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| This week in Congress, as we wrestled with crafting
the nation’s budget, the President came to us with an additional request
for funding for our troops. While I strongly support immediately
passing whatever is needed to help our troops in Iraq, the Administration’s
war supplemental appears to leave a critical area out of the picture: homeland
security. There is little money requested for grants, to fund communications
upgrades for first responders, and to strengthen security at our ports
and at vulnerable inland targets.
This Friday, I spent the day with a number of our district’s first responders – county emergency coordinators, law enforcement officers, and firefighters – those who bear the burden of what I call hometown security, and I can tell you that while they are mentally and physically prepared for the everyday challenge of responding to emergencies, they need help from the federal government in taking on the added responsibility of responding to chemical, biological, or other possible terrorist attacks. That’s why just recently; I introduced the Rural Firefighter Equipment Priority Act, HR 1311, to help our rural firefighters get the equipment they need to better respond to emergencies. There are hundreds of volunteer fire departments in our district, and they have a lot of people to take care of. I want to make sure they have the resources they need to fight fires, save lives, and protect property. My bill will give rural and volunteer fire departments high priority when excess federal property from the Department of Defense is available. This property could be anything from nuts and bolts to trucks – equipment our rural firefighters need to do their jobs. It costs our government nothing, and it will protect what we value most; our lives and the lives of those we love. |
