Fire Fighters Association Wants Homeland Security Funding Bill Signed

On Wednesday, the International Association of Fire Fighters' General President Harold Schaitberger issued a press release along with Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid urging the President to approve the proposed Homeland Security funding bill.

President Bush has been telling Congress for weeks that unless changes to the bill are made, he will veto it. Bush says he has the support of 147 Republicans in the House, enough to uphold his veto.

Specifically, Bush has criticized the Democrats, who have drafted a revised version of the funding bill to include billions of dollars more than Bush has asked for, of not heeding the will of the American people who, he says, have been demanding less federal government spending and lower taxes.

Bush has warned that he will veto any bill that in his estimate seeks to spend too much money.

Under the Democrats' proposed Homeland Security funding bill as it was drafted in the House, there would be $2 billion more added to the section for "Homeland security state and local grants", money that would partially be used for fire fighter related spending.

The Senate, which is controlled by the Democrats, passed the bill on Tuesday.

Senators have said that if Bush vetoes this bill, he will have to explain to the American people why, among other things, their fire local community fire stations would be receiving less help in preparing for potential disasters.

Bush had requested that $300 million be given for fire fighter development assistance. The Senate has approved $700 million for that part of Homeland Security in its bill.

Schaitberger said in his statement that the latest NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) indicates that terrorist groups like al Qaeda are more determined and mobilizing more than ever to attempt attacks on U.S. soil. He criticized the President for asking for hundreds of billions of dollars for the Iraq war effort while saying that the Homeland Security bill would spend too much money.

Recent news reports have also shown that commercial airlines have recently received a memo from the NSA and Homeland Security regarding an increase in the last several months of strange things being confiscated by airline security agents, such as bars of cheese with wires sticking out of them. The memo says that these confiscated items could indicate that terrorist groups are testing the security levels of U.S. airports and trying to plan an attack. Cheese bars have about the same consistency as plastic explosives.

Critics of the reports say that these memos are routine, with nearly 100 having already been sent out this year alone. The also say that the NIE report, which has now been declassified, does not reveal anything unusual or unknown and is subject to political spins.

"We appreciate the efforts of Senate and House leaders and the Committee appropriators who are fighting to add significant resources to the SAFER program, which helps communities put first responders on the streets, and to the FIRE Act, which provides the training and equipment
that will allow our nation's firefighters to respond effectively to the next natural disaster or terrorist attack," said Schaitberger.

Sources:
International Association of Fire Fighters (PR Newswire), "Fire Fighters Urge Approval of Homeland Security Funding Bill"
USA Today, "Bush threatens to veto extra spending"