The Washington Update – July 18

Appropriations

On Thursday, July 17, the House Appropriations Committee voted 35-28 to advance their Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Appropriations Act. The bill sets out the following funding levels for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

In Millions

The use of previously unused funds to carry out the ALERT grant was authorized under the House Appropriations proposal.

On Tuesday, July 15, the House Appropriations Committee released their draft FY 2025 Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) and Related Appropriations Act. This bill sets funding levels for the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This is the government agency that supervises the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) managed by the FirstNet Authority. The House’s proposal calls for a $11,000,000 reduction in staff and salaries for employees of NTIA. The CJS subcommittee voted for the bill on Tuesday, and it next must be considered by the full committee.

The House Appropriations Committee also released its FY 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill on July 15. Most notably, the bill did not include the Trump Administration’s proposal to consolidate wildland firefighting programs into one U.S. Wildland Fire Service at the Department of Interior. Instead, the bill continued to fund wildland firefighting operations at the U.S. Forest Service to implement the new pay table for wildland firefighters, so federal agencies have the ability to recruit and retain wildland firefighters and maintain current firefighter capacity.

Here is a preliminary look at the funding levels:

In Millions

The Interior Appropriations subcommittee voted on the bill on Tuesday. We will have more information about funding for the Volunteer Fire Assistance program and the State Fire Assistance before the full committee votes on the bill.

The Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee was initially scheduled to hold their markup next week. That markup has been pushed back to September with no exact date. The Labor/HHS appropriations bill provides appropriations for discretionary spending within Medicare and Medicaid, as well as funding for OSHA, the SIREN grant program, and NIOSH. The IAFC Government Relations and Policy department continues to advocate for NIOSH funding for the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer, the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program, the World Trade Center Health Program, and the National Personal Protective Technologies Lab.

President Trump Hints at Tariffs on Foreign Pharmaceuticals

While taking questions with reporters on Tuesday, July 15, President Trump said tariffs on foreign pharmaceuticals could be coming by the end of the month. The President did not give specifics on what tariff rate would be applied and what pharmaceuticals would be affected by the tariffs. President Trump has previously signed executive orders to incentivize manufacturers to make critical drugs in the United States and hinted at the possibility of tariffs on imported medications.

Please Ask Your Senators and Representatives to Start the Application Periods for DHS Grants

There is a serious delay in the start of the application period for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 homeland security grants. The funding for the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) and Urban Areas Security Initiative grants must be awarded by October 1. Yet the application period has not even started yet.

The IAFC asks that you please raise this issue with your Senators and Representative. Please ask them to contact DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ask her to re-start the application period for the SHSGP and UASI program. We have a VoterVoice campaign running to help facilitate your request to start the FY 2025 SHSGP and UASI application periods.