Rand Paul: “Firefighting and emergency medical services are some of the most important and most inherently local services that…”

“Firefighting and emergency medical services are some of the most important and most inherently local services that people rely on. The men and women who show up when the call for help goes out are everyday heroes in communities across America. City governments have predominantly decided to provide fire services at taxpayer expense with local taxes, while in rural areas, volunteer fire departments are still prevalent. Many localities have decided to provide medical services as well. Although hospitals still are the primary EMS providers in a lot of locations, private companies are playing an increasing role in this space as well. But no matter who provides the services--government employees, volunteers, or private entities, these are local needs best met by local providers and best paid for with local taxes. For the first 225 years of our country's history, this is just what happened, until 2000, when the Federal Government had its first budget surplus in almost 50 years--a surplus that disappeared the very next year, by the way. Congress, in the year 2000, decided to spend a bit of that surplus to create a new subsidy for local firefighters. This first year, the program was authorized at a total of $110 million for government and volunteer fire departments; however, the bill before us today now authorizes $2.3 billion per year for these subsidies.…”