IAFF Calls Proposed FY 2007 Homeland Security Budget ‘Irresponsible’
International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger has responded to the Fiscal Year 2007 budget proposal released by the White House, calling the proposal “an incredible display of arrogance.”
The budget proposal cuts $257 million from the FIRE Act — a 47 percent decrease from last year’s approved budget and a 60 percent reduction over the last three years. In addition, it includes zero dollars for SAFER, the much-needed program to hire more fighters for the more than two-thirds of U.S. fire departments with inadequate staffing.
“These major reductions in FIRE Act funding come on the heels of disappointing cuts for the past two years in a row,” said Schaitberger. “Every year since 9/11, Republicans and Democrats alike have had to vote to increase funding over and above the insufficient levels proposed by the President for the FIRE Act. The IAFF has worked successfully with the Republican-controlled Congress — with bi-partisan support — to pass significantly more than proposed by the White House, and we will once again come to the rescue of the American people and do what’s necessary to protect our homeland by ensuring funding for first responders in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster.”