FY 2017 (President s Request)

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1 TO: FROM: IAFC Board of Directors Ken LaSala, Director Government Relations and Policy DATE: 21 November 2016 RE: Government Relations Report November 2016 On November 8, Donald J. Trump was elected President of the United States and Governor Mike Pence was elected Vice President. In the Senate, the election produced 51 Republicans and 48 Democrats. In the House, the election produced 238 Republicans and 194 Democrats (some results are still pending in the House and Senate races). The House and Senate came back into a lame duck session on November 14 and 15, respectively. They are expected to recess in early December. Pending Legislation Fiscal Year 2017 Appropriations With the election of Donald Trump as president, both the incoming administration and his supporters in the House argued that Congress should pass another continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded until the end of March The new President and Congress will decide the final funding levels for Fiscal Year (FY) This decision leaves some major issues pending. For example, here is the funding situation for fire and emergency service programs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Program FY 2016 Enacted In Millions ($) (President s Request) 1 (S. 3001) USFA FIRE SAFER USAR UASI SHSGP (H.R. 5634) As the chart demonstrates, the House Appropriations Committee recommends maintaining funding for the FIRE and SAFER grant programs, while the Senate Appropriations Committee would cut each program by $5 million. Otherwise, both committees would protect fire service programs from cuts proposed by the Obama Administration.

2 In addition, at the behest of DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, the House proposed establishing a Federal Assistance account for funding the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) system, the grant programs, and other operations at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while also establishing a Procurement, Construction and Improvements account to fund efforts, such as capital improvements at the National Fire Academy. This new budget format is most noticeable concerning USFA, because the House would fund $42.5 million for USFA in the Federal Assistance account and $1.5 million in the Procurement, Construction and Improvements account for improvements at NFA. With the continuing resolution, the DHS may be able to adopt this new budget format. In letters on September 27 and November 16, the IAFC urged Congress to protect funding for the USFA, FIRE and SAFER grants programs, and other grant programs to ensure that DHS is not able to transfer funds between these and other FEMA programs without notifying Congress. From the perspective of wildland fire programs, the here is the funding situation: Program FY 2016 Enacted In Millions ($) (President s Request) 2 (S. 3068) (H.R. 5538) USDA Wildland 2,386 2,451 2,842 2,594 Fire USDA FLAME USDA Hazardous Fuels Mitigation DOI Wildland Fire DOI FLAME DOI Hazardous Fuels Mitigation State Fire Assistance Volunteer Fire Assistance While the Obama Administration proposed generally level funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture s (USDA) U.S. Forest Service s and the U.S. Department of Interior s (DOI) wildland fire programs, the House and Senate both included a $2 million increase for the Volunteer Fire Assistance program. The Senate also proposed a $2 million increase in funding for the State Fire Assistance program, which can be used for a variety of programs, including the IAFC s Ready, Set, Go! program. One issue of contention is how to fund federal wildland fire operations which force USDA and DOI to fire borrow from other programs to pay for escalating costs. The Obama Administration requested that Congress approve a new budget mechanism to allow USDA and DOI to access funding from a discretionary budget cap adjustment when fire suppression costs exceed 70% of the rolling ten-year average. The Senate version of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (S. 3068) includes a similar proposal to allow USDA and DOI to access funds from a discretionary budget cap adjustment. In the Senate proposal, these funds would be available only once wildland fire suppression costs at USDA and DOI exceed 100% of the rolling ten-year average. The IAFC is in general

3 agreement with the proposal in S A compromise to this issue may be reached as part of the conference report for the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2016 (S. 2012). The differing perspectives about federal wildland fire suppression costs are represented best in funding for the FLAME fund. As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (P.L ), Congress increased funding for the DOI and USDA FLAME funds by several hundred million dollars. This increase came as an attempt to prevent the need for fire borrowing in the 2016 fire season. The USDA confirmed in November that they do not anticipate any fire borrowing in 2016, because of this additional funding. While the Senate bill (S. 3068) would eliminate the FLAME Funds, it still would include these additional funds in the overall Wildland Fire Management accounts for USDA and DOI. The House bill (H.R. 5538) would reduce the FLAME Fund levels for both USDA and DOI to the historical ten-year average, while the White House proposal would eliminate the FLAME Funds for both agencies as well as the additional funding above the ten-year average which Congress appropriated in FY The continuing resolution also leaves open the future of the U.S. Department of Transportation s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration s (PHMSA) Assistance for Local Emergency Response Training (ALERT) grant program. At the IAFC s request, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) created this program in FY 2015 to direct PHMSA to use prior-year carryovers of state hazardous materials training grants to develop web-based training to plan and respond to rail incidents involving hazardous materials. The ALERT grant program was authorized in P.L and requested in President Obama s budget request. The Senate Appropriations Committee s version of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (S. 2844) includes an authorization for the ALERT grant program in. In a November 15 letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, the IAFC requested that Congress include an authorization for the ALERT grant program in the final appropriations. Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act On September 21, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously agreed to adopt an amendment from Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) to include the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (S. 609) to the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act. It is unclear if this legislation will pass during the lame duck session of Congress. The IAFC also continues to gather cosponsors for S. 609 and its House companion bill, H.R S. 609 has 8 Senate cosponsors and H.R has 59 House cosponsors. Voluntary Anthrax Vaccines for First Responders On November 16, the Senate passed the First Responder Anthrax Preparedness Act (S. 1915). The legislation, sponsored by Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), would establish a three-year voluntary anthrax vaccine program at DHS Office of Health Affairs. A House companion bill (H.R. 1300) passed on July 29, The IAFC expects the House to pass S and send it to President Obama for signature into law. Proposed DEA Regulations Limiting EMS Standing Orders On November 14, the House passed the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act (H.R. 4365). This legislation, introduced by Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC), would allow EMS agencies to continue to utilize standing orders as well as permit agencies to maintain a single registration with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for the entire agency. The IAFC is working to either pass this bill or the Senate companion (S. 2932), sponsored by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA). 3

4 Urban Search and Rescue Reauthorization The IAFC is working to pass the National Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Response System Act (S. 2971) during the lame duck session. The bill, sponsored by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Tom Carper (D-DE) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) would authorize funding for the USAR system from to FY It also would establish liability protections for USAR members, and clarify death and disability benefits for the survivors of USAR members disabled or killed in the line of duty. The legislation passed the House as part of a larger FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act (H.R. 1471) on February 29. Firefighter Cancer Registry Act The IAFC continues to support the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act (H.R. 4625/S. 2799). The legislation, introduced in the House by Representatives Richard Hanna (R-NY) and Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) and in the Senate by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has 117 House cosponsors and 17 Senate cosponsors. Representative Hanna retires at the end of this Congress, so we will have to find a Republican House sponsor for next year. Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act The IAFC continues to advocate for the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act (H.R. 3591/S. 2068). The legislation would create tax incentives for owners to retrofit commercial high-rise buildings and low- and mediumrise buildings with automatic fire sprinkler systems. The legislation has 18 cosponsors in the House and 5 cosponsors in the Senate. If there is tax reform legislation next year, the IAFC will try to add the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act to any corporate tax reform bill. Outstanding Issues FirstNet FirstNet issued its request for proposals (RFP) on January 13. Interested commercial partners were directed to submit their proposals by May 31, FirstNet has not released the names of the bidders. However, press reports have indicated that Rivada Networks, pdvwireless and AT&T have submitted proposals. In October, pdvwireless was notified that its proposal would not be considered further and it was eliminated from consideration. FirstNet is expected to award the contract in November-early December. Following the completion of the RFP process and the awarding of the contract to the commercial partner, FirstNet is expected to provide its plans to the states in the first quarter of These state plans will be used to guide and inform the governors on FirstNet s intended build-out of the radio access network (RAN) in each state or territory. The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act (P.L ) clearly requires the governor to decide whether FirstNet will deploy, maintain, and operate the RAN or whether the state or territory will assume such responsibility. IAFC members will have to start contacting their FirstNet State Points of Contact to get up-to-date information about their specific state plans and provide input as their governors decide whether to opt out of FirstNet. Also, related to FirstNet, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on September 14 in which they discussed how technological innovation can be used to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries. The IAFC submitted comments in which we explained how FirstNet can be used to enhance and better coordinate patient care between the EMS providers and receiving hospitals. The IAFC also used these comments as an opportunity to encourage Ways and Means Committee members to continue their support for FirstNet. 4

5 On addition, Chief Gary McCarraher, the chair of the IAFC Communications Committee, and IAFC staff held a teleconference with the General Accountability Office (GAO) on November 14. The GAO staff were interested in the relationship between local first responders, FirstNet and FirstNet s Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC). Chief McCarraher serves on the PSAC and was able to provide information demonstrating the improved relationship between FirstNet, the PSAC and local first responders. T Band Migration The IAFC continues to educate Congress about the issues relating to the requirement that public safety entities abandon their communications operations on the T Band ( MHz). The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (P.L ) requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to begin auctioning the public safety T Band spectrum by February 2021 and clear all public safety operations from the band within two years of the auction s close (i.e., by early 2023). This requirement will affect 11 metropolitan areas: Boston; Chicago; Dallas/Ft. Worth; Washington, D.C. (including parts of Virginia and Maryland); Houston; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City/Northeast New Jersey; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; and San Francisco/Oakland. The IAFC discussed this issue with the Trump and Clinton campaign staff in September. In addition, we have discussed this issue with other interested organizations, including the National Association of Broadcasters. The IAFC is working with its public safety allies to develop a strategy for addressing the T Band issue in the next Congress. Cellular Location Accuracy The IAFC continues to serve on an advisory committee, hosted by CTIA, to implement an FCC order to improve the location information provided by cellular phone users calling The FCC order requires the wireless providers to provide either dispatchable location (DL) or the location of the calling party within 50 meters on the x- and y-axis to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). The FCC defines DL as the civic address of the calling party plus additional information such as floor, suite, apartment, or similar information that may be needed to adequately identify the location of a calling party. At the quarterly advisory committee in September, the CTIA and the wireless providers announced their progress in developing a technical standard for DL through the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS). They reported that ATIS would develop two levels of DL in its standard. DL Level 1 would be location information either one floor above or below where the calling party is in a multi-level structure. DL Level 2 would provide the actual floor and room location of the calling party (in other words, the right door to kick in ). Apparently, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the National Emergency Number Association have agreed with the wireless providers to provide DL Level 1 as well as DL Level 2. The IAFC, International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO) have expressed our concerns with the two DL definitions in the ATIS standard. While DL Level 1 provides more information than a simple x- and y-coordinate, it does not meet the definition of DL in the FCC order. We are concerned that the wireless providers are trying to water down the definition of DL (as defined by the FCC), and have asked them to re-name DL Level 1 as vicinity location or some other name to prevent confusion with the FCC-defined term. 5

6 OSHA Emergency Responder Preparedness Program Standard As a result of the April 2013 explosion at the ammonium nitrate facility in West, Texas (which resulted in the death of 12 emergency responders), the Secretary of Labor asked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to begin looking at emergency health and safety rules. OSHA had begun to examine the health and safety regulations for firefighters in 2007 by publishing a Request for Information. In 2015, OSHA requested that the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) provide recommendations and draft regulatory text for an Emergency Responder Preparedness Program standard. OSHA and NACOSH established an Emergency Response and Preparedness Subcommittee to develop the draft regulatory text. The subcommittee included representatives from the IAFC, International Association of Fire Fighters, NASEMSO, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, USFA, National Volunteer Fire Council, and National Fire Protection Association. The subcommittee developed draft regulatory text to protect emergency responders, with a secondary focus on protecting skill support workers who respond to a disaster scene or emergency incident. The draft text has been sent to the NACOSH, which is expected to discuss it at a December 14 meeting. It is unclear if the incoming Trump administration will take action on this standard. Definition of EMS Providers The IAFC continued working with the other Joint National EMS Leadership Forum (JNEMSLF) member associations to support updating the definitions used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to define firefighters that are cross-trained as EMS providers. On September 19, the IAFC joined with 16 other JNEMSLF members to submit joint comments encouraging the BLS to create sub-definitions for Firefighter/EMT, Firefighter/Paramedic and Firefighter All Other within the larger Firefighters occupation definition. These new sub-definitions recognize the important role that cross-trained firefighters play in providing EMS care to patients. The BLS definitions are used to gather statistics about various labor industries and are used by high school guidance counselors when advising students on potential occupations. 6