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Congress Passes Fiscal Year 2014 Spending Package
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January 17, 2014 – After months of political wrangling that frayed partisan tensions and resulted in a lengthy government shutdown, Congress wrapped up its work this week on legislation funding the federal government for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill, H.R. 3547, passed the Senate by a vote of 72-26. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives 359-67 earlier in the week.
The bill includes $340 million each for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) and Assistance to Firefighters (FIRE Act) grant programs, an increase of $5 million over last year’s funding levels - an unusual victory in today’s difficult budgetary environment. The bill also extends the SAFER waivers for Fiscal Year 2014. The waivers, which were first enacted in 2009 after an exhaustive lobbying campaign by the IAFF and its members, ensure that fire departments can use SAFER grants to rehire and retain fire fighters, in addition to hiring new personnel.
“This is a significant victory for fire fighters nationwide,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “The additional funding made available for SAFER and FIRE Act grants will not only help hire, rehire and retain fire fighters and paramedics, but will also allow fire departments to purchase equipment and pay for training they might otherwise have gone without due to local budget shortfalls.
In addition to funding for SAFER and FIRE Act grants, the legislation also contains new funding to train fire fighters in hazardous materials response. This funding was included at the request of the IAFF, and is in direct response to last year’s deadly fertilizer plant facility explosion in West, Texas. A significant percentage of first responders are not adequately training to respond to emergencies involving hazardous materials; this funding is intended to help rectify this training gap.
The bill also includes a provision restoring the full cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment for disabled veterans. Congress had previously reduced veterans’ COLAs as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act. Although the fix in H.R. 3547 does not restore funding for non-medically retired personnel, it does provide relief for approximately 630,000 disabled veterans and survivors.
President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming days.
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