President To Sign Homeland Security Bill Into Law
Bill Includes Millions More For Vermont’s First Responders
…Leahy: Vermont To Net At Least $16.5 Million
WASHINGTON (Wed., Oct. 1) – President George W. Bush Wednesday will
sign into law the first-ever funding bill for the Department of
Homeland Security which includes more than $16.5 million for
Vermont’s police, fire, medical and emergency first responders.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, who is a member of the Senate panel that drafted
the legislation, will attend the signing at the Department of
Homeland Security at 2:30 p.m.
Last week, both the House and the Senate passed the first-ever
Homeland Security Appropriations bill, which includes $2.2 billion
in Homeland Security Domestic Preparedness (ODP) grants for fiscal
year 2004. Vermont and other smaller states benefit from an
all-state minimum formula that Leahy added for the ODP grant program
in the USA PATRIOT Act – the anti-terrorism law enacted in October
2001 – ensuring each state a minimum of .75 percent of total program
funding. Leahy is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations
Committee and also of the panel’s new Homeland Security
Subcommittee, which led the work in writing and negotiating the
bill.
Under the formula, Vermont will receive at least $16.5 million of
the $2.2 billion, and the state is required to pass on 80 percent or
more of the grants directly to local first responders, according to
Leahy. He said about $3.75 million will be reserved for Vermont’s
law enforcement agencies.
Since 2002, Vermont
has received more than $20 million in ODP funds. By the end of
fiscal year 2004, Vermont’s first responders will have received $38,543,000
in ODP grants alone. The
funds have been used to train emergency personnel to prepare for
possible terrorist attacks, purchase specialized equipment needed to
adequately accomplish first responders’ new roles on the front lines
of terrorism, and pay for overtime and other costs incurred because
of the nation’s heightened alert and state of readiness. The
compromise includes a new provision that will allow both public and
private ambulance and emergency medical services to apply for this
year’s funds.
“Vermont’s first responders are working extra overtime, fulfilling
new duties as directed by the Department of Homeland Security and
protecting us on the front lines of the war on terrorism,” said
Leahy. “The all-state minimum I created that applies to the ODP
grants in this bill will help make sure that rural states like
Vermont will receive a fairer share of the help they need for the
job they’ve been asked to do.”
Also included in the legislation is $750 million for the Department
of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters grants (FIRE
grants). These funds are used to assist fire departments fund
training programs and purchase new equipment, including fire
apparatus. Since 2001, Vermont’s state and local fire departments
have received more than $3.5 million from the FIRE grant program,
which does not fall under Leahy’s all-state minimum.
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