NO TIME TO REST
BY BILL MANNING
The other day a firefighter told me my name came up in a firehouse conversation in context with the proposed 21st Century Fire and Public Safety Act of 1999, a.k.a. the Pascrell Bill. “Those editorials you wrote did the job, but maybe it`s time to give it a rest and see what happens next,” he advised.
A rest?
By all accounts, the Anointed Seven have reached an accord on the bill, and Congressman Curt Weldon is involved. I am told he is working jointly with Congressman Bill Pascrell, the bill`s author, and that it will be made public in March and introduced to Congress shortly thereafter. This is great news. It`s rumored that Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert has shown an interest in the effort–even better.
But it`s just the beginning of the journey. Thousands of bills are introduced into Congress each session, and only a very small fraction of those ever make it to the finish line–the President`s desk.
Now is no time to let up. The fire service`s proclivity toward political cannibalism should make that a foregone conclusion.
Do not be fooled by apologists for the fire groups who say the sensible approach for grassroots constituents is to turn down the heat. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security by those who insist you can rest easy now that the bill is in the “experienced hands” of the Anointed Seven. Let`s not forget that elements of the same Seven would have killed your bill in June 1998 if we had let them.
Let`s not be persuaded to inaction by condescending Washingtonians who warn that your stalwart support could induce a “legislative backdraft.” Pul-lease. Let us remember that our vigorous politicking was the only thing that could have shamed the fire groups into supporting the bill–and it did.
Do not accept those who chide Pascrell Bill supporters for having high goals and expectations. Reach for the stars, because you are standing on firm ground–on bedrock righteousness.
Ignore those who contend that pursuing the Pascrell Bill will take away from the success of other fire service legislation. What could be more important than this? What could be more important than saving our own? An understaffed, underfunded, undertrained, under-resourced fire department is of diminished value to the community.
A battle is on. It doesn`t demand incivility or personal attacks or ultimatums, but it is a battle nevertheless–a battle that demands your intelligence, your conviction, and your desire to take responsibility for a better fire service through necessary federal support.
Winning requires a groundswell of grassroots support for your legislation through a steady stream of forthright communications to your fire service organizations and members of Congress.
Sure, there were people who took it personally when we began our earnest pursuit of the legislation. Some feelings were hurt. Tough. This was a grassroots movement charged by the highest of intentions and the greatest of needs, and such movements take the powerful out of their comfort zone. Tough.
This isn`t about the organizations or those who run them. This isn`t about me. It is about you. It seems appropriate to quote my predecessor and mentor, who says with crystal clarity, “Take back the fire service, because it is being taken from you.”
Politically, this moment is more pregnant with real possibilities than any moment in fire service history. Let`s act like it.
There`s no doubt you need the lobbying expertise and clout of the fire service groups. We will find out soon enough their true intentions. Now is a very good time for them to show themselves to be the leaders we need and expect them to be.
This is a moral issue as well as a practical one. Let us use the dismal yearly fire losses to our advantage. Let us market for fire safety and response preparedness. Let`s use as motivation 20 years of virtual legislative failure at the federal level. (Go ahead, ask Joe Firefighter on the street to identify the most significant federal legislation in the past 20 years that`s had a direct impact on his job.)
We have made a difference. The reaction of the Anointed Seven demonstrates we can be successful in our own form of gut-level–yes, crude–lobbying based on principle, on doing the right thing.
But it`s not done. Let`s not rest.
The next time someone asks you if you`re going to ease up on the Pascrell Bill, say what I`m going to say: NO!
