STEVE AUSTIN
Special To Firehouse.Com News
Main Story: President Bush Says Cut FIRE Act, Project Impact
The biggest story in fire service politics is President Bush's Budget Blueprint that cuts all funding for the second year of the FIRE Act. The bill authorizes $100 Million this year and 300 million for next. The lame duck session of the last Congress appropriated the whole $100 Million for 2001. Unfortunately President Bush recommended no money for the next program year. The President's Office of Budget and Management made a big mistake. Now it's up to us to get the money back in the budget where it belongs. We followed our pre-plan to get the money this year. We need to stay the course.
Sure we have some anger. If you didn't like Bush you probably like him less now. Go-ahead vent, then get over it, we have work to do. First look at the facts. Hundreds of programs have been slashed. The fire service is only one of a plethora of interest groups whose programs have been cut or eliminated. The President pledged to cut the growth of government from about 8% this year to more like 4% a figure that is closer to the annual cost of living increase. One of the casualties is the FIRE Act. Don't be fooled in thinking that cutting fire programs is something the G.W. Bush Administration invented. Every President since Ronald Regan either zero funded or cut fire programs. In the 80's the whole Fire Administration Budget was eliminated in the President's Budget Message.
It was only last summer that the Clinton Administration endorsed the Fire Act, about 18 months after the bill was introduced. The money wasn't appropriated until the last days of a lame duck session of Congress. At the time it appeared Congress would adjourn and leave us empty handed
The success we enjoyed this year was achieved by following a pre-plan that the major fire service groups endorsed over a year ago. The plan included intelligent Washington lobbying of both the Congress and the Administration and a massive grass roots effort by the fire service. Now that we know the plan works it would be foolish to go off in another direction because the budget blueprint doesn't include our funds. OK, we struck out this year at our first time at bat. There are still a lot of innings to go. The worse thing we could do now is to abandon our game plan and do something stupid.
Hanging around the water holes at the Fire Department Instructors Conference I have heard some weird things. They include that the President cut the grant program because a number of union firefighters supported Al Gore. Another is that the Administration is attacking us for some unspecified reason.
In all likelihood the President probably didn't even know his budget blueprint cut Fire Act funding. Piling on President Bush a couple months in to his term isn't the way to influence an Administration that could be around for eight years. As we have done in the past, we need to educate the Administration and Congress why federal funding is important.
The FIRE Act requires that the NFPA conduct a study on the needs of the fire service. Several weeks ago the fire service groups sat down with folks at the NFPA Data Shop to begin that process. While the study will take sometime, we believe it will clearly demonstrate that there is a need for a federal role in fire department funding.
Meanwhile the coalition of fire service groups supported by the Congressional Fire Services Institute is getting cranked up for another budget fight. Back in the fire district you have a job to do too. First you must apply for a grant for this year's $100 Million program. Not every department will be successful this round. With thousands of un-funded grant requests left over after the money runs out, Congress will be under pressure to fund the program again. If only a few departments apply, the message is that we don't need the bucks. Send your proposal in! Who knows, you might get your request!
Secondly thank your member of Congress for voting the money last year and seek a commitment for the 2002 budget. Your Member needs to hear from the fire departments that he or she represents. Avoid being negative. Ask to have the money appropriated. Don't rag on the fact that it's not in the Budget Blueprint. Congress will modify much of the President's budget between now final passage scheduled for later in the year.
Our pre-planning paid off in passing a program no one ever thought possible. By following our plan again, and avoiding a contentious relationship with Congress and the White House, we can get the FIRE Bill funded for the next round, with out making the Administration and Congress our adversaries.
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