1. Department of Defense
Conference Committee Gets Underway: After a long delay,
members of the House and Senate began meeting this week to work
out the difference between their respective versions of the
Defense Authorization. Several issues important to the nation's
firefighters will be on the table during these discussions,
including SAFER and the pay and bargaining rights of federal
firefighters.
2. House Committee Marks-up a Pension Bill That Would Affect
Public Safety Employees:
The Ways and Means Committee of the House has marked up a
pension bill that would waive the 10% penalty for early
distributions from the DROP plans for public safety employees. HR
1776 was passed during a contentious mark-up in which Democrats
strongly protested not having enough time to review an amendment
drafted by the Republican majority. Whether the controversy
derails the legislation remains to be seen.
3.
Senate to Debate Funding for Fire Service Programs Next Week: The
Senate is scheduled to begin work on its' version of the Homeland
Security Appropriations bill next week. Amendments may be offered to
increase funding for the FIRE Act and other first responder programs.
4. House Select Committee on Homeland Security Held a Hearing
on First Responder Issues: Earlier this week, witnesses included
the Council on Foreign Relations, which has authored a new report
illustrating how ill prepared our first responders are for a terrorist
attack. At the hearing, the witness testified that the federal
government must dramatically increase funding for the fire service.
5. Congressional Recess Starts Next Week!
All of Congress will be at home in their districts for the month of
August, and it's a good time for firefighters to drop in and get
acquainted with their Member of Congress, if you don't already know
them. Call your Member's office now to schedule a sit down meeting
at the district office, and check in with
www.iaff.org. Published there is a list of legislative
priorities so you can thank your Member if he or she has been
supportive, or ask their co-sponsorship on any of our targeted
legislation. The IAFF will also be reaching out to those IAFF locals
who have a Member who serves on the Homeland Defense Appropriations
Subcommittee with specific assignments during the recess.
6. Presidential
Candidate Speaks Out for Increased Funding for firefighters: Speaking in the Bronx this week, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) highlighted the preparedness gap that our nation's firefighters face, and called for a new initiative to hire 100,000 new firefighters. Read more about Kerry's speech at
www.iaff.org. |
