Steny Hoyer: “I am a strong supporter of its provisions as it deals with readiness and as it deals with quality of life for our…”

“I am a strong supporter of its provisions as it deals with readiness and as it deals with quality of life for our members of the armed services. I want to talk about really an extraneous provision on this bill which I am very pleased with. The National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control issued a report in 1973 called America Burning. For the Fire Service, this was a turning point in its 350-year history. This is another turning point. The fire package attached to this conference report is a scaled-back version of legislation offered by my good friend, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell). The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) has championed his fire act tirelessly for the past 2 years. Some told the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) that it would not happen. I note that on the floor today, as well, is my good friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), who cochairs the Fire Service Caucus with me. He and I are still working on getting an additional $100 million in emergency funds available for our fire fighters. To the credit of the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), he never lost faith.”