Bill Pascrell: “Together, FIRE and SAFER grants have provided over $7 billion in firefighter jobs, equipment and training for local fire…”

“Together, FIRE and SAFER grants have provided over $7 billion in firefighter jobs, equipment and training for local fire departments. It is serious business. We are talking life and limb, and we are talking about property here. To me, cutting these critical programs is wrong, especially when local fire department budgets are already strained. We are facing it in all of our districts. You know that. My amendment restores the funding for FIRE and SAFER to their fiscal 2010 amounts: $390 million for FIRE, $420 million for SAFER. Because of the rule, we are forced to reluctantly take funding from DHS Science and Technology. If this amendment passes, I hope we can restore some of the funding during conference. I hope that both sides will come together on this. It has bipartisan support. We need to protect our firefighters. I yield back the balance of my time.”