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Governmetal Affairs Committee |
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GAC Resources
In Other News The FAMA / FEMSA GAC would like to thank all the members who participated in the 2006 Home Day Program. Many of you had incredible results, and we encourage you to share those experiences with your fellow members. The GAC has posted a small website with information about some of the Home Day activities by FAMA and FEMSA member companies. Remember - Every Day is Home Day! Please click here to see the site.
Upcoming Events CFSI Annual Dinner. March 28-29, 2007. Washington, DC Hilton. Get your tickets early! Click here for more information.
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President's FY 2008 Budget Would Slash First Responder Funding By $1 Billion Volunteer Incentive Program Scaled Back National Guard’s Readiness at Risk, Congress Finds Health and Wellness Suite: Stop by, Enjoy Some Food and Learn How to Live and Eat Healthier Firewise Leadership Awards Promote Efforts to Reduce Wildfire Risk Study Finds Prescription Problems After Disasters DHS to Offer States More Time on Drivers’ Licenses Agencies delaying move to Vista OS
IMPORTANT DOWNLOAD: Congressional Research Center, Assistance to Firefighters Program. Download Here. President's FY 2008 Budget Would Slash First Responder Funding By $1 Billion On February 5, the Bush administration announced the President’s budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008. The request for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) calls for a reduction of approximately $1 billion to first responder grant programs, including a $247 million reduction to the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program and elimination of the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program. Other DHS grant programs that would receive major reductions include State Homeland Security Grants ($322 million), Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention ($101 million), the Urban Area Security Initiative ($147 million), and State and Local Training ($116 million). “I am extremely disappointed in the President’s budget request for DHS,” said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “These grant programs provide vital resources to bring first responder organizations up to a baseline level of readiness as well as prepare those organizations to respond to a terrorist attack or other significant incident.” AFG and SAFER are different from the other programs that DHS administers in that they are not allocated based on risk but rather through a competitive grant process that involves peer review by members of the fire and emergency services. In addition, funding goes directly to local departments rather than being filtered through various units of government. AFG provides fire departments and some non-fire service EMS organizations with funding for apparatus, equipment, training, and public education activities. SAFER provides funding to add paid staff and for retention and recruitment of volunteer firefighters. Under the President’s request, funding for the United States Fire Administration (USFA) would increase by nearly two million dollars to $43.3 million. The mission of USFA is to reduce life and economic losses due to fire and related emergencies by providing training and coordination and performing research. The long-term health of USFA and its National Fire Academy are critical to the fire service. The Citizen Corps program, which helps fund programs such as Fire Corps, Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), USAonWatch/Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS), and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) across the nation, would again receive $15 million in FY 2008 under the President’s plan. Fire Corps is a program designed to recruit citizens to volunteer for their fire/EMS departments in a non-operational capacity. The President’s budget would also fund a $1 billion public safety communications interoperability grant program that was originally appropriated in 2006. The funding is contingent on proceeds from the sale of radio spectrum in the 700 MHz band, which is not scheduled to take place until 2009. The President’s plan would allow the federal government to fund the grant program before the spectrum sale. The annual release of the President’s budget is the first step in the process of appropriating federal funding. Next, Congress will attempt to pass a budget and, after that, appropriations bills that actually allocate funding. Traditionally, Congress has provided higher levels of funding for DHS first responder grant programs than the President has requested. “We’ve got a long road ahead of us,” said Stittleburg. “Because these grant programs are so important to the viability of volunteer first responder organizations, the NVFC will work closely with our allies in Congress to ensure that they receive an adequate level of funding.” Source: NVFC Congressman Introduces Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act Congressman Larson Makes it His Top Priority On February 8, Congressman John Larson (D-CT) introduced H.R. 943, the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act. The bill would prohibit the federal government from taxing benefits provided to volunteer fire and emergency medical services personnel by local and state governments. “Volunteer firefighters save municipal, county, and state government taxpayers approximately $37.2 billion every year,” said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “In order to retain and recruit volunteers, many local and state governments across the country provide them with modest benefits. When the federal government taxes these benefits, it diminishes and in some cases eliminates the incentive they were designed to create.” There are a wide range of benefits that can be provided to volunteers, including pay-per-call, reimbursement for expenses, tax breaks, and pension-like plans called length of service awards. Many communities provide non-financial benefits like health club memberships or awards banquets that technically are taxable. The purpose of these benefits is to reward volunteer responders for their service, and also to give them an incentive to be a member of their local volunteer fire/EMS department. On February 12, Congressman Larson held a roundtable discussion in Hartford, CT, at the South Windsor Volunteer Fire Department. Among the participants were Scott Potter, the NVFC’s Alternate Director from Connecticut, Ed Holohan, a benefits specialist who works with the NVFC, and Dave Finger, the NVFC’s Director of Government Relations. “I’d like to thank Congressman Larson for introducing this important piece of legislation,” said Finger. “This isn’t just an important issue here in Connecticut but in communities all over the country that have widely varying approaches to providing incentives. H.R. 943 will provide immediate tax relief to hundreds of thousands of volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel, as well as create a tax climate that doesn’t discourage communities from providing their volunteers incentives.” H.R. 943 was introduced with 57 original cosponsors, including 10 on the House Ways and Means Committee which has jurisdiction over the bill. In November, the National Advisory Committee of the Congressional Fire Services Institute adopted without objection a resolution introduced by the NVFC and other fire service organizations supporting the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act. “Gaps in the tax code make taxation of volunteer benefits extremely complicated,” said Holohan, an actuary who works with the NVFC on benefits issues. “Sometimes the sheer amount of paperwork involved in complying with the code makes providing benefits more trouble than it is worth. If H.R. 943 passes, not only will volunteers get to keep their benefits entirely, but more communities will see providing incentives as a viable option.” Congressman Larson first introduced the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act in the 109th Congress, after the IRS ruled that a $500 municipal property tax credit for volunteer firefighters in South Windsor, CT, was taxable income. He has made passing H.R. 943 into law his top priority for the 110th Congress. He also announced that Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) will soon introduce companion legislation in the Senate identical to the House bill. “Here in Connecticut, where so many towns and cities provide property tax relief for volunteer first responders, the impact of H.R. 943 will be enormous,” said Potter. “When high property taxes force people to leave a community it is unfortunate, but when volunteer fire and EMS personnel leave – and take their community service with them – it imperils public safety. Municipalities should be able to use these tax breaks as incentives without the federal government interfering.” H.R. 943 has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. The NVFC urges you to contact your Representative in Congress and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 943. Source: NVFC Volunteer Incentive Program Scaled Back The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) supports the National Fire Academy’s (NFA) recent decision to decrease the number of Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) offerings. VIP course offerings are educational opportunities for volunteer and career firefighters at the NFA campus in Emmitsburg, Maryland. NFA and NVFC have worked closely for years to increase attendance and promote VIP. “VIP is a fantastic opportunity for firefighters,” said Philip C. Stittleburg, NVFC Chairman. “I am in agreement with NFA leadership and hope that this may spark interest in the program.” For many years classes haven’t been filled to capacity, and in some cases courses were cancelled. The VIP program will drop from four to three one-week course offerings per year. In 2008, NFA will increase the number of week-long classes that are available on the campus from four to 15. Both volunteer and career firefighters are eligible for these courses. For additional information on VIP course offerings, visit www.usfa.dhs.gov. Source: NVFC National Guard’s Readiness at Risk, Congress Finds A congressionally-appointed panel has found the National Guard – the country’s first line of defense against a terrorist attack or natural disaster – is less prepared than ever. Is the Guard stretched too thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? McClatchy Newspapers’ Drew Brown is reporting the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves found “88 percent of Army National Guard units and 45 percent of Air National Guard units that aren’t deployed overseas have severe equipment shortages.” Arnold J. Punaro, the commission chairman and a retired Marine Corps major general, told Brown the equipment shortages reduced the Guard to its lowest readiness level ever and posed an unacceptable risk to Americans. In a report issued to Congress last week, “the commission also faulted the Department of Homeland Security for failing to identify the domestic missions the National Guard should be expected to perform. And it criticized the Defense Department for not equipping the National Guard adequately for those missions,” Brown says. The commission's 151-page report recommends 23 major changes to repair the problems. These include: identifying the missions the National Guard is expected to perform at home, ensuring that the Guard gets the equipment it needs to carry out those missions and establishing a bipartisan council of governors that would meet semi-annually and see that shortcomings are addressed. To read the full article, click here: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/16816080.htm Source: Disaster Resource Guide Health and Wellness Suite: Stop by, Enjoy Some Food and Learn How to Live and Eat Healthier Open to all dinner and seminar attendees, the suite will feature information and demonstrations on important health and wellness initiatives for firefighters. Among the programs on the display, the National Volunteer Fire Council Heart Healthy initiative will feature live cooking demonstrations, offering samples of heart-healthy dishes that firefighters can easily prepare at the station. The suite will also include other important information from prominent fire service organizations, including the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and Responder Safety.Com. We encourage all attendees to stop by and learn more about what they can do to promote health wellness and safety in the fire and emergency services. For a complete list of seminars please click here! Source: CFSI NFL Player Erron Kinney Promotes Heart-Health at Firehouse World: Kinney featured in article, Podcast on Firehouse.com Erron Kinney, tight end for the NFL team Tennessee Titans, is featured in an article and Podcast on Firehouse.com for his efforts to promote heart-health in the emergency services as spokesperson for the National Volunteer Fire Council’s (NVFC) Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program. In addition to his professional football career, Kinney is a dedicated volunteer firefighter and is committed to spreading the message of heart-health to his fellow firefighters. “It’s something great that I’m glad to be a part of,” Kinney said of the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program. “Firefighters are having heart attacks at an alarming rate. We need to get healthy and do something about it.” Kinney spoke to Firehouse.com while promoting firefighter health at Firehouse World in San Diego this week. He was there as part of the NVFC’s Heart-Healthy Firefighter booth, which offers free health screenings, cooking demonstrations, and important heart-health information to firefighters and emergency personnel across the nation. Kinney’s interview is the subject of an article and Podcast on the Firehouse.com web site. “The goal is to get the overall profession healthier, volunteer and paid and anybody involved in the fire service,” Kinney said. “We want to encourage firefighters to adopt a healthier lifestyle so they can answer more calls and be of better service to their communities.” Kinney’s own lifelong commitment to the fire service began when he was a child and never stopped. He became a junior firefighter at the age of 13 and has been actively involved in the fire service ever since. He currently serves as a lieutenant in the Williamson County Rescue Squad in Grassland, TN, and as a deputy chief for the Shady Grove Fire Department in Hickman County, TN. Drafted into the NFL in 2000, firefighting remains a passion for Kinney. He notes that football has enabled him to expand his involvement in the fire service through opportunities such as the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program. “I have a heart for the fire service and football has given me a platform to be immersed in it and involved in many ways,” he said. Kinney also serves as spokesperson for Fire Safe Tennessee and is a member of the Tennessee State Fire Commission. One day, when his football career is over, Kinney plans to be involved in the fire service full time. “It’s something I love,” he explains. “It’s near and dear to me. It’s a big part of my life and what I do. It’s a part of me.” To read more about Erron Kinney and hear the Podcast of the entire Firehouse.com interview, visit Source: NVFC Firewise Leadership Awards Promote Efforts to Reduce Wildfire Risk The National Firewise Communities Program is launching its second annual awards program to recognize outstanding efforts to promote a cooperative approach to reducing the loss of lives, property, and resources in the wildland/urban interface. The Firewise Leadership Awards are open to individuals and organizations conducting wildland fire mitigation activities in residential developments in the wildland/urban interface. Eligible Firewise efforts may include, but are not limited to: - Innovations in engineering The Firewise Leadership Awards provide recognition to the drivers of the Firewise movement – whether they are individuals or groups of departments – and encourage other innovative initiatives that promote the Firewise mission. The Awards program also helps program administrators to capture success stories and share best practices across the country, between all types of interests – public, private, and tribal. The Firewise Leadership Awards are open to a maximum of the following every year: - Two Regional Level Awards – Impact in more than one state The national Firewise Communities Program is an interagency program designed to encourage local solutions for wildfire safety by involving homeowners, community leaders, planners, developers, firefighters, and others in the effort to protect people and property from the risk of wildfire. Firewise is sponsored by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s (NWCG) Wildland/Urban Interface Working Team, a consortium of wildland fire agencies that includes the USDA Forest Service, the Department of the Interior, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Emergency Management Association, the US Fire Administration, the National Association of State Fire Marshals, the National Fire Protection Association, and state forestry organizations. “My vision for the WUI Fire Program is to continue to build relationships with groups at the state and local level to get more people doing Firewise on the ground,” said Alan Dozier, newly elected chair of the NWCG Wildland/Urban Interface Working Team. “The Firewise Program has been extremely successful so far, and I want to be able to share that success, and show the value of the program, to more individuals and communities.” For more information about Firewise, visit www.firewise.org. Source: NVFC Study Finds Prescription Problems After Disasters Emergency management officials tend to be prepared for many health emergencies in the wake of disaster, such as disease outbreaks caused by contaminated water and air. But a new study of Hurricane Katrina victims says people’s other important health needs – like obtaining prescriptions and medical records – are often overlooked. In an article on the HealthScout website, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent Lucy Williams says researchers at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation have discovered “other important needs may be overlooked in the event of a disaster. These oversights can harm people in disaster areas, particularly those with chronic health conditions.” Williams says the researchers surveyed 78 patients treated in New Orleans and Baton Rouge following Hurricane Katrina about their ability to follow their medications following the disaster. Among the findings were: - 10 percent of patients did not bring their prescriptions when they evacuated Dr. Krousel-Wood gave Williams some advice on what steps people can take to prepare for the next disaster and ensure they stick with medical prescriptions, including maintaining electronic medical and prescription records, keeping a month’s worth of prescriptions and keeping cards in wallets with alternate contact information. To read the full article, click here: Source: Disaster Resource Guide DHS to Offer States More Time on Drivers’ Licenses After governors, state legislators and members of Congress revolted against new requirements for drivers’ licenses, the Bush administration has agreed to give states more time to bring them up to the new standards. The Associated Press is reporting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued rules last week that extended the May 2008 deadline which Congress set two years ago. “There is a provision in the law to permit extensions, which we will of course grant to states that need more time,” DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff told reporters last week. The law, which Congress passed in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, requires all states to bring their driver’s licenses under a national standard and to link their record-keeping systems. “There’s vividly in my mind a picture of the Florida driver’s license Mohammed Atta carried that he used to get on an airplane to drive it into the World Trade Center,” Chertoff said. “Shame on us if we don’t do something to get a handle on what is the principal form of identification used in this country.” To read the full article, click here: Source: Disaster Resource Guide How severely will the change in daylight-saving time affect IT systems? Worse than you might think, noted Bob Mitchell, senior vice president and CIO for government systems provider GTSI. This year, for the first time ever, daylight-saving time will take effect on the second Sunday in March, two weeks earlier than in previous years. And in the fall, DST will end on Nov. 4, a week later than previously. While most major applications that rely on accurate timekeeping have probably been updated by now, a number of second-order effects may plague administrators if they are not careful, Mitchell noted. "It is not as simple as the vendor updating its server operating system and then everything will be fine," he said. For instance, the widely used Kerberos computer network authentication protocol requires two machines that are communicating to report the same time, at least within the range of five minutes. "If you patch every system except the one associated with validation, you could end up refusing every authentication in the network," Mitchell said. "Business could get shut down over this if they didn't properly patch." The good news is that most vendors have updated their software, either through new releases or patches, to accommodate the new time spread. Administrators who have been applying the patches consistently should be ready to go. Mitchell also noted, though, that even if you've installed the patches early, you may want to recheck for updates. Many companies, such as Microsoft, have updated their patches since their initial release. Operating systems In most environments, it is the OS that keeps track of the time. In network environments, the OS periodically downloads the Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC, from Internet time servers. The OS itself then adjusts for local time, including any fluctuations due to changes such as DST. And by and large, OS vendors have addressed the DST change fairly early on, at least for recently released OSes. In December, Sun Microsystems Inc. issued a set of patches to adjust earlier versions of Solaris that do not already incorporate the time changes. On the Linux front, the major distributors seem to addressed the issue as well, including Red Hat, Novell and Slackware. Likewise, Microsoft has also issued patches and/or written the changes into the newer releases of its OSes. Take note though: Many of the older operating systems will not be updated. Remaining unpatched are Windows NT, copies of Windows XP without at least Service Pack 1 and copies of Windows 2000 without extended support. Application software With the OS patched, the administrator should then look at any applications that may keep time internally, rather than getting it from its host OS. While the vast majority of applications rely on the OS for time info, a few do not. Java applications, in particular, use times generated by the Java Runtime Environment, rather than those provided by the OS. Sun recommends updating the client JRE but provides a patch where that is not feasible. Vendors are also supplying fixes to address this problem at the software development level. Sun issued patches updating some of the older libraries included in Sun and Forte developer software. Oracle has issued a warning,noting that a small number of users of its E –Business Suite may be affected by the change. On the Microsoft side of the house, NET and C++ applications built with custom classes for handling time zone information may need to be updated as well. According to the GTSI resource page on DST, a fair number of other products will not automatically adjust for the new time as well—including Cisco Systems' router software, Research in Motion's BlackBerry devices, Symantec antivirus software, and a variety of IBM software and hardware. "I think this crept up on everybody, including the people who make this equipment," Mitchell said. Few "realized how much dependency a simple hour time change has." © 1996-2007 1105 Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Source: GCN Agencies delaying move to Vista OS 03/05/07 -- 03:19 PM Several agency CIOs said they either see no business reason to move from Windows XP to the new OS, or are budgeting and planning for the transition in 2009 or beyond. The Transportation Department, for instance, issued an indefinite moratorium to its bureaus, telling them not to update to Vista, Office 2007 and Internet Explorer 7. The memo was first reported by Information Week last Friday. Other agencies are following DOT’s lead as well. The Interior Department has written a similar memo and will issue it shortly, sources said. For other agencies, it isn’t even on their radar. Molly O’Neill, Environmental Protection Agency CIO, said she hasn’t really thought much about moving to Vista, while Defense Department CIO John Grimes said the move to Vista will happen as a part of its regular refresh cycle. Grimes said he hasn’t spent too much time on Vista so far. The General Services Administration also is not considering moving to Vista before 2008, an official said. Scott Charbo, Homeland Security Department CIO, said he hopes to complete his agency's move to Vista by 2009, and is budgeting and doing other things to prepare for that move now. A lot of these decisions likely are driven by cost, the desire for coordination across the agency or how these new applications will help agencies meet their mission. In its memo, DOT said there is no “compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there seems to be specific reasons not to upgrade …” The reasons include: Bureaus also have to get permission from the CIO’s office to even test the software, the memo said. Microsoft officials were not immediately available for comment. © 1996-2007 1105 Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Source: GCN The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatality: Name: Michael D. Sowich Fire Department: New Hartford Fire Department Incident Description: Firefighter Sowich passed away in his dorm room from a cause still to be determined while attending training at the National Fire Academy, National Emergency Training Center, Emmitsburg, MD. Visitation: 1600-2000hrs, 03/07/2007 at Eannace Funeral Home, 932 South Street (corner of Hammond Avenue), Utica, NY 13501 (800-357-3019). Uniformed fire personnel will gather at the conclusion of visitation hours at 8:00 p.m. Funeral Arrangements: 1130hrs, 03/08/2007 at the funeral home and at 1300hrs at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 422 Tilden Avenue, Utica, NY. Personnel and apparatus will stage at the New Hartford Shopping Center. Please contact the Oneida County Fire Emergency Service office at 315-765-2345 for further details. Memorial Fund Contact and Address: The family requests that no flowers be sent. However, those wishing to do so may make a memorial contribution in Michael's honor for the establishment of a scholarship fund for his daughter Lisa. Checks can be made payable to the family and mailed in care of Eannace Funeral Home, 932 South Street, Utica, NY 13501. Telephone: (800) 357-3019. Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Michael D. Sowich @ http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/ |
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