Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023

Floor Speech

I rise in support of the Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023. This amended version inserts into the Senate bill the text we passed out of the Science Committee unanimously. This bill also includes the text of the ADVANCE Act. I thank Representatives Pascrell and Kean and our Senate colleagues Mr. Peters and Ms. Collins for their leadership and cooperation on this important bill.

In our changing climate, we are experiencing more frequent and severe wildfires, not just in the Western United States, but across the United States. From Maui in Hawaii to Smokehouse Creek, Texas, we have witnessed the ferocity and destruction of wildfires. With more than a third of the population living within the wildland-urban interface, our communities are more at risk from fire than ever before.

In addition to wildfires, there were more than half a million structure fires in 2022, including 360,000 home fires. Tragically, this resulted in 2,790 civilian and 18 firefighter deaths. We will always honor our firefighters' commitment and sacrifice. We trust our firefighters to fulfill their role professionally, including those occasions when it may mean risking their own lives. However, that trust goes both ways, and they must have from Congress the support and resources they need to keep themselves and their communities safe.

S. 860 reauthorizes the U.S. Fire Administration and two very special programs: The Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, SAFER grants.

The U.S. Fire Administration helps fire and emergency medical services prepare for, prevent, mitigate, and respond to all hazards. The USFA also leads Federal work on public safety, education, fire research, and fire service training. This legislation will authorize the agency and modernize the National Emergency Response Information System, which will mean much-needed improvements to data collection, usage, and analytics for decision-makers at all levels of fire response.

AFG and SAFER have been supporting local firefighters for two decades. AFG helps fire departments obtain crucial safety gear, including breathing apparatus, equips firefighters with new technologies, and also supports research to improve protective gear.

The SAFER program helps recruit and retain firefighters. Seventy percent of U.S. firefighters are volunteers, and rural communities in particular rely primarily on volunteer firefighters. Studies have shown that increasing firefighter crew sizes drastically improves the likelihood of safe outcomes. This program is an effective and meaningful investment into the emergency preparedness of our communities.

Recipients of AFG and SAFER awards are in all 50 States, Washington, D.C., the territories, and some Tribes. We must ensure these funds are getting into the hands of those who need them most, so this bill also calls on the GAO to identify any barriers that may prevent fire departments from accessing these crucial Federal funds. This bill is vital to keeping our communities protected and to support our firefighters and EMS first responders.

As for the ADVANCE Act provisions, this legislation is a continuation of the strong, bipartisan support that Congress has shown toward the development and demonstration of advanced nuclear reactors. This bill would enhance the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's ability to safely and efficiently license next-generation nuclear technologies, all while lowering the financial barriers for first-of-a-kind movers.

The ADVANCE Act also includes a bill sponsored by our colleague Congresswoman Trahan that would support our emerging fusion industry-- this is so important--by codifying the NRC's current fusion device guidelines into law. It is important that these guidelines that are not overly restrictive be placed into law. This will provide much-needed clarity and consistency for these emerging companies as they design and build the fusion reactors of the future, which we so desperately need to succeed.

I urge support for this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KEAN of New Jersey.

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Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), someone who has worked on these issues for so many years.
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Ms. LOFGREN. DeGette), a distinguished member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

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Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Stevens), a distinguished member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, who did so much work on this.

Mr. Speaker, I celebrate the Science Committee, which always operates on a bipartisan basis. Once again, we have worked together on the provisions in this bill.

I will highlight something I mentioned in passing, which is the fusion energy program. For years and years, people have said that fusion energy is always 50 years away. That was before ignition was achieved at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, the National Ignition Facility, not once, not twice, but many times. We now have a private- sector fusion industry that is charging ahead and making tremendous progress.

I have heard, when I have visited with them, their praise for the NRC's guidelines. This is not fission. It doesn't have the challenge of nuclear energy, so it doesn't need the same kind of regulatory scheme. It needs to be sensible, streamlined, solid, and certain.

That is what those standards are. Putting them into law is going to help private industry rush forward. I think all of us hope that they will be as successful as they plan to be within the next 5 years. This act will help that happen.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of the House to vote for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KEAN of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I again thank my House and Senate colleagues and Chairman Peters for co-leading this important reauthorization.

As I previously mentioned, this legislation is a strong commitment to the safety and well-being of our first responders, empowering them to overcome challenges and fulfill their mission of safeguarding our communities. That will help make all Americans safer.

The ADVANCE Act, as we have heard in this Chamber, is also critically important to pass today.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bipartisan and bicameral legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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