A Look Back at Legislative Accomplishments in the 117th Congress and NVFC Goals for the 118th Congress

By Ryan Woodward

Writing for the NVFC

The 118^th Congress began on January 3, 2023. As always, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) will be hard at work to advance legislation that will benefit the fire and emergency services. As we head into a new year and a new Congress, this is a good time to review what legislative goals were achieved in the last Congress and what priorities the NVFC will be advocating for over the next two years.

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The 117^th Congress saw several legislative victories for the NVFC and the fire and emergency services. These included the Protecting America’s First Responders Act, which was signed into law in November 2021. This important law acknowledges members of fire departments who provide traffic incident management services, often referred to as fire police, as public safety officers and makes them eligible for the Public Safety Officers’ Benefit (PSOB) program. PSOB provides death and education benefits to survivors of fallen first responders and disability benefits to responders catastrophically injured in the line of duty. This law also makes it easier to qualify for PSOB Disability and extends for two years a presumption of service connection for public safety officers who die from COVID-19.

In addition, the Protecting Firefighters from Adverse Substances Act, signed into law in December 2022, requires the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, to develop and publish guidance for firefighters and other emergency response personnel on training, education programs, and best practices relating to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (commonly referred to as PFAS). This law also requires these agencies to a design a curriculum to reduce and eliminate exposure to PFAS from firefighting foam and personal protective equipment (PPE), prevent the release of PFAS from firefighting foam into the environment, and educate emergency response personnel on foams and non-foam alternatives, PPE, and other firefighting tools and equipment that does not contain PFAS. In addition, the law creates an online public repository on tools and best practices for emergency response personnel to reduce the release of and exposures to PFAS.

Moving into the 118^th Congress, it is likely to be a challenging environment to get policy enacted. There is a Democratic president in the second half of his first term with a Republican House and a Democratic Senate, with both chambers having very narrow majorities. This environment will be further complicated by the diverse spectrum of opinions in both parties, requiring House and Senate Leadership to work very hard to close ranks and push their priorities. Challenges aside, the NVFC remains optimistic that there will be opportunities for the 118^th Congress to enact legislation that will bolster, strengthen, and support the nation’s fire and emergency services.

There are a number of legislative priorities the NVFC will advocate for over the next two years. The NVFC will work to ensure the continued funding of programs and agencies that aid the fire service in its important work, including:

• The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), which provides funding to fire departments and some non-fire-based EMS agencies to purchase equipment, training, and apparatus.
• The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, which provides assistance for the hiring and retention of career firefighters as well as recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.
• The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), which provides training to more than 80,000 fire and emergency services personnel each year, performs research and collects data specific to the fire service and fire service activities, and educates the public on the importance of fire safety. 
• The Volunteer Fire Assistance grants, which are run through the U.S. Forest Service and provide funding to rural fire departments for training, equipment, and protective clothing to help them prepare for wildland fires.
• The National Firefighter Registry, which is a voluntary database that will launch this winter to collect health, occupational, and other information from firefighters on an ongoing basis to enable public health researchers to learn more about the causes of firefighter cancer in order to better treat and prevent it.
• The SIREN Grant, which is run through the Department of Health and Human Services and helps public and private nonprofit EMS agencies that serve rural areas pay for equipment, training, and staffing.

AFG, SAFER, and USFA are authorized through September 30, 2023. A bill to reauthorize these programs through 2030 passed the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs in the last Congress. In addition to funding, getting these programs reauthorized during the first session of the 118^th Congress is a top policy priority for the NVFC.

The NVFC will also advocate for the reauthorization of FirstNet, the nationwide public safety broadband network. It was established by Congress at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and is run through a public private partnership between the Department of Commerce and AT&T. FirstNet’s creation of a national public safety broadband network has given first responders priority and preemption on their own spectrum and allowed multiple agencies to communicate within and across jurisdictions. It is currently authorized through September 30, 2027.

In addition, the NVFC will advocate for the reintroduction and enactment of the following legislation:

• The HERO Act, which would establish a series of programs designed to address public safety behavioral health issues, including a grant program for peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs at fire and EMS departments and a system for collecting data on suicide deaths of public safety officers. This bill would also require USFA in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and make publicly available resources to educate mental health professionals about the unique behavioral health issues that firefighters and EMS personnel face.
• The Fire Station Construction Grants Act, which would address the fact that 43 percent of fire stations in the U.S. are at least 40 years old by authorizing a $1 billion grant program to fund construction and refurbishment of fire and EMS stations.
• The Volunteer First Responder Housing Act, which would allow volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel to access two existing federal housing assistance programs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program assists approved lenders in providing loans to low- and moderate- income households to build, rehabilitate, or improve a home in eligible rural areas. This bill will allow volunteer firefighters to participate in the loan program even if their income exceeds the maximum allowable income level by up to $18,000. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Good Neighbor Next Door Sales Program gives law enforcement officers, teachers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians a 50-percent discount from the list price of a home located in a revitalization area.

The NVFC will continue to work hard to advocate for the policy interests of the volunteer fire and EMS services in this Congress. If you have a policy related inquiry, contact Ryan Woodward, NVFC chief of legislative and regulatory affairs, at ryan@nvfc.org. You can also sign up for legislative action alerts to stay informed and contact your members of Congress when support is needed for a bill.

Ryan Woodward joined the NVFC as chief of legislative and regulatory affairs in October 2022. Prior to joining the NVFC, Ryan worked on the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ government relations team for two years. He also worked for Former Rep. Peter King for eight years. King was the former Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security and Co-Chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus. Ryan has a bachelor’s in economics from Gettysburg College and lives in Washington, D.C.