Bill Pascrell: “I stand to urge my colleagues to support this amendment to provide $5 million in additional funding for Firefighter…”

“I stand to urge my colleagues to support this amendment to provide $5 million in additional funding for Firefighter Assistance Grants. This funding would be equally divided between the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) programs, which provide equipment and staffing assistance for local fire departments. In my work to develop the AFG and SAFER programs, I envisioned them as ways to fill needs that local budgets sometimes can't. As we all know, in today's tough budget environment, many states and towns are strapped for cash and have asked their first responders to make sacrifices. These are the times when AFG and SAFER are most important. These programs put more firefighters on our streets and provide better equipment to keep them safe. For example, in New Jersey's Ninth Congressional District, the towns of Garfield and North Arlington have recently received hundreds of thousands of dollars in AFG assistance for the purchase of electronic accountability systems and Self Contained Breathing Apparatuses. These firefighters are risking their lives to protect our lives and property, and we owe it to them to ensure that they are protected with the best possible equipment. Earlier this year, my hometown of Paterson received a SAFER grant of almost $7 million to prevent the layoff of 40 firefighters and allow the city to hire 9 new firefighters to replace retirees.…”