AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4661) to reauthorize the United States Fire Administration, the Assistance to Firefighters Grants program, the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 4661, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017 reflects a bipartisan, bicameral agreement reached between the House and the Senate authorizing committees.

I want to particularly thank our chairman and ranking member and my friend, Senator McCain, for his leadership on this bill in the Senate, in helping us get this agreement today. I note we all appreciate his service as well as his commitment to the service of all those here whom we are working for today.

Fire prevention and safety is literally a matter of life and death. In 2015, there were 1.34 million fires reported in the United States, causing more than 3,000 civilian deaths and 15,000 injuries. In addition to this devastating human loss, fires cost $14.3 billion in property damage.

As I travel throughout my district and visit with firefighters and paramedics, I am constantly reminded of the sacrifices they make to protect our neighbors. Certainly, as we have seen the raging fires in California, that is brought to mind also.

One thing I consistently hear from our volunteer and professional firefighters is how critical these grants are to their stations. Whether they help by providing training for additional firefighters or providing upgraded respirators to ensure their safety, towns and communities around the district are safer as a result of these grants.

Sadly, last year, 69 of our firefighters across the country lost their lives in the line of duty.

Fire prevention has improved dramatically since Congress passed the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act in 1974, which created the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy. This has certainly professionalized all of this work, but there are still areas for improvement.

Firefighting activities and funding are primarily the responsibility of States and local communities. The USFA and NFA, however, are responsible for national data collection, public education, and research and training programs to reduce fire deaths and make our communities and residents safer, as well as make our firefighters safer.

For the last 15 years, the Federal Government has also awarded competitive grants directly to local fire departments and unaffiliated emergency medical services, or EMS, organizations to help with a variety of equipment, training, and other needs.

FIRE Act awards provide funding and equipment training to ensure the safety of our Nation's first responders.

SAFER Act awards help local departments to recruit, hire, and retain trained firefighters. Many firefighting departments in my district rely on these grants in order to maintain high-quality fire and emergency services for their communities.

Loudoun County, in particular, received $2 million through this grant program. According to Fire Chief Brower: ``These programs greatly assist localities in the areas of firefighter safety, fire and life safety education, and improved resourcing for tactical fire operations.''

More than 80 people lost their lives in the horrific Grenfell Tower fire in London that occurred earlier this year.

Closer to home, it was just 2 years ago that a Metro fire injured 70 and killed a Virginia resident who was a grandmother of three, who was on her way to work.

California's huge wildfires are in today's headlines and remind us that, as communities continue to expand into wildland areas, wildfires pose growing risk for human life, home and property losses, and entire communities.

When fires occur, first responders run toward the flames and put themselves

in danger in order to prevent lives from being lost.

This bill will reauthorize the USFA and the FIRE and SAFER programs for 6 years and ensure that our Nation's firefighters and paramedics have the tools and training they need to fight and prevent devastating fires.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Homeland Security,

Washington, DC, December 18, 2017.

Hon. Lamar Smith,

Chairman, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House

of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Smith: I am writing to you concerning the

jurisdictional interest of the Committee on Homeland Security

in H.R. 4661, the ``United States Fire Administration, AFG,

and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017.'' The bill

contains provisions that fall within the jurisdiction of the

Committee on Homeland Security.

I recognize and appreciate the desire to bring this

legislation before the House of Representatives in an

expeditious manner, and accordingly, the Committee on

Homeland Security will not assert its jurisdictional claim

over this bill by seeking a sequential referral. The

Committee takes this action with the mutual understanding

that by foregoing action at this time we do not waive any

jurisdiction over subject matter contained in this or similar

legislation.

This waiver is also given with the understanding that the

Committee on Homeland Security expressly reserves its

authority to seek conferees on any provision within its

jurisdiction during any House-Senate conference on this or

any similar legislation, and requests your support for such a

request.

I ask that a copy of this letter and your response be

included in the Congressional Record during consideration of

this bill on the House floor.

Sincerely,

Michael T. McCaul,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Mimi Walters).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Abraham).

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to note that the International Association of Fire Chiefs has endorsed this bill.

I appreciate, again, the bicameral, bipartisan support we were able to bring together for the sixth year reauthorization--actually, the seventh year, also, for extra room there.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the United States Fire Administration, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant program, and the Fire Prevention and Safety programs.

As an original author of these critical grant programs, I understand their importance to the firefighting community. It is often local firefighters who are the first on the scene before help from elsewhere can arrive. Our first responders provide immediate assistance to those in need; and these grants enable local firefighters across our nation to receive the training and equipment necessary to fulfill this important mission.

The proper training and equipment provided to local firefighters by the AFG and SAFER grant programs and Fire Prevention and Safety programs can often mean the difference between life and death.

It is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, that it took so long for the House to act on reauthorizing these important federal grants. We have had nearly an entire year for the Majority to introduce a bill, have it considered in committee, and see action on the House floor. Or simply, we could have just considered S. 829, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent on August 2, 2017.

I even introduced H.R. 3881, a House version of the Senate-passed legislation and co-led a letter with 153 members of this House to show support for reauthorizing these grant programs. However, no action was taken to reauthorize these critical grant programs until today.

The bill before us today makes meaningful and technical changes to the administration of these grant programs. One important change this bill makes, that I know is significant to my home state of New Jersey and fire departments across the nation, is permitting the use of these grants to permit the use of grants to change the status of part-time or paid-on-call firefighters to full-time firefighters.

However, unlike the Senate bill, the bill before us today continues to have a dreadful sunset clause. Typically, the Congress sunsets programs to ensure there is an opportunity to review the importance of a program's continuation and that there is no waste, fraud, or abuse. Since the establishment of these fire programs, there have been no major issues with waste, fraud, or abuse--and we certainly cannot dispute the major benefits these programs provide. So it is a wonder why some are insisting on sunsetting these critical grant programs in this bill.

This sunset causes needless anxiety, which many have been feeling this year as the House is only now reauthorizing these programs just two weeks before they're set to expire. This is a situation where states and localities and tens of thousands of fire departments across our nation are left wondering about the future of critical funding they rely on to keep their communities safe. This sunset is unnecessary and we should eliminate it.

It is not an understatement to say that the funding provided by these programs has saved countless lives. The federal resources these grants have provided fire departments with the equipment, training and staffing needed to swiftly respond to over 30 million calls annually. These programs also have improved firefighters' response capabilities and prevented numerous fires through safety programs targeted toward high-risk populations.

Finally, I would like to thank my colleagues Congressman Peter King, Steny Hoyer and Dave Reichert as co-chairs of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus and for their tireless work on behalf of our nation's fire service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues in this Chamber to support the reauthorization of these critical grant programs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017.

I hope we can all agree on the urgency of reauthorizing this program before the sunset in current law would terminate this program in January. We heard from the local, State, and Federal experts at our hearing in July just how essential these programs are to ensuring both firefighter and community safety in all of our districts across the Nation.

This bill authorizes funding at the 2017 levels for the U.S. Fire Administration, Assistance to Firefighters Grants, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants.

It also directs establishment of a grant monitoring and oversight framework. It makes important technical fixes to current law. It ensures lesser resourced fire departments have the tools to successfully apply for grants. These are critical programs to ensure the safety and security of all Americans, and they must be reauthorized.

Unfortunately, I must also express my disappointment and frustration with the majority's insistence on including a new sunset clause in this bill. The sunset currently in law is putting these programs at risk as we speak. Congress shouldn't need sunsets to do a job properly. In this case, arbitrary program sunsets puts lives at risk. Every single firefighting organization wants this sunset out. On a bipartisan basis, the Senate has voted to remove this sunset, yet here we are today running up a program termination that nobody wants, and senselessly adding a future program termination date that nobody wants.

Legislating by self-created emergency is bad for Congress and bad for our country. Here we are in December desperately trying to avoid terminating assistance to firefighters. At the same time, we are desperately trying to keep the Federal Government from shutting down and we are desperately trying to provide disaster assistance to Americans who are suffering. Of course, we have already missed the deadline on CHIP, and now 9 million children all across our country are in danger of losing health coverage. This is no way to run a country.

So we will vote on this bill today and, in 7 years, probably be right back in the same boat we are today. We can and should do better than this.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the reauthorization of the United States Fire Administration, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, the Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program, and the SAFER grant program.

These programs are vital to protect the public and the Nation's firefighters. Recent trends have shown that fire safety and prevention remains a serious national concern. Data from the U.S. Fire Administration shows that, while there are fewer fires and fire-related deaths overall, fires are becoming more severe and costly in both lives lost and property damage per fire. The best-trained, best-equipped firefighters cannot always overcome the dangers associated with today's severe fires.

This alarming trend jeopardizes the economic health of our communities and our national goal of increased resilience to fire. Adequate funding for the brave men and women who fight fires is essential, but we must also be effective in reducing these trends by preventing the fire's ignition and growth, in the first place, through robust fire prevention.

I will work with the Science, Space, and Technology Committee to request that the U.S. First Administration and FEMA investigate the upward trend in fatalities and property damage per fire.

Mr. Speaker, I thank both Chairman Smith and subcommittee Chairwoman Comstock for their leadership and hard work on the reauthorization bill, and I hope to work with them to address these issues moving forward.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4661, the United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017.

Mr. Speaker, 2017 has been the most devastating year in California wildfire history. Thousands of California residents were displaced, over 1 million

acres burned, and thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed by this year's fires.

Now, more than ever, it is critical that California's fire departments are fully staffed. SAFER grants provide resources for fire departments that struggle to meet their staffing needs, including Orange County Fire Authority in my district.

SAFER grants will undoubtedly help fire departments across the country meet the needs of their communities, while ensuring firefighters are ready and able to assist with wildfire suppression efforts.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to offer my sincerest condolences to CAL FIRE and the family of Cory Iverson, who tragically lost his life this past week battling the Thomas fire.