Senator Chuck Schumer: Fully Staffed Fire Departments Critical To Public Safety

Schumer: Firefighters Are True American Heroes And Deserve Recognition and Resources

May 27, 2009 -- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today proposed legislation to support volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services (EMS) providers in the Southern Tier. Schumer’s legislation would offer a $1,000 tax credit for active members of volunteer firefighting and EMS organizations. The bill is aimed at helping recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters at a time when it is increasingly difficult to find adequate numbers of people who can volunteer their time for the community, leaving many departments thinly staffed.

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Senator Schumer also joined with Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) in introducing legislation to amend the current firefighters grant program, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants, which currently may only be used to hire new, additional career fire fighters. The new legislation will change the SAFER grants program to allow funds awarded in the next two years to be used to restore or retain current workforce levels despite local budget cuts. Both bills are specifically designed to address the recruitment and budgetary problems that are plaguing areas like the Southern Tier.

"Firefighters in the Southern Tier put their lives on the line for the community every day,” Schumer said. “During these tough economic times we must do everything we can to stand by them and give them the support and resources they need to protect us and keep our communities safe. There is no better way to support our first responders than to help recruit more volunteers and retain more professional firefighters.”

Communities across New York State rely on volunteer firefighters and EMS providers for much-needed public services, but it is getting increasingly difficult to find people to fill the slots because families have increasing demands on their time, or financial concerns that preclude their participation. To help fire departments boost enrollment numbers, Senator Schumer introduced legislation to provide a tax credit of $1,000 for volunteer firefighters as an incentive for people to get involved in their communities in this vitally important way. The legislation would provide a $1,000 tax cut that would serve as an important recruitment tool for local groups to boost enrollment numbers.

While many local governments understand the need for a recruitment initiative, in these tough economic times, most simply do not have the resources to implement one. At the Otego Fire Station today, Schumer noted the importance of offering incentives to get people to join the volunteer fire and emergency services. Every single day, we rely on volunteer firefighters to save residential and commercial property, and to clean up accidents and reopen our highways, all of which protects the economic prosperity of our communities. If enacted, the Schumer legislation would provide a $1,000 federal tax credit to individuals who are active members of volunteer fire departments and emergency service crews to reward these brave men and women who risk their lives for little or no compensation.

Under Schumer’s legislation, any taxpayer who is a volunteer firefighter or EMS worker for at least six months is entitled to a refundable federal tax credit of $1,000. A refundable tax credit means that, if the credit exceeds their federal tax liability, they would receive the remainder as a tax refund.

Schumer has also joined forces with Senator Dodd to help recruit and retain paid firefighters. Under the Dodd legislation, which Schumer is cosponsoring, fire departments receiving a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 would be eligible for waivers that would allow the grants to be used towards preventing lay-offs and rehiring positions that were cut due to local fiscal woes. Schumer announced today that he successfully fought to pass this legislation in the Senate as part of the Supplemental Appropriations bill.

SAFER grants were created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations in order to help them increase the number of trained, "front-line" firefighters available in their communities. However, the grant currently can only be used to hire new, paid firefighters.

Schumer has long been an advocate for firefighters. In October 2000, Congress enacted the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (FIRE) Act to make federal grants available to fire departments to provide much needed firefighting equipment, training and fire prevention education programs. Between FY2001 and FY2009 New York State has received over $200 million in Assistance to Firefighters grants.

Source: Senator Charles E. Schumer