service to protect our cities, towns and communities. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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