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Governmental Affairs Committee |
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GAC Resources For GAC documents, announcements, and information please click here to visit the microsite. Home Day 2007 Toolkit To download the Home Day 2007 Click Here Upcoming Events
HELP THE GAC!
Dear FAMA/FEMSA member: In January, you received an e-mail from the FAMA/FEMSA Governmental Affairs Committee (GAC) asking you to complete a survey that will help the GAC and its consultants learn what congressional relationships FAMA/FEMSA member companies have established. This information is essential to the GAC’s work to increase FAMA/FEMSA’s dialogue with federal government agencies in an effort to educate key officials on the important role our industry plays in providing equipment and services to the nation’s first responders. To help us enhance these efforts, we once again ask you to take a few moments to complete the enclosed survey. Specifically, this survey will help the GAC compile a comprehensive list of FAMA/FEMSA members’ locations and the congressional senators and representatives for those locations, an important step in establishing an educational network with the members of Congress and the administration. Please note that the survey can be conveniently completed online here. We also ask that the survey be completed as soon as possible. We have tried to keep this survey as simple and straightforward as possible. We thank you in advance for your assistance in this important effort. Sincerely, FAMA/FEMSA Governmental Affairs Committee
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NY Rescuers Getting New Disaster Masks Chertoff Outlines Security Goals by 2009 Changes Made to PSOB Determination Process
NY Rescuers Getting New Disaster Masks About 35,000 police, firefighters, ambulance crews and other rescue workers in state of New York are getting new disaster masks because the old ones don’t meet current federal standards for first responders. In an article on the Newsday website, Celeste Hadrick says the state originally spent $10.8 million in homeland security funds to buy the masks in 2003. “New York distributed the masks, manufactured by Safety Equipment Australia, as it raced to be among the first states to protect its first responders,” Hadrick adds. The old masks were SEA full-face masks, with impact-resistant polycarbonate visor and an airtight rubber line. The problem is the masks filer out tear gas, dust, particles and industrial compounds such as asbestos, but not biological and nuclear threats as required by federal law. The new masks are the MSA Ultra Elite CBRN masks, which are designed to filter out industrial contaminants, chemical gas such as sarin and mustard, as well as biological and radiological toxins. The old masks “were judged at that time to be state-of-the-art because there were no federal guidelines, no safety guidelines,” state Homeland Security spokesperson Dennis Michalski told Hadrick. “In light of 9/11 and the terrorist threat ... we wanted to provide our first responders with the best equipment at that time.” But in 2005, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health came out with air-purifying respirator standards for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear disasters. Richard Metzler, president of Safety Equipment America, which distributes the Australian company’s products, told Hadrick the respirators had been made to be used in the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear environments, but the 2005 standards “were more stringent than anticipated.” The state has ordered 25,000 at a cost of $3.2 million so far. New York City receives its own money and did not participate in the program. To read the full article, click here: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/ny-limask045401404oct04,0,3650509.story
Source: Disaster Resource Guide Chertoff Outlines Security Goals by 2009 Earlier this week, unnamed officials leaked an internal memo to the press outlining Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff’s priorities for the department up to January 2009. According to the Associated Press, the October 3 memo to the president’s chief of staff was marked “For Official Use Only.” AP says the document outlines the DHS’s goals and likelihood they will be met by the end of the Bush administration. Among the information shared, Chertoff wrote that reaching a new agreement with Canada to share air passenger information by the end of 2008 seems futile, AP says. The agreement would expand the amount of information the US and Canada share about air travelers, but Chertoff does not foresee it happening “due entirely to Canada’s reluctance to move forward on this initiative,” he wrote. However, AP says this issue and an immigration overhaul are the only two goals Chertoff cites as unlikely to be met. “The document says most of the priorities Chertoff set in July 2006 are on track to be completed by the end of 2008,” AP says. “They include increasing the number of Border Patrol agents from 14,900 today to 18,300 and screening 50 percent of air passengers using a behavior analysis program that identifies suspicious acting travelers.” When asked about the memo, Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner told AP, “I am not able to comment on internal documents.” To read the full article, click here: http://www.southernledger.com/ap/46981/Chertoff_Outlines_Security_
Source: Disaster Resource Guide Changes Made to PSOB Determination Process The Department of Justice (DoJ) has issued two policy memorandums to the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program (PSOB) that will significantly change the determination process for PSOB applications made under the Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefits Act. The new policy, which is effective immediately, clarifies the language of the law and is intended to fix the problems that have been plaguing the determination process. Under the new policy, no activity shall be understood to be "performed as a matter of routine" solely based on the public safety agency describing it as "routine" or "ordinary." The determination of whether an activity is "routine" will be informed less by how often it is performed than by its stressful or strenuous character. Responding to an emergency call shall presumptively be treated as non-routine. DoJ has also changed its policy for determining whether there is "competent medical evidence to the contrary." No medical history records will be requested of claimants in cases where nothing in the claim file suggests that either something other than the line of duty may have caused the fatal heart attack or stroke or that it was more likely than not that the heart attack was imminent. The mere presence of cardiovascular disease or risk factors, however extreme, that is found, for example, through an autopsy or mentioned in a coroner’s report or death certificate, shall not be considered in the determination unless information in the claim file itself suggests that the deceased person knew or should have known of such presence and appears to have worsened or aggravated the same by his or her own intentional and reckless behavior. Any medical history records requested of the claimant will be reviewed for mitigating evidence in favor of the claim. "I am very pleased that it appears that the Department of Justice is starting to get the message," said Philip C. Stittleburg, Chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). "I strongly encourage anyone whose Hometown Heroes claim has been denied to appeal the decision directly to the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance as soon as possible." PSOB is a one-time payment of nearly $303,064 to the families of fallen public safety officers. The Hometown Heroes Act, which was signed into law in December 2003, was intended to make it possible for public safety officers who die from heart attack or stroke caused by participation in emergency response to qualify for PSOB. Up until now, DoJ’s interpretation of the law has been at odds with the intent of Congress. DoJ has placed the burden of proof that the physical activity the officer engaged in was nonroutine or stressful on the applicant and has denied claims in which firefighters suffered a fatal heart attack during emergency response, with the justification that emergency response does not necessarily constitute "nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical" activity. As of October 4, a total of 202 Hometown Heroes claims are pending, with 21 approved and 57 denied. A total of 26 appeals have been filed. The NVFC has expressed frustration and concern over delays in processing applications and the low number of awards that have been made, and has worked towards getting the situation rectified. With the new policy in place, DoJ is soliciting appeals and is printing 35,000 packets to guide claimants in filing for the benefit.
Source: NVFC
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatality: Name: Adam Cole Fire Department: Buchanan Valley Fire Department Incident Description: While responding to the station for an outdoor Funeral Arrangements: Pending Memorial Fund Contact and Address: In honor of Firefighter Adam Cole, Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Adam Cole at
Source: USFA |
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