Fairfax, Va., Feb. 15, 2011... This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will consider H.R. 1, the Fiscal Year 2011 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, which would eliminate funding for the SAFER Grant Program and cut the FIRE Grant Program by $90 million.  Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) will be offering an amendment to restore the funding for the SAFER and FIRE Grant Programs back to their FY 2010 levels, which stood at $420 million for SAFER and $390 million for FIRE.

“IAFC members are encouraged to call their Representatives in Congress in support of this amendment,” said Jack Parow, IAFC president and chairman of the board. “If we're going to save this critical funding, your representative needs to hear why the SAFER and FIRE grants are important to your department and how they have improved your effectiveness in providing service to your community.”

In order to contact your representative, you can go to the U.S. House of Representatives website and use the zip-code enabled search tool at the top left-hand corner of the page. This will direct you to your representative’s webpage where you can find his or her phone number and submit comments in support of the Pascrell amendment.

Your efforts are vitally important to preserving these programs.