U.S. House of Representatives Plans to Vote on FirstNet Legislation Next Week
Next week, the U.S House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act (H.R. 7386). This legislation is supported by the IAFC and passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee by a vote of 51-0.
The bill would:
- Would extend the life of the program to September 30, 2037.
- Increase the representation of active public safety professionals on the FirstNet Board.
- Reinforce the FirstNet Authority’s ability to deploy emergency response capabilities and resources to emergencies and disasters; set strategic priorities for the network; develop an annual budget and outline reinvestment decisions; and manage the device and application ecosystem within the FirstNet network in a timely manner without bureaucratic interference.
Please ask your Representatives to pass H.R. 7386. The IAFC is running a grassroots campaign on its Legislative Action Center to help IAFC members directly ask their Representatives to pass H.R. 7386. It takes less than five minutes to preserve the critical FirstNet Authority.
Congress are Back – Please Ask Your Senators and Representative to Open the National Fire Academy and Fund the Fire Programs at Department of Homeland Security
The House has yet to pass the legislation to fund many of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components, including USFA, AFG, and the SAFER grant programs, that the Senate passed on April 2. So, please keep up the pressure and ask your Representatives to fund DHS fire service programs.
The NIOSH FFFIPP Releases New Report
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention program released a report, F2026-01 KS: Four Career Firefighters Injured from a Floor Collapse in an Abandoned Residential Structure Fire – Kansas. There are accompanying slides to the report.