The US Senate has introduced a bill that would reauthorize three fire programs:
- Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants
- Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG)
- U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)
Specifically, the Fire Grants and Safety Act (S.4882) would reauthorize AFG and SAFER through Fiscal Year (FY) 2030 — a 7-year reauthorization period. The bill would also repeal the sunset provisions for AFG and SAFER, which are scheduled to go into effect in September 2024, if not addressed, and increase the authorized funding level for USFA from the current amount of $76.5 million to $95 million for all seven years of the authorization period (through FY2030) — an almost 25% increase in the authorization. USFA provides critically important data, training, education and more for fire and EMS personnel, as well as for the general public.