U.S. Federal Government Remains Shut Down
The federal government remains shut down while lawmakers are at an impasse around a House-passed continuing resolution (H.R. 5371) currently being considered in the Senate. Non-essential federal employees remain on furlough and a large number of essential employees are in a work-without-pay status. This week, the Senate held several votes on H.R. 5371 and a Democratic alternative, but neither piece of legislation received the 60 votes required for passage.
In addition to the lapse in federal appropriations, the Medicare Ambulance Add-On Payments also expired. A provision to extend these payments to EMS services offered through November 21 was included in H.R. 5371. The IAFC continues to support renewal of these payments as part of any legislation to start funding the federal government again.
In September, the IAFC launched a grassroots campaign to ask Congress to take action to extend these payments. IAFC members are encouraged to visit the IAFC Action Center to send a message to their Representatives and Senators to ask for inclusion of these payments in future appropriations.
Senate Passes Honoring Our Fallen Heros Act in NDAA
On Thursday, the Senate reached an agreement that allowed them to vote on amendments and pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (S.2296). The NDAA is considered one of the few “must pass” bills each year and as a result, it is a vehicle for many other pieces of legislation to be passed.
Included in the NDAA was the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, a bill that would extend benefits under the Public Safety Officers Benefit program to firefighters who die of occupational cancer. Sen Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the bill, and it was passed out of committee by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill was included in a larger amendment package introduced by Sen. Grassley (R-IA) that included several public safety-related bills. The IAFC has worked to include this important legislation in the NDAA and applauds Senators for passing this critical piece of legislation.
The NDAA now heads to conference where a select group of Senators and Representatives will negotiate the differences between the House-passed version of the NDAA (H.R.3838) and the bill the Senate passed version. The IAFC will continue to push for the bill’s inclusion in the final version of the NDAA and its ultimate passage into law.
Senate Commerce Committee releases their version of the PHMSA Reauthorization Act
On October 6, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation released the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 (S. 2975). The bipartisan legislation would reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)’s pipeline safety programs for another five years.
The bill would
- Authorize $ 980 million over five years for pipeline safety programs administered by PHMSA and authorize PHMSA to collect up to 1 percent of that amount from fees paid by pipeline operators and owners of underground natural gas storage facilities; and
- Authorize $ 10 million annually for emergency response grants; and
- Authorize $ 175 million over five years for PHMSA’s operating expenses.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will have to consider the bill before the full Senate considers it. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure voted to advance their version (H.R. 5301) on September 17.
IAFC Files Comments Re: the FAA’s proposed rule on UAS Operations Beyond the Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS)
This week, the IAFC submitted comments with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s new proposed rules for unmanned aircraft systems and their use beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). While this proposal was focused more on commercial operations, the IAFC filed comments to ensure that America’s fire and emergency service has safe and swift access to this revolutionary technology. Overall, our main request was that the FAA’s new rules explicitly accommodate public safety needs for BVLOS operations—including Drone as a First Responder (DFR) and First Responder Tactical BVLOS (TBVLOS).