1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

As a volunteer firefighter and your constituent, I am writing to inform you of the significant damage the current lapse in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding has had on the nation’s fire service. While I understand the controversy surrounding the funding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) an agreement must be reached as soon as possible or a carve-out for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding must be made. The nation’s fire service should not be collateral damage to this fight. FEMA houses many programs and grants that are crucial to the success of the nation’s fire service including the National Fire Academy (NFA), Assistance for Firefighter Grants (AFG), and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER). The NFA offers the fire service unique specialized and executive training like the U.S. Army and Navy War Colleges provide for our armed services. Each year the NFA provides training for approximately 100,000 fire and emergency service personnel. Between the NFA’s shutdown from March to June 2025, the Government Shutdown in late 2025, and this latest lapse in funding, the NFA has been closed nearly 5 of the last 12 months. This is unacceptable. AFG and SAFER are the most important grant programs serving the nation’s fire service. They provide funding for critical equipment and recruitment programs that many local tax bases across the country cannot support, this is especially true of rural communities that are mostly served by volunteer departments. This lapse in DHS funding has already delayed the rollout of the application period for these grants and will likely delay their required peer review process. If swift action is not taken to restore funding, FEMA is going to be hard pressed to get awards for these grants allocated by the end of the fiscal year. Much like last year where, because of the undue time related pressure FEMA was under, there was much confusion about grant awards and less flexibility provided to grant recipients. Please act immediately to restore funding to DHS to ensure our nation’s security and preparedness, or at minimum fund FEMA so the nation’s fire service and emergency response capabilities are not compromised any further. Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.