As fire fighter of the _______ City __________, ___(state)____, I am writing to ask for your support for two items. First I ask for your support of the United States Fire Administration (USFA) by restoring its funding to USFA in FY 2006 at the $64.85 million level set by the United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act signed by President Bush back in 2003. The lack of full funding of the agency will continue to impede the activities of the Fire Data Center, various prevention and fire service outreach initiatives, National Fire Academy course development and revision and more. USFA's budget in FY 2005 is $51.3 million.

The United States Fire Administration is the lead federal agency for our nation's fire and emergency services, offering vital training, information and leadership. The funding would advance the mission of USFA by providing the necessary resources to help our nation's first responders prepare for all hazards threats to our communities.

The United States Fire Administration is one of the many agencies that form the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Established by the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, it performs four important missions: data collection, public education, training, and technology development. Throughout the years, our department has benefited greatly from the USFA. Many officers, including myself, have attended classes at the National Fire Academy where we acquired new skills and knowledge in the area of leadership that we have applied in our work. We have taken advantage of the wide range of education material produced by USFA for safety programs that comprise a large part of our mission.

Our department, like every department in the nation, benefits from the best instructors in the world along with the research and data USFA compiled that addresses firefighter health and safety.  In my resent visit to the NFA I had the pleasure of speaking with two fire officers from Hong Kong. This is a great testimony to the quality and excellence we have in our National Fire Academy at Emmitsburg when fire fighters travel to the US for their education.

We have taken advantage of the direct delivery program where the NFA sends instructors into our state to deliver classes to those fire fighters that are not able to travel to the NFA in Emmitsburg. The wide range of education material delivered by USFA for safety programs directly to fire fighters in our state is invaluable when it comes to firefighter health and safety.

I also seek your support for The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Reauthorization Act of 2004 which is currently administered by the United States Fire Administration Program (USFA). In order to allow this outstanding program to continue, I ask that it receive the fiscal support as indicated in the 2004 legislation.  The funding is desperately needed.  It is imperative that the program does not become lost or swallowed up in the Department of Homeland Security as their focus is on terrorism.  There is a consint push from DHS to place more emphasis on terrorism in the AFGP and that is not what it was intended for.

As you know, firefighters, 75% of which are volunteers, are our nation's first responders to all types of emergencies. Many volunteers serve small, rural communities and are quite often the only line of defense in those communities. Unfortunately, many of these departments are woefully under funded and struggle to provide their firefighters with adequate protective clothing, safety devices and training to protect their communities.

America's fire service is the primary provider of life safety services in all communities. We are responsible for fire suppression, emergency medical services, technical rescue and hazardous materials response, among other duties. We urge you to support the Assistance to Firefighters Grant  Program (AFGP) that is so desperately needed.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant  Program (AFGP) through the management of the USFA has had terrific results and is critically important for the fire service.  I have served as a panel member in the per review process and I can tell you that we have a long way to go in meeting the goals of the AFGP.  The needs for basic all hazards items for our nations fire service is shocking.  It is imperative that the funding be restored to $950,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $1,000,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2010.

In recent years, we have seen how the federal government has focused greater attention on the challenges facing our nation's fire and emergency services. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program has had a tremendous impact on improving the readiness of our firefighters. Congress deserves so much credit for supporting this program and for increasing the level of funding from $100 million in FY 2001.  I am also encouraged by the attention given to other challenges, particularly in the area of interoperability of our communication systems.

It is also extremely troubling to hear how upper administration in DHS continue to place road blocks in the way of the USFA staff that are managing the AFGP.  This past year the AFGP almost did not happen because of upper level executive staff within the DHS Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP) group.

For the fire service to be ready to respond to the nations needs we must maintain the AFGP and the USFA.  In order for the fire service to maintain a strong voice in the federal discourse on homeland security issues, we must have a strong U.S. Fire Administration. This is why I urge your support for USFA and the AFGP. The USFA is our voice at the federal level, conveying our needs and the role we play in responding to national all hazards emergencies.

Please respond to my letter by stating your position on these two particular issues and whether you are able to assure us that the USFA and the AFGP will be given top priority attention. Please have your staff contact me should have you questions regarding how this legislation will translate into benefits at the local level. Furthermore, please consider this letter an open invitation to converse with me to learn more about our concerns.

Talking Points

• Point: On February 7, President Bush released his budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 which was severely lacking for the AFGP.
• Point: While there will be cuts in areas such as course development and fire prevention programs. Without new and updated course work, the future of the Fire Academy and the quality of emergency services will weaken.
• Point: The lives of first responders and the citizens they serve are at risk.
• Point: A lack of sufficient basic fire fighting equipment is resulting in serious risk to fire fighters and the public for critical all hazards response. 
• Point: Emergency incidents requiring mutual aid responses from multiple public safety agencies lack dedicated interoperability channels to communicate between first responders on the ground.
• Point: A firm date for public safety access to 700 MHz spectrum, both in your area and across the nation, is critical for the safety of our citizens and public safety officers.
• Point: The budget request for the Department of Homeland Security totals $34.2 billion, a 7 percent increase in funding over the comparable FY 2005 budget.
• Point: The budget request for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFGP) is $500 million.  This is the same amount that the president proposed in his budgets for FY 2004 and 2005.  Hopefully, Congress will appropriated $950 million for FY 2006 as was in legislation last year.
• Point: The president's FY 2006 budget request does not include funding for SAFER.  FY 2005 did not either but Congress appropriated $65 million.
• Point: America 's fire services must be represented by fire chiefs and other senior fire service officials within the office of the Secretary of Homeland Security and in key positions throughout the department.

• Point: The U.S. Fire Administration must occupy a key position and function in a comprehensive role within the Department of Homeland Security proportionate to the responsibilities of the fire services in responding to incidents of terrorism and all hazards events.

• Point: The Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security need to recognize and designate the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy as being “homeland security critical” in the federal budgeting process.

• Point: The U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy must be fully funded to the authorized levels to support the ongoing mission to reflect contemporary issues and community risks.

• Point: To ensure the most effective utilization of training resources, the Department of Homeland Security should be required to work more closely with the National Fire Academy and state and local fire training academies regarding the use of curriculum and the delivery system for terrorism response training.

   

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