First Responders

Senator Says Auxiliary Officers Killed in Line of Duty Deserve Full Benefits

March 27, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today urged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to grant full death benefits to the families of two New York City Auxiliary Police Officers gunned down in the line of duty.    » read more »

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) fire protection engineers turned an abandoned New York City (NYC) brick high-rise into a seven-story fire laboratory last month to better understand the fast-moving spread of wind-driven flames, smoke and toxic gases through corridors and stairways of burning buildings.
NIST High-Rise Fire Test; Positive Pressure Ventilation Fans: Firefighters watch as a fan, simulating wind, changes airflow and smoke conditions during experiments in a seven-story high-rise abandoned apartment building on New York City's Governors Island. Photo: NIST    » read more »

February 4, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold A. Schaitberger issued this statement today on President Bush’s proposed Fiscal Year 2009 budget:

“As the end of the president’s term in office mercifully draws closer, his proposed budget is another example of his words not matching his deeds.    » read more »

Badge Honors Exceptional Acts of Bravery in the Line of Duty

January 29, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Today Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) introduced the Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act (S.2565). This bipartisan legislation establishes an award that honors federal law enforcement officers who perform exceptional acts of bravery in the line of duty.    » read more »

January 21, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement on reports that the Bush Administration intends to drastically reduce funding for state and local counterterrorism and first responder efforts in the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget despite repeated requests by the Department of Homeland Security and Congress for increased funding.    » read more »

Statewide radio network will aid first responders

December 20, 2007 -- A group charged with establishing a plan to implement statewide communications interoperability has been formed by Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

The Kansas Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee, created by Executive Order 07-27, will develop the policies, procedures and guidelines of a statewide system designed to allow emergency service providers the ability to communicate with one another over a radio network.    » read more »

Funding Comes as Thousands of Patients are Seeking Treatment for 9/11 Related Illnesses, with Numbers Rising

December 19, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles Schumer, Frank Lautenberg, and Robert Menendez announced final Senate passage of an additional $108 million in federal funding to address the mounting health needs of those individuals who were exposed to environmental hazards released as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks upon the World Trade Center.    » read more »

Funding Comes as Thousands of Patients are Seeking Treatment for 9/11 Related Illnesses, with Numbers Rising

December 17, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles Schumer, Frank Lautenberg, and Robert Menendez, along with Representatives Jerrold Nadler, Carolyn Maloney, and Vito Fossella today announced that the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have approved an additional $108 million in federal funding to address the mounting health needs of those individuals who were exposed to environmental hazards released as a result of the September 11, 2001 a    » read more »

08/28/2007, MINNEAPOLIS - ST. PAUL -- The tragedy of the I-35W bridge collapse and devastating flooding in southeast once again highlights the important work of our first responder community. The Minnesota Twins want to say thank you to those who have responded to and continue to work on those tragic events.    » read more »