Washington, DC -- Today, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) met with more than forty fire fighters today from fire departments throughout New York State who are here for the 23rd annual International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference. The senator and fire fighters discussed the legislative challenges facing fire safety programs targeted for cuts by President Bush. Senator Clinton also spoke about a first responders amendment that she co-sponsored today along with Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI). This amendment restores the shortsighted cuts in funding to critical first responder and law enforcement programs.

"I was so pleased to meet with the brave men and women who protect our communities day in and day out. They expressed to me their struggle with increasing demands and decreasing funds," Senator Clinton said. "Federal funding is essential for fire departments in New York and elsewhere. Every dollar that our local communities receive means extra resources not only to help them fight fires but to help them respond to other emergencies and ensure public safety."

Senator Clinton has expressed her serious concerns about the potentially devastating impact of cuts to the Fire Act program and "Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters Act of 2003" ("SAFER Act") detailed in the Bush Budget proposal. The President's recent budget proposal includes a 30 percent cut - a loss of more than $215 million nationwide - in funding to the Fire Act program. These reductions represent a continuing pattern in which President Bush has substantially reduced funding for the Fire Act program below what Congress appropriated in previous years.

Senator Clinton has continuously fought for full funding of the Fire Act and for passage of the SAFER Act, to provide $7.6 billion in funding over seven years to help our nation's fire departments hire an additional 75,000 fire fighters. Senator Clinton was also proud to announce the Senate passage of the SAFER Act proposal, which was included in the Department of Defense Authorization bill, and was enacted in November 2003, but which received absolutely no funding in the FY 2006 Budget proposal.

"Given the critical job that fire fighters perform each and every day, I am disappointed and quite frankly perplexed by the President's proposed cuts to the Fire Act in the 2006 Budget proposal. We should do everything we can to ensure that our fire fighters have the resources, equipment and training they need to keep us safe," Senator Clinton said.

###