DHS Update – Please tell Congress to re-open the National Fire Academy
Congress has yet to pass a Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill. So, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and National Fire Academy (NFA) remained closed. The FEMA GO platform is not operational, which restricts fire departments' ability to be reimbursed for current Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER), and Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grants. The application period for future AFG, SAFER, and FP&S grants is expected to be delayed.
This week, the House passed a FY 2026 DHS Appropriations bill (H.R. 7744) on March 5 by a vote of 221-209, with two members not voting. However, it is not expected to pass the Senate at this time. There was a vote in the Senate this week to invoke cloture on another version of the FY 2026 DHS Appropriations bill (H.R. 7147), but it fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to proceed to the bill.
The IAFC is running a campaign to ask Congress to fund the federal fire service programs at DHS and reopen the NFA. With the ongoing war in Iran, it is important that fire departments have access to grants like the AFG, SAFER, Urban Areas Security Initiative, Emergency Management Performance Grants, State Homeland Security Grant Program, and other grant programs that fund fire and EMS preparedness activities. You can use the IAFC’s Legislative Action Center to ask your Senators and Representative to fund these important programs.
House Passes Amendment to Broaden Eligibility for Volunteer Fire Assistance Program
On March 4, the House Agriculture Committee voted to pass an IAFC-endorsed amendment to The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567), which is commonly known as the Farm Bill, that increases fire department eligibility for the Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) program.
The VFA is a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service. The VFA program provides support to volunteer fire departments protecting communities with populations of 10,000 or fewer residents. The program provides a 50% federal match to local fire departments for wildland firefighting equipment and personal protective equipment. These fire departments are also eligible for the Federal Excess Personal Property Program and the Firefighter Property Program.
The IAFC-endorsed amendment by Representative John Rose (R-TN) would:
- Change qualifying community population thresholds from 10,000 to 15,000 or less.
- Change the percent of volunteer (non-salaried) firefighting personnel from 80 percent to 70 percent.
- Allow for Secretarial discretion on waiving match requirements, similar to other fire and state and private forestry programs.
H.R. 7567 now must be considered by the full House.
Single Stair Provision Removed from Housing Package
On March 2, the Senate invoked cloture on the Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644), a House-passed affordable housing package. The original House-passed version included a provision directing the Department of Housing and Urban Development to study single-stair multi-family residential buildings for up to 6 stories and create model code language for such single-stair buildings. After IAFC advocacy, the single-stair provision was removed from H.R. 6644 in the Senate. Once H.R. 6644 passes the Senate, the House and Senate will have to reconcile differences between the House- and Senate-passed versions of the bill. The IAFC continues to advocate against the dangerous push for single-stair multifamily residential buildings and for the protection of building codes in federal legislation.
New FFFIPP Report
The Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) released a new report:
F2025-01 TX: Senior Captain and Two Firefighters of Ladder Company Burned during Primary Search in Garden Apartment Fire – Texas
Injury Report Report Slides
Get Ready to Visit Capitol Hill on March 18 and 19
The National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner is on March 19. IAFC members are encouraged to register for the dinner.
If you are in DC for the dinner, please use the time to meet with your members of Congress. The IAFC has updated its monthly Hot Sheet with legislative issues. Please feel free to download this document to use for your meetings with Members of Congress.
Also, Fire Chief Trisha L. Wolford, the IAFC’s President and Board Chair, and the IAFC Government Relations and Policy staff recently held a webinar on major legislative issues facing the fire and emergency service this spring.
To find your Representative, you can use the box at the top left corner of the House of Representatives’ webpage.
To find your Senators, you can use the U.S. Senate website.