Political Quotes

“I am an outside member because my Subcommittee on Research on the Committee on Science overseas the U.S. Fire Administration, and this legislation reauthorizes the Fire Grant program. By the end of this year, we will have 25,000 fire grants awarded in the United States, and I understand that every congressional district will have had a grant to a fire department in their district or operating for their district. Volunteers in the United States cover most of the fire protection for areas of the United States. One concern in this fire grant bill reauthorization was that the Senate rejected an offer by the House to encourage volunteers. Let me tell you what happened. In the language in our House bill we had a bipartisan provision that said you cannot discriminate against full-time firefighters volunteering when they go back to their home districts. We were told that the IAFF opposed and that it would be thrown out and the Senate conferees would rather have no fire grant program than have that language in the bill. So sadly for volunteers that language is not in the bill. But everybody should understand that volunteer firefighters are incredibly selfless, putting their lives at risk for usually no reward greater than the knowledge that they are making their community a safer place.”