In April, Senators John McCain (AZ), Jon Tester (MT), Susan Collins (ME), and Tom Carper (DE) introducedS. 829, legislation to reauthorize the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs, according to Bill Webb, executive director of the Congressional Fire Services Institute. Webb says it is imperative that firefighters reach out to their senators and ask them to support these programs, which are authorized only through the end of the current fiscal year and which, through the provisions of a “sunset” provision in the prevailing statute, will be extended to January 2, 2018, when they would be eliminated unless Congress authorizes new legislation. Similar legislation was expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives after press time.
The proposed Senate bill would eliminate the sunset provision and extend the authorization until Fiscal Year 2023.
AT&T has been selected to build the first nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to America’s first responders, the Department of Commerce and First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) recently announced. U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross noted: “FirstNet is a critical infrastructure project that will give our first responders the communications tools they need to keep America safe and secure.”
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