[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 18, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1154-S1161] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-18
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. CARPER: I rise today to highlight the importance of supporting the brave men and women who protect us every day in all 50 States. As I laid out on this floor last month, the fires that we face are getting worse, not better. Every day, there are more fires ravaging our communities and more folks relying on firefighters for protection. Just last week, almost 4,000 acres in our neighboring State of New Jersey were scorched by the Jimmy's Waterhole fire, forcing evacuations from something like 170 buildings and homes. In Pennsylvania, over 2,500 acres were burned and over 150 homes threatened, forcing the Pennsylvania Turnpike to temporarily close. Let me just make this as clear and as strong as I can. We have to support our firefighters. We have to support our firefighters so that when they bravely run toward danger to help others, they are well prepared; they are properly trained and equipped. That is one of the reasons why I continue to colead the Fire Grants and Safety Act with my colleagues on the Congressional Fire Service Caucus. Firefighters put their lives on the line for us every day-- every day--and it is our duty to provide them with the necessary support that they need. I am proud to join alongside Senators Gary Peters, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski in fighting for this crucial legislation to better ensure that our firefighters are armed with the tools that they need to get the job done on behalf of other people. Today, I want to talk for a few minutes, if I could, about the Fire Grants and Safety Act and how it will actually have an impact on communities not just on the east coast, not just on the west coast, the middle of our country, but all over the United States of America. At a high level, this bill reauthorizes three critical Federal programs that support the local fire departments. Let me break it down just a little bit, if I could. First, this legislation will reauthorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response-- also known as the SAFER Grant Program. The SAFER Grant Program provides funding for career, for volunteer, and some combination of local fire departments to increase the number of men and women on duty at any point in time. The job of a firefighter can be incredibly demanding, and baseline industry standards include protocols like 24-hour staffing to make sure our communities have adequate protection of all hours of day and night. The SAFER Grant Program also provides funding to recruit staff so that we can ensure staffing needs can actually be met. For example, SAFER grants could help ensure that more personnel are properly trained and available on the ground to assist in major fires in the areas that need it the most. In States like Delaware, where the majority of our firefighters are volunteers, it is particularly important that staffing needs are met and resources are provided so that all first responders are ready to take on each day that lies ahead of them. The Fire Grants and Safety Act also reauthorizes the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program helps local fire departments and EMS organizations to fulfill equipment and training needs, like firetrucks and protective gear, all of which lead to a more effective emergency response. But firefighters do a whole lot more than just put out fires--I think the Presiding Officer and other of our colleagues know. Annually, there are over 36 million emergency calls that fire services across the country respond to. Let me say that again. There are over 36 million emergency calls that fire services respond to across the country. That is not going down. That is going up. I think it increased about 20 percent over the last dozen or so years.  Just a few weeks ago, in my own State, a strong, dangerous tornado struck Southern Delaware in the area of Sussex County, our southernmost county, near a community called Greenwood and another community called Bridgeville. It was our firefighters who showed up to lead people to safety. We lost a grandfather when the tornado struck Bridgeville, as I recall. I think he was in his seventies. He left behind a family. Ensuring that funding is provided for EMS alongside fire services is critical to the emergency response. Finally, the Fire Grants and Safety Act will reauthorize the U.S. Fire Administration to provide leadership, to provide coordination, and to provide training for first responders and healthcare leaders. Responding to emergencies is no small undertaking. It is a huge undertaking. In addition to our firefighters, healthcare leaders help to guide the disaster response by making sure that people are taken care of, both during and after emergency response. The U.S. Fire Administration also plays a critical role in that coordinated effort, ensuring that our first responders are ready to handle hazards, from saving lives to preventing loss of homes and personal belongings. Beyond the initial response, the Administration collects fire data, conducts important research and prevention methods, and hosts public safety information and fire service training. This proactive approach assists local fire departments in handling future emergencies and creates a more comprehensive approach to fire safety. The lifesaving work made possible by these three Federal programs must continue, and we have the opportunity here in the Senate to make that happen. Last month, we came together--Democrats and Republicans-- to vote to take up the Fire Grants and Safety Act. That vote passed by a whopping 96 to 0. As the Presiding Officer knows, that doesn't happen here every day, and it is a testament to the power of bipartisanship. It is also a testament to the critical role that firefighters play in communities across America. Today, we will improve our emergency response, and we will make sure that our firefighters have, if not everything they need, more of what they need. I am pleased that our President has announced his support for this legislation. I want to strongly encourage our colleagues and friends over in the House of Representatives to do their part once we have taken care of business here and send the Fire Grants and Safety Act to the President's desk. Mr. President, I want to go back a little in time. I remember a time when my sister and I were young and playing with other kids in our neighborhood. Maybe our cousins were with us. We had a firetruck. In fact, we had a couple of little firetrucks. We would take turns being a firefighter. Some days we would put out fires, and other days we would respond to imaginary weather events that endangered our community where we lived. Later on, decades later, my sister would have her kids--a son and daughter--and my wife and I had a couple of boys, and one of their favorite toys was firetrucks. On more than a few occasions, they and their friends would come over to our house to play, and we would bring out the firetrucks. They didn't have anything else to do but fight fires. For them, it was justfun. They loved doing it--doing it with their neighbors and friends-- and loved doing it with their cousins who might be visiting with us. That was fun for them. In the real world, being a firefighter can be enormously satisfying. I don't know that I would say it is fun. It is dangerous, and there is a chance that someone will get hurt trying to help out other people, and the risks can be, as we know, great. I just want to make sure that those young kids who grow up to be firefighters--like the ones whom we honored this past month in the Bridgeville Fire Company in Southern Delaware--I just want to make sure they know that we value them. We value their service. We value their willingness to risk their own lives on behalf of other people, including people they may not even know. In the legislation that is before us, we have the opportunity to make that clear to firefighters around the country--States large and small, east and west, blue and red--how much we value them and the service they provide to so many of us. That is what I have today. I don't see anybody else yearning to address our colleagues. I suggest the absence of a quorum.