At its annual fall meeting in Galveston, Texas, last month, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) officially revised its legislative priorities.

The top legislative priority for the NVFC remains funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program (AFG). The purpose of the AFG is to bring fire departments across the country up to a base line level of readiness by providing funding to pay for equipment, vehicles, training, and education.

Since it was created in 2001, the AFG has provided fire departments with more than $2.5 billion in grants. For the second year in a row, Congress reduced funding for the AFG by at least $100 million, going from $650 million in FY 2005 to $545 million in FY 2006. The NVFC is disturbed by this trend and urges Congress to fully fund the AFG at its authorized level of $1 billion.

A new legislative priority for the NVFC is to clarify the tax status of Length of Service Award Programs (LOSAPs). LOSAPs provide benefits in the form of deferred payments to volunteers in firefighting and prevention services. Approximately 20 percent of the 800,000 volunteer firefighters in the United States today participate in LOSAPs. The NVFC has developed legislation that would simplify the requirements for service award programs and reduce the administrative burden on both governmental agencies and potential sponsors by using existing statutory and regulatory mechanisms.

Passage of the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act, the Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighter Assistance Act, the Supporting Emergency Responders Volunteer Efforts Act, and the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act continue to be priorities for the NVFC. The NVFC was pleased to note that the United States Fire Administration (USFA) received a line item in appropriations legislation for the first time in the FY 2006 Homeland Security Appropriations Act. The NVFC believes that having a direct funding stream for USFA will allow for better transparency and help in our efforts to increase the agency's funding in future years.

Another new priority for the NVFC is passage of the Volunteer Firefighter and EMS Personnel Job Protection Act. This legislation, H.R. 3949, was introduced by Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) on September 29, 2005. It would protect volunteer emergency services personnel responding to a Presidentially-declared national disaster from termination or demotion should they miss work for up to 14 days. This protection is similar to that provided to members of the National Guard. For further details on NVFC legislative priorities, visit www.nvfc.org.